Cut through the noise
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3/5/2018 Tell Me A StoryOnce upon a time – well a month ago – I attended an open-mic storytelling event and was reminded of the staying power stories possess, the vivid imagery they can create, and how much fun they can be to listen to. We heard five stories that night and I had five unique experiences – the first story informed me, the second deeply moved me, the third motivated me, I laughed hysterically at the fourth, and was reminded of how fortunate I am by the last. That is a lot in the span of 90 minutes or so. And what is more – I remember all five stories clearly – I can see all five of them as mini-movies in my mind right now – weeks later. And that speaks to the power of stories for trainers, those who lead meetings, and – frankly – all of us. Somewhere around 2005, I bought a book about storytelling. Spine unbroken, it is on the bookshelf beside me right now – but it will be my next read! (Update – I HAVE read it!) The truth is, the idea of telling stories – as opposed to technical content – frightened me and I shied away from reading the book for fear I may actually have to do something with it. Then, in 2011, a storyteller’s gift was bestowed on me – facilitating a six-week program attended by the most challenging group of participants M. Knight Shyamalan could have conjured for my personal horror film. It takes nothing for me to mentally step back into that room, see and hear the individuals, and feel the emotions that ran through me – and there were many. It didn’t seem a gift in the moment. But, while coaching another group in managing difficult behaviors, I saw it for what it was – a great story to tell.
Perhaps the greatest gift of using stories – to enlighten, entertain, educate, and so on – is what they do for you. They allow you to experience life differently. Reading an email in which a colleague enrages you with her characterization of you? Reply with decorum, print it, and share the story in classes related to business writing, conflict resolution, or respect in the workplace. Having a frustrating encounter at a rental car counter? File it away under customer service and feel gratitude for the nugget when you use it to open a meeting with your team going into a hectic time of year. To have stories to tell, you need to pay attention to the stories you are participating in. And that can change how you feel about otherwise negative encounters. Join the discussion (below) and share your thoughts on storytelling or pose questions you have on structuring effective stories. Maybe tell us a story! Here are a few ideas to inspire you: Where do you get your stories? How do you organize them? What components are critical to an effective story? Which stories are you willing to “lend” to others to use as they collect their own? Who is a storyteller to learn from? Take inspiration from that list or create your own inspiration, and tell us a story about stories… In Same Training, Half the Time, Kimberly shares a few stories from her experiences and also talks about the benefits of stories as she addresses how to make the most of requests for time-constrained learning. Her new title, Don't Waste My Time, raises how stories can be leveraged in "bad news" meetings.
16 Comments
Nichole Dinato
5/2/2018 04:31:53 pm
It might sound obvious but I'm surprised at how often people don't follow my golden rule for storytelling or narrative threads in training: have one clear point for your story. Once your one main focus is selected, cut your story down to only details that are (ultimately/eventually) relevant to that point. Nothing is more frustrating than hearing a story where it seems like the storyteller is going somewhere and then that thread is dropped. It's distracting and unsatisfying. A story can always be made tighter, without sacrificing emotional impact or engagement.
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Kimberly Devlin
5/6/2018 01:39:05 pm
What a great closing thought Nichole -- "A story can always be made tighter, without sacrificing emotional impact or engagement."
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Dan Foster
5/4/2018 04:52:53 pm
A customer recently reminded me of a story I once told them of how a product feature can be used in a unique way to solve a problem. In a techs and specs download, the solution would have likely been lost had it not been for the story.
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Kimberly Devlin
5/6/2018 01:35:23 pm
Dan -
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Donald Clark
5/5/2018 09:38:47 am
Stories with a point are great point makers.
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Kimberly Devlin
5/6/2018 01:37:18 pm
Nice story Donald! And what a great message to remember -- "easy" can be a relative thing.
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Britany L
6/15/2018 05:14:54 pm
Working in advertising taught me the importance of storytelling in an engaging and effective way to pull in your audience and leave them with a key take away. I have found that engaging storytelling is just as important in training. If you don’t engage your learners and leave them with key take aways, then the learning will quickly be forgotten.
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Kimberly Devlin
6/15/2018 05:34:38 pm
Thank you for mentioning advertising -- there is so much to be learned about attention spans, creating memorable moments, and calls to action from advertising!
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Yvette Harris
6/17/2018 10:55:47 pm
Story telling comes natural for me from childhood horrors, to writing/ editing/directing the drama ministry at my church (huberchurch.org). I have the pleasure to entertain folks when all the while I also have the oppty to slide something of knowledge in the story itself. The key is to remember how I like to be motivated when listening to a other stories and then just do the same thing when it's my turn!
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Kimberly Devlin
6/18/2018 09:50:37 am
Yes, paying attention to others' stories (structure, length, motivators, and so on) is a powerful way to shape and mold your own story-telling skills and style. Thank you Yvette.
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Stephanie Martinez
6/18/2018 11:22:35 am
Unfortunately, I don't have much experience with storytelling. It is something that I would like to include more in our training programs, but I am unsure of how to do this in such a technical world we train in.
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Kimberly Devlin
6/18/2018 02:02:51 pm
My recommendation as a first step, Stephanie, is to start paying attention to the "stories" that are taking place in relation to the content of your technical world...you have to have stories to tell stories!
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9/21/2018 04:45:26 pm
Gonna be a little self serving here (as a former National Park Ranger) and say that park rangers are a wonderful source for great stories! They themselves come from eclectic educational backgrounds and they interact with people from all over the world who are visiting some of the places that inspire emotional and intellectual curiosity and intrigue in us already. The park rangers task to connect people to these places in a meaningful way often lends itself to the telling of stories that tie local places to more universal values. .
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Kimberly Devlin
9/24/2018 09:42:56 pm
It is all about connecting, isn't it Gerrard?
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Yasmine
9/26/2018 06:18:22 am
You listen when you can relate to the story.
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Kimberly Devlin
10/1/2018 04:05:08 pm
What a perfect story-opening sentence you started with!
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