Story Collage

15
Story Collage

description

Objectives1. Help people discover and organize their stories.2. Reflect on stories and look for relationships between them.3. Promote dialogue, sharing and learning from each other’s stories.Applications1. Incorporate Story Collages™ into business processes (e.g., performance review, after action reviews, employee orientation, product development, and marketing focus groups).2. Instill standard story sharing, dialogue, and reflection with groups.3. Harvest key stories to promote knowledge sharing.Outcomes to EmphasizeDid people remember new stories? Most of us are not in the habit of recalling our experiences as stories to share with others. Story Collages™ provide people with a guided process to discover their stories and see the connections between their stories and the stories of others. Encourage people to think about their stories and to be more mindful of sharing them with others. How do the index of key words in the Story Collage™ relate to the stories? Do people have similar indices? Everyone unconsciously builds a unique index associated with their experiences. We do not think about how we are indexing experiences. We make the naïve assumption that others have indexed their experiences in a similar way. This creates breakdowns in communication and understanding. Stories help us bridge the gaps created by didactic modes of conversation. However we need to be sensitive to the different ways we classify our experiences. I may not be able to recall an experience if you ask me to recall it by utilizing your schema. The richer your index, the easier it will be for you to find a relevant experience to share or determine the best language for eliciting stories from others.How does the index in the Story Collage™ help people reflect on their experience? We are not computer databases therefore indexing single experiences is neither necessary nor desirable. Story Collages™ capture a collection of stories. The indexing process helps people to quickly begin thinking about the interrelationship between our stories. By indexing the collection of stories it becomes easier to recall one or more of the stories in the future and see connections with stories from other areas of our life and experience. The index also makes it easier for us to see parallel themes in other people’s stories.

Transcript of Story Collage

  • Story Collage

    21_985356 activity12.qxp 5/16/07 7:31 PM Page 147

  • Story Collage

    BackgroundAfter a day of running a grueling communications workshop, I went back to myhotel room feeling sad. The participants were struggling and I knew I had to trysomething different. I was desperately trying to get people to share their experi-ences with one another, but no one was speaking up. People were complaining,We have no stories to tell. Even worse, the few stories that had been shared wererandom and unconnected to each other and not very cogent to the themes of theworkshop.

    Exhausted, I slumped into my chair. People are walking treasure chests ofstories, I thought to myself. How can I help them discover their stories and seethe relationships between them? I sat down with my ever-handy compositionbook and began to doodle. That afternoon I created a tool called Story Collagefor facilitating story brainstorming and reflection.

    Facilitation LevelEasy

    Objectives1. Help people discover and organize their stories.

    2. Reflect on stories and look for relationships between them.

    3. Promote dialogue, sharing, and learning from each others stories.

    Materials Blank Story Collage handout

    Sample Story Collage handout

    Note: Copies of the blank form as well as filled-out samples can be found on theaccompanying CD-ROM.

    TimeFifteen to ninety minutes (depending on how its being used)

    148 Once Upon a Time

    21_985356 activity12.qxp 5/16/07 7:31 PM Page 148

    TerrenceRectangle

    TerrenceRectangle

  • Directions1. Distribute a copy of the blank Story Collage handout as well as a sample

    filled-in form to each participant.

    2. Provide a topic for the Story Collage. This will serve as the Story Circle.

    3. Instruct people to jot down short descriptions of their stories and other wordsthey associate with the story that jar their recall of it. These short descriptionsare referred to as Story Hubs.

    4. Guide people to look at all their Story Hubs and build an index of keywordsthat characterize the stories.

    5. Have people share their Story Collage with each other. Ask them to explorehow their Story Collage relate to one another.

    6. Debrief the activity.

    Note: The figure below shows the placement of the various elements of theStory Collage.

    149Story Collage

    Connection betweenStory Circle

    Index goes here

    Story Hu

    b Story Hub

    Sto

    ry C

    ircl

    e

    Story Hub Story Hu

    b

    Once Upon a Time. Copyright 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reproduced by permission of Pfeiffer, an Imprintof Wiley. www.pfeiffer.com.

    21_985356 activity12.qxp 5/16/07 7:31 PM Page 149

    TerrenceRectangle

    TerrenceRectangle

  • Variations Try this activity with small groups instead of individuals. This is a great way

    to get a heterogeneous group of people to learn from each others experiencesand perspectives. For example, I have divided participants into groups ofmanagers and employees.

    Facilitate a group discussion to decide the topic for a Story Collage.

    Share a personal Story Collage with the group as an example. Alternatively,feel free to use the samples provided on the CD-ROM accompanying this book.

    Have a group discuss a managers or leaders Story Collage. Use the man-agers collage to elicit stories from participants.

    Assign Story Collage as pre-work or homework.

    Create the Story Collage on butcher block paper and have participants take atour around the room to share short dialogues about each others stories.

    Shorten or lengthen the time of the activity.

    Ask people to do a Story Collage before a major group discussion in whichyou hope to get people to share their personal experiences. This is a great wayto help people collect their thoughts.

    Use Story Collages instead of a concept map (e.g., Mind Map) to help peopleprepare a written or oral presentation.

    Tips People index their stories in different ways. Be sure the topic for the Story

    Collage is broad enough that it triggers stories for them. A short phrase ver-sus a single word will yield a richer collection of experiences. For example, if Iwant people to recount their experiences after a multi-day sales meeting, Imight use a phrase like, Significant conversations that stick out in my mind fromthe last few days, for my Story Circle. This phrase will be more effective than,My sales meeting experience.

    Invite people to suggest topics. You can use a variety of facilitation techniquesto do this. For example, you might have everyone write two or three shortphrases. List all of the topics and look for ones that naturally group. Then takeproposals from the group as to which one or ones they want to work on. If youare having difficulty getting the group to agree on one topic, then take a voteand select the top two or three.

    Try playing some quiet, relaxing instrumental music in the background whilepeople work.

    151Story Collage

    21_985356 activity12.qxp 5/16/07 7:31 PM Page 151

    TerrenceRectangle

  • Debriefing When debriefing the activity, start with some process-related questions, for ex-

    ample, How did that go? What did you notice during the process? Were thereany surprises? Did you find any part of this activity difficult? These are justsample questions. Theres no need to ask all of them, but you do want to givepeople an opportunity to react to the process (positive, negative, and neutral)before diving into peoples stories and the connections and relationships be-tween them that they discovered. If ideas of how to improve the processemerge during the debriefing process, be sure to record them and if possiblemake a commitment to incorporate them the next time you run the activity.

    Always try to get people to share other peoples stories. For example, if someone is describing an insight she had or a connection he discovered between his or her story and someone elses, ask the person to recount theother persons story. Be sure to check back with the original storyteller to gethis or her perspective.

    Did people remember new stories? Most of us are not in the habit of recalling ourexperiences as stories to share with others. Story Collage provides people with a guided process to discover their stories and see the connectionsbetween their stories and the stories of others. Encourage people to thinkabout their stories and to be more mindful of sharing them with others.

    How do the index of key words in the Story Collage relate to the stories? Do peoplehave similar indices? Everyone unconsciously builds a unique index associatedwith their experiences. We do not think about how we are indexing experi-ences. We make the nave assumption that others have indexed their experiences in a similar way. This creates breakdowns in communication andunderstanding. Stories help us bridge the gaps created by didactic modes ofconversation. However, we need to be sensitive to the different ways we clas-sify our experiences. I may not be able to recall an experience if you ask me torecall it by utilizing your schema. The richer your index, the easier it will befor you to find a relevant experience to share or determine the best languagefor eliciting stories from others.

    How does the index in the Story Collage help people reflect on their experiences? Weare not computer databases; therefore, indexing single experiences is neithernecessary nor desirable. Story Collage captures a collection of stories. The indexing process helps people to quickly begin thinking about the interrela-tionships between their stories. By indexing the collection of stories, it becomeseasier to recall one or more of the stories in the future and see connections withstories from other areas of our lives and experience. The index also makes iteasier for us to see parallel themes in other peoples stories.

    150 Once Upon a Time

    21_985356 activity12.qxp 5/16/07 7:31 PM Page 150

    TerrenceRectangle

  • Circulate in the room while people are working on their collages. Help peoplewho seem to be struggling to find stories. Before breaking people into pairs orgroups, make sure people have some stories to share. You dont want to grouptwo people together who have very few stories. At least one member of a pairor group should have a healthy number of stories to share.

    If you are using this activity to help a group better understand its membersand dynamics impacting it, visually capture the relationships between theStory Collage. This can be done by drawing lines or by using string andpush pins to connect story hubs between collages, drawing symbols, using col-ored sticky pads, creating summary lists, or any other visually summarizingstrategy. This becomes a critical map and summary for the group that it canrefer back to later.

    Applications1. Incorporate Story Collage into business processes (e.g., performance re-

    views, after action reviews, employee orientations, product development, andmarketing focus groups).

    2. Instill standard story sharing, dialogue, and reflection with groups.

    3. Harvest key stories to promote knowledge sharing.

    Case StudyIt was the end of the day and I picked up the phone to answer the sort of call Idread. One of my regular clients was frantic, Hey, Terrence, Ive got some seriousissues going on here. My project team is falling apart. Ive spent all day in meet-ings with folks trying to sort out a tangled mess of problems, but with no success.Everyone is up in arms. Lots of finger pointing going on, and I havent been ableto get to the bottom of it. Ive called an emergency meeting for tomorrow morning.I know you havent been involved with the project, but will you please come inand facilitate? There will be thirty people from three different functional areas.Can I count on you?

    Walking into a lions den is never my first choice, but this client was desperate.I mumbled into the receiver, Okay, you can count on me.

    The next morning I walked into a board room teeming with emotions. Withvery little in the way of introduction, I pulled out a stack of blank Story Collageforms and broke the group into five teams of six, with two representatives fromeach functional area on each team. I instructed people to work in pairs from thesame functional area and record their frustrating experiences to date on the project. I gave them about fifteen minutes to work. Then I asked them to find

    152 Once Upon a Time

    21_985356 activity12.qxp 5/16/07 7:31 PM Page 152

    TerrenceRectangle

  • some key words to characterize their collection of stories. Next I had the teams ofsix assemble to share their collages with each other and develop a summary. WhenI regrouped all of the teams, there was an amazing new energy in the room.People were bubbling over with ideas and insights. Misperceptions, untold stories,dependencies between peoples responsibilities, and unrealized hurt feelings allcame rushing out in a stream of stories. The collages had helped people surfacetheir emotions and assumptions in a safe and thorough fashion while simultane-ously providing them opportunities to see the situation from very different per-spectives. By the end of all the sharing, with no prompting on my part, peoplewere ready to dive into a litany of recommendations.

    153Story Collage

    21_985356 activity12.qxp 5/16/07 7:31 PM Page 153

    TerrenceRectangle

  • AUTHORBIO

    TerrenceL.Gargiulo,MMHSisaneighttimesauthor,internationalspeaker,organizationaldevelopmentconsultantandgroupprocessfacilitatorspecializingintheuseofstories.HeholdsaMasterofManagementinHumanServicesfromtheFlorenceHellerSchool,atBrandeisUniversity,andisarecipientofInc.Magazine'sMarketingMasterAward,the2008HRLeadershipAwardfromtheAsiaPacificHRMCongress,andisamemberofBrandeisUniversitysathleticHallofFame.HehasappearedonFoxTV,CN8,andonCNNradioamongothers.Highlightsofsomeofhispastandpresentclientsinclude,GM,HP,DTEEnergy,MicroStrategy,Citrix,Fidelity,FederalReserveBank,Ceridian,CountrywideFinancial,WashingtonMutual,DreyersIceCream,UNUM,USCoastGuard,BostonUniversity,Raytheon,CityofLowell,ArthurD.Little,KANACommunications,MerckMedco,CocaCola,HarvardBusinessSchool,andCambridgeSavingsBank.

    Web:http://www.makingstories.netVideo:http://www.vimeo.com/user2343092/videos

    Email:[email protected]

    INTERVENTIONSCONSULTINGRETREATSWORKSHOPS

    COACHINGSPEAKING

    RECOMMENDED

  • CALL TODAY FOR MORE INFORMATION -- MAKINGSTORIES.net 415-948-8087 [email protected] pg.1

    TITLE: Getting Results with Breakthrough Communication Skills 3 Day Foundational Course DESCRIPTION With the pace of work in todays organizations, are you using your communication skills to get the results you want? Breakthrough communication obliterates barriers and puts us in touch with ourselves and in connection with others. This foundational course looks at the key communication skills we all possess and can strengthen for thriving at work and in our personal relationships. Based on research with Fortune 500 companies, participants are introduced to nine key communication skills that will drive new results in their organization regardless of where they sit. YOURE A NATURAL COMMUNICATOR! Youre committed to becoming a better communicator. Do you know that you have a perfect set of skills for communicating effectively already? Youre trying to build stronger working relationships. Do you use your listening skills to connect more meaningful with others? Youre frustrated because people do not listen to you. Do you have a hard time getting your ideas heard or understood? Youre tired of endless misunderstandings and conflicts. Do you clash with others when you are faced with ideas and positions different from your own? Youre not recognized in your organization. Do you fail to get the feedback and recognition you deserve?

  • CALL TODAY FOR MORE INFORMATION -- MAKINGSTORIES.net 415-948-8087 [email protected] pg.2

    How You Will Benefit Discover your natural communication skills and start putting them to work Build stronger and quicker working relationships Convey your thoughts, ideas, and feelings with clarity, confidence, and sincerity Process verbal information with greater speed and accuracy Reduce confusion, frustrations, and misunderstandings when communicating with others Negotiate differences with poise and openness Work more collaboratively with others to achieve better results Increase your visibility and respect in the organization by strengthening your listening skills Reduce reactive and negative exchanges with others Maximize your awareness and sensitivity to others and your environment What You Will Cover Maximize the Communication Skills You Already Have Develop awareness of the nine communication skills we all possess Measure the degree to which you are currently using these skills Practice techniques for strengthening these skills Work with a large collection of self-development activities to keep your skills honed Strategies for Taking in Verbal Information Break verbal communications into three channels of information (content, emotion, intention) Increase powers of observation Engage people communicating with you to increase your understanding Techniques for Interpreting the Information You Hear Create a mental picture of what you hear Relate what you hear with your experiences Sort through the interpretations you generate from listening to others Draw more reliable conclusions to guide your response to others and interactions Communicate with Clarity, Confidence, and Sincerity Selecting the right words Finding good experiences and examples to share with others Hear what you will say before you say it Use compelling language and examples to paint a vivid picture of what you want to

    communicate Speak with your actions as well as your words

  • CALL TODAY FOR MORE INFORMATION -- MAKINGSTORIES.net 415-948-8087 [email protected] pg.3

    Developing Your Action Plan Make a commitment to try at least two new strategies in the work place Write a learning plan to continue developing your communication skills Select a goals partner from the course to check-in with on a regular basis for peer support and

    feedback

  • CALL TODAY FOR MORE INFORMATION -- MAKINGSTORIES.net 415-948-8087 [email protected] pg.4

    TITLE Return on Experience (ROE): Leveraging Your ROE for Results 2 Day Course DESECRIPTION Leave no experience unturned. This course will show you how to get a return on experiences (ROE).Our experiences are not just nice to have; nor is thinking about them a luxury. Our experiences motivate, drive, and guide all our behaviors and reactions. You will learn and practice research proven techniques for transforming your experiences, and the experiences of others into assets by making better decisions, avoiding past mistakes, and enter new situations with better knowledge and confidence. Participants work with concrete tools for developing the essential skills they need in order to get an ROE and achieve results. HOW YOU WILL BENEFIT Discover how to tap into your wealth of experiences Review your experiences with an open mind Conduct a critical analysis of your experiences Transform your experiences into nuggets of knowledge that will guide future actions Avoid making the same mistakes Leverage your instincts by increasing your awareness of how you form gut opinions Make better decisions more quickly and with less information Improve your working relationships by being more sensitive to eliciting the experiences of

    others and learning from them Become more proactive versus reactive in your relationships with others Implement easy to facilitate group practices for extracting lessons learned from projects WHAT YOU WILL COVER Get A Return on Your Experiences (ROE) Examine why your experiences are so important to achieving better results Discover the potential of tapping into your experiences Tap Into Your Experiences Work with new techniques for quickly remembering your experiences Replay these experiences in your mind to vividly relive them Review Your Experiences Examine your experiences with an open mind Look for the relationships between your past experiences and your current attitudes, values,

    biases, beliefs and assumptions

  • CALL TODAY FOR MORE INFORMATION -- MAKINGSTORIES.net 415-948-8087 [email protected] pg.5

    Extract Knowledge Transform your experiences into nuggets of knowledge Examine your experience for repeating patterns of behaviors Decide how you can use the information you extract from your experiences to guide future

    actions Communicate your opinions more effectively by sharing the experiences that have contributed

    to the development of your perspectives Use ROE Techniques to Increase Group Effectiveness Use three simple questions at the end of any meeting to maximize the groups effectiveness Conduct After Action Reviews that focus on peoples experiences to identify key lessons

    learned

  • ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

    COMP VIDEOS & CONVERSATION STARTERS

    These are distinctive, stylized short nuggets of organizational poetry offered to clients and prospective clients to encourage people to dialog about themes prevalent in Organizational Development work. Recordings of webinars and keynotes round out this collection of videos. These offeran authentic and personal snapshots into me. Even transcational and bottom line work is first and foremost relational. I want you to know a little about who and how I am. For those that resonate with these I gaurantee we will have a mutually gratifying and productive engagement.

    CLICK HERE TO SEE VIDEOS

    AVAIL YOUR SELF OF OVER 30 FREE ARTICLES & WHITE PAPERS

    Are you looking for how the rubber meets the road? Need some practical tips and

    techniques for designing and implementing learning and communication interventions? Heres a repository of great resources sure to offer everyone something. Be sure to

    reach out to me with your questions. Im happy to offer up to 30 minutes of free consult to get people started.

    CLICK HERE FOR RESOURCES

  • Page | 2

    CONSIDER PURCHASING A FEW OF OUR COST EFFECTIVE ONLINE RESOURCES I am very proud and grateful for the crystallization of my story-based communication skills assessment. It was awarded the 2008 HR Leadership Award from the Asia Pacific Human Resource Management Congress CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE ASSESSMENT Are you looking for some easy ways to develop your story-based communication skills or help others on your staff or team? Try our eBook of self- development exercises CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE eBOOK Have you wanted a step-by-step guide to discovering and mining your rich treasure chest of stories so you can leverage them more effectively? Here just the guide to get you started CLICK HERE TO ORDER GUIDE Maybe you just want to work with us. Dont be bashful. Give me a call today. I promise to tell only a few stories but be careful you might yourself launching into a sea of stories !

    PHONE: 415-948-8087

    TerenzioRectangle

    final pass crop 163.pdffinal pass crop 164.pdffinal pass crop 165.pdffinal pass crop 166.pdffinal pass crop 167.pdffinal pass crop 168.pdffinal pass crop 169.pdfStory_Workshops_Terrence_Gargiulo.pdfPages from Stories_All_Hands_Meeting_Best_Practices_v2.pdfOnce_Upon_Time_Magic_Three.pdf

    Master_Class.pdfMaster_class_cover.pdfStory_Workshops_Terrence_Gargiulo.pdfPages from Stories_All_Hands_Meeting_Best_Practices_v2.pdfOnce_Upon_Time_Magic_Three.pdf