Story and Narrative

"First, you should know that Christopher Vogler who generously wrote her FIVE-PAGE forward said that Gloria had created another heroes journey archetype, the Outlaw. How exciting is that! I related to this archetype for not only my hero, villain and other characters, but for many people I’ve known in life; one of my brothers, an ex-husband, two ex-business partners and more.  Understanding an outlaw mentality clarified some things for me that needed clarifying. Enough said."

"When we at KILN do Future-Tense Storytelling, we’re  using empathy to convert a dry concept into a story that comes from a possible future and shows us in the here-and-now why a concept might be worth developing.

Future-Tense Storytelling is a tool to win buy-in that invites decision-makers to think beyond the formal business plan or the existing archive of data. It drives conversations inside companies about what products and services to invent…and why. Developed fully, the story is bigger than the formal tools applied to organise action. Story isn’t just one component. Revenue projections, operational plans are like pages – the story is the book."

Thinking outside the box: Pointers for producing immersive storytelling online in ways which break the mould, based on the experiences of industry experts

 

Image Copyright: Thinkstock

"If nonprofits want to learn how to create content that both engages audiences and creates devoted supporters, we need look no further than the gold standard offered each day by public radio. Think about it: Radio producers can create stories that keep us in the car for “driveway moments” even when we’ve reached home, just so we can hear the ending.

Public radio has created legions of devotees who give money for something they can already get for free. At the same time, we’re in the middle of a renaissance of digital audio online and via mobile technology.

 

To take advantage of this exciting and pivotal moment, nonprofits should consider adding audio storytelling to your digital communications toolkit. Here’s why."

 

 

 

Photo courtesy of CubaGallery via Creative Commons 

"In the world of storytelling, words and numbers have a complicated relationship.

 

When I was an Americorps*VISTA volunteer at the Center for Digital Storytelling, I was privileged enough to bear witness to hundreds of stories. Sitting in that circle and listening to folks from all walks of life share of themselves and their experiences never got old and, when my time at CDS came to an end, I carried so many of those stories with me into the world."

"Once upon a time…."

 

"These words conjure images in our mind. We tell our children the story of the ‘boy who cried wolf’ to get over the message that if you lie, then eventually people won’t believe you when it is critical they do.

 

No matter what religion you follow, the holy books are filled with moral stories that attempt to shape your thinking and therefore your actions.

 

Never underestimate the power of a great story. However, in business we seem to underestimate its worth. Businesses tend to focus on processes and numbers, not stories and experiences. Over the years I have learnt the power of a story to get over messages to help organization's improve their Customer Experience. Many of my slides in a key note speech are just pictures to provide a visual element to the story I am telling. These stories provide a key message and challenge people’s status quo."

"For some time, marketers have been moving away from the traditional selling tactics of TV commercials. It is no longer enough to tell audiences that your product is great and that they should buy it. One of the buzzwords that characterises the shift away from pure selling is ‘storytelling’."

“Is the art of storytelling dead?” Garrison Keillor, the host for the 2013 Moth Ball in New York, said he was once asked this question by a fan.

"Storytelling takes many forms. In the past, stories were told orally, with people telling and retelling myths, fables and even histories. As writing technology became more prevalent, we began to record our stories, and we told them in the pages of books. Now, our society is awash in different devices and technologies, and those traditions of spoken stories and printed stories are blurring."

"Storytelling and theatre are different animals, though related both by virtue of being narrative arts, of being spoken performance arts, because they can sometimes take place in the same spaces, and because they draw on similar theoretical models."

This is a nice slideshare as a reminder to the power of storytelling for business Storytelling 101 from Sartaj Anand

"MTV teamed with volunteer platform Catchafire to put creative and social firepower behind a worthwhile, "tough sell" cause--the Center for Employment Opportunities, which offers comprehensive job services to people leaving prison."

Soo Meta redefines video storytelling by turning Storify-like content curation into great-looking video slideshows. The platform even allows producers to add polls and quizzes to their videos.

"We might have fewer characters to work with, but we still hunger for narrative. New mediums aren’t destroying fiction, they’re allowing us to innovate even more in how we create and consume our stories. Plus: an appearance by John Hodgman!"

Abrams has a great quote in the below video that I think is spot-on,

"...mystery is the catalyst for imagination."

"Exploring Your Life Story: A Workbook for Cultivating Joy and Growth Through Personal Storytelling."

It is no longer enough to tell audiences that your product is great and that they should buy it. One of the buzzwords that characterizes the shift away from pure selling is ‘storytelling.'

"The return to the visual was inevitable, really. Modern media demands it.

Communication as pictograms means we have come full circle — a return to a day when images provide the best way to satisfy the insatiable “need to know” while on the fly. We don’t catch our info while fleeing from woolly mammoths anymore. Instead, our big, hairy, audacious stressor is modern culture itself."

I've come to the conclusion that, as much as I love good comic art, it's good writing that keeps me coming back for more.

 

"It’s been said that when it comes to popular appeal of comics that “They come for the art, but stay for the stories.”

I love content creation tools that put wizard wands into the hands of Muggles. Instagram did this for photos, allowing mere mortals like me to create and share photos that were beautiful and expressive.

 

"...now Disney has created a branded tool called Story that allows any of us (well, anyone with an iPhone) to effortlessly tell and share annotated narratives."

"There’s a lot of buzz around the action of “storytelling.” It’s a trendy term.

 

Some marketers hijack storytelling as the art nouveau of their work. I suppose that’s fine, but it still rings generic.

 

Nurses, we live storytelling. Our work is storytelling. The intimacy in the care we provide is like a Bob Dylan song because storytelling doesn’t have to be the feel-good, inspire-the-world marketing scheme. It’s a lived life. Storytelling—good storytelling—encompasses the grit and the grime. It is the real, and yes, sometimes it is happy, but sometimes it’s about suffering and pain and a mixture of all those things."

 

[The Storyteller, photo by Steve Evans]