storytelling posting

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STORYTELLING: THE USE OF NARRATIVE IN ORGANIZATIONS Nancy Goldman, Ed.D.

Transcript of storytelling posting

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STORYTELLING: THE USE OF NARRATIVE IN ORGANIZATIONSNancy Goldman, Ed.D.

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My story

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Exercise Divide into pairs. Each

person has three minutes to tell the other person about a time he/she was inspired.

The listeners will then introduce their partners to the class by recounting their story.

Keep in mind this is also a listening exercise.

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Journal - Take a moment to reflect.

What did you notice: In your body? In the environment? In your thoughts? What assumptions did

you have about telling a story?

About listening to a story? How do your assumptions

compare to your reactions?

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What is a story?“An account of incidents or events”

Merriam Webster Dictionary

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Which is a story? Why?

The king died and then the queen died.

The king died and then the queen died of a broken heart.

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How we make meaning - Gottschall Consider the following information:

Todd rushed to the store for flowers. Greg walked his dog. Sally stayed in bed all day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gLBXikghE0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjCshHV4z70

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“Stories fill our lives in the way that water fills the lives of fish.” (Stephen Denning)

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Exercise – Small group discussionWhat is the evolutionary purpose of

story* - Gottschall

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Attract Others Darwin - the evolutionary source of story is sexual

selection

Miller (2000) suggests that our ancestors with rhetorical skills may have appeared more attractive to the opposite sex (in Yang, 2012)

* Gottschall

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Expand our thinking

Brian Boyd – evolutionary literary scholar – “a work of art acts like a playground for the mind”

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The evolutionary purpose of story -Gottschall

They’re fun!

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Explore new situations

Bloom (2010) said, “Stories and daydreams are social play, in which we vicariously and safely explore new situations…

Jane Burroway “Literature offers feelings for which we don’t have to pay. It allows us to love, condemn, condone, hope, dread, and hate without any of the risks those feelings ordinarily involve.

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Prepare us for situations

Psychologists – stories are “flight simulators” for social life – Oatley and Mar.

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Share information

“First primates had a hell of a lot to speak about.” … first communications were about practical things, functional things. – Professor Phillip Tobias, paleo-anthropologist

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Empathy and social cohesion

Dartmouth researchers had people watch The Good, the Bad and the Ugly while their brains were scanned by fMRI. Discovered that viewers’ brains “caught” whatever emotions were being enacted on screen. When the scene was sad, the viewers’ brains looked sad.

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Organize Information

We can only remember 7 plus or minus 2 things. 

Listeners try and store information in their frontal lobes as a list, and within about 30 seconds, their mental hoppers are full.

Stories jump right into the deeper parts of the brain, where emotion and memory work together, the hippocampus and amygdala. 

*Nick Morgan, PhD

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What is storytelling?According to the NationalStorytelling Network:

Storytelling is the interactive art of using words and actionsto reveal the elements and images of a

storywhile encouraging the listener’s

imagination.

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What is storytelling? Cont’d1. Storytelling is interactive.2. Storytelling uses words.  3. Storytelling uses actions such as vocalization, physical movement and/or gesture4. Storytelling presents a story.5. Storytelling encourages the active imagination of the listeners.

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How does storytelling differ from other forms of telling stories? Poetry

Stand-up comedy

Improvisation

Theater

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Storytelling in modern times

1973 – 1st National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough , Tennessee

1990 – published Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends by Michael White and David Epston, and Acts of Meaning by Jerome Bruner

1997 – think tank with the International Storytelling Center, Harvard, World Bank, Ernst & Young

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Storytelling in modern times 2000 – Published Storytelling in

Organizations by Yiannis Gabriel, The Story Factor by Annette Simmons, The Springboard – How Storytelling Ignites Action in Organizations by Steven Denning

2001 – First Smithsonian Event

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Small group exercise – In what ways is storytelling used in business? Discuss in small groups

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In what ways is storytelling used in business? Set a vision for the future Set goals and build commitment Lead change Define customer service Persuade Define the culture Establish values Encourage collaboration and build

relationships

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In what ways is storytelling used in business? Value diversity and inclusion Set policy without rules Inspire and motivate Build courage Teach important lessons Provide coaching and feedback Demonstrate problem solving Delegate authority and give permission

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In what ways is storytelling used in business? Encourage innovation and creativity Sales

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Insight Journal “Long before I wrote

stories, I listened for stories. Listening FOR them is something more acute than listening TO them. I suppose it’s an early form of participation in what goes on. ― Eudora Welty, One Writer's Beginnings