Danish Sayanee is a man of many hats. He’s an internationally published author with 3 books published under his belt so far on platforms such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Simon & Schuster. He is also renowned for his innovative developments and affiliations in technology and STEAM/STEM integration at the school level – some of these affiliations include Microsoft, Google, STEM-ED Coalition, Common-Sense Education, and more. He also happens to be the co-founder and director of the Institute of Excellence in Learning and Teaching,
So far in his storied, glittering career, Danish has amazingly trained 3000 individuals including teachers, students, and other professionals. He is an internationally certified and licensed TESOL trainer from the Arizona University and also Pakistan’s very first CommonSense Educator, as well as being a Cambridge English trained agent which entails him to counsel students, teachers, and professionals on the importance of Cambridge English Certification. Furthermore, he has completed his Business and Leadership Management from Michigan University and he is also a Microsoft Educator, Adobe’s Master Trainer, and Intel’s Technology Partner, and currently working on his Teacher Training Licensing Program from London Teacher Training College OFQUAL Affiliated program. Danish is the first National Geographic Educator in Pakistan.
InLife International recently caught up with Danish to discuss his journey as an entrepreneur and here’s what went down:
Could you please tell our readers a brief background about yourself and how you started your business?
Belonging to the colorful city of lights, Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, I, relocated to the beautiful multicultural city of Dubai where I work in marketing, write, and also play the piano. Before I started my journey in Dubai, I have already fought against the toughest times of my life, however, at the age of 18, I managed to publish my first book on Amazon, titled Play for Life despite struggling financially and working two jobs to finance my education, later I went on to publish two more books, Daniel Sawyer: Dilemma and French: A Novel in Verse. I then founded a training consultancy, Institute of Excellence in Learning and Teaching, which I left behind to start a new life in the beautiful city of Dubai, where my focus is now on Edutech, Writing, and Digital Marketing.
Can you tell us more about your latest book?
Well, this book might be the fourth in my lineup of books but it is the most special to me. This book is not a piece of fiction, rather it is a guide or will function as a guide for those who aspire to become writers like me.
What kind of research did you do for this book, and how long did you spend researching before beginning this book?
Oh! I have been researching this book for a good two years I think, my consultancy played a major role in supporting my research because I used to come across parents, children, and individuals who wanted to write but faced many challenges, so I used to help them out through a course focused on writing. During the course which was organized multiple times, I gathered a lot of data and became aware of the novice writers’ need.
Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?
Originality has its’ own merits but with time I have learned to combine originality with the readers’ demand.
As a speaker, what techniques do you use to engage a live audience?
I often use humor to put the audience at ease, interaction is key to keeping the audience with you. I have seen speakers who have a holier than thou attitude and frankly no matter how good they are, they ultimately lose their audience therefore, I also try to be humble along with being interactive and humorous.
How would you ensure key information is understood and remembered by the audience?
I often have recall and recap sessions, an activity, or something. Remember that “learning by doing” is the best way of ensuring that learners engage themselves with the information and absorb it.
Can you tell me about a previous speech where the audience reacted positively to your words?
I remember this Founders’ Workshop for teachers where I went off track a little bit but the conversation was around how teachers need to own the profession in order to get students to own them, that day I received the most acknowledgment.
Tell us about your experience in Digital Marketing.
As a Chief Marketing Officer, I manage a team of Digital Marketers and this has been one hell of a ride for me because I believe a digital Marketer needs to be creative as well as analytical. This is one field that not only helps in building the company’s brand image but also helps maximize the profit with as little investment as possible and that I believe is the job of an artist. So in short I lead a team of Artists.
Why do you want to work in Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing is an enabler for businesses of all types and sizes, this is the truly only personalized form of marketing that promises global reach and exposure. Moreover, it does come with its’ own set of challenges that actually inspire me to work in Digital Marketing.
Can you give examples of how you’ve worked with content marketing and content strategy?
Remember content marketing and content strategy are two entirely different things but having said that they are very closely related. Content marketers draw on the wall with magic markers, while content strategists use fine pens that is what I keep in mind while dealing with the two. the content marketer addresses the “whys,” the content strategist addresses the “hows,” and together they work out the “whats” and “wheres.” the content marketer addresses the “whys,” the content strategist addresses the “hows,” and together they work out the “whats” and “wheres.” While working on Yacht Rental DXB, I had to take on the role of both and figure out why and how in order to move to the what and where.
What makes Digital Marketing different from traditional marketing?
The night and the day, that is what these two are. The main difference between digital and traditional marketing is the medium through which an audience encounters a marketing message. While traditional marketing uses traditional media like magazines and newspapers, digital marketing uses digital media, such as social media or websites.
