Most of you are probably reading the title and saying, "DUH! of course he is a storyteller, he's told some great stories." Recently a colleague sent me a note and in it he included a tidbit he heard while watching a TV special on the making of Jurassic Park. "Steven Spielberg is a passionate storyteller! When he gets together with family and friends, what he loves to do most is tell stories, especially ghost stories! People do say he is quite good."
I believe being able to tell an oral story is the first step in the process of using stories for entertainment (movies, books, music) and for marketing (testimonials, sales etc.) Practice this holiday season by telling stories when the family gets together. You may never produce a blockbuster as big as Jurassic Park but your stories can help your business grow.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Business Storytelling: Interview Stories
I just read a great article by Michael Neece, CEO, InterviewMastery.com on the use of stories during the interview process. He gives a lot of the same advice I would give and he does it in a very organized way so that it is easy to follow. The piece that I loved is what he added to the end of his story format, tell them what you learned. That is a critical piece that I had never thought to add. It makes great sense, you explain the whole process and then like Aesop you give the moral. Nice, Michael thank you.
If you would like to read the whole article (if you are job hunting I think you should) the article title is Telling Structured Stories, here is the link:
http://www.net-temps.com/careerdev/career-tools/career-advice.html
If you would like to read the whole article (if you are job hunting I think you should) the article title is Telling Structured Stories, here is the link:
http://www.net-temps.com/careerdev/career-tools/career-advice.html
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Business Storytelling: The Importance of Repeating
Someone sent me the following quote from Henry David Thoreau. She was using it as a helper for people to change. Which of course it does support. I of course read it and thought, that is the power of the story!
"As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives."
The thoughts we tell ourselves are like little stories. We also tend to repeat the same stories over and over. We tell them to children to help entertain but also to teach lessons. We need the repeat reminders even if we don't think we are telling the stories to learn anything; we are learning.
Make sure the stories you tell over and over are positive, learning stories.
"As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives."
The thoughts we tell ourselves are like little stories. We also tend to repeat the same stories over and over. We tell them to children to help entertain but also to teach lessons. We need the repeat reminders even if we don't think we are telling the stories to learn anything; we are learning.
Make sure the stories you tell over and over are positive, learning stories.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Business Storytelling: The Weston Woods Story
Weston Woods, what an amazing place. A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to tour the old studio sites of Weston Woods in Weston Connecticut. Weston Woods is an animation company that was ahead of its time back in the 50's and 60's. They developed a way of animation, different from the traditional cartoons of action one cell at at time.
I can't say I was familiar with Weston Woods but once I got to the property I realized that as a youngster I was the beneficiary of the creative genius behind the studio. The first projects were taking well known children's books and animating them for movies. Their idea was to use the pictures from the book and use the actual text. They produced many of these shorts for Captain Kangaroo. As a devoted fan of the Captain I vaguely remember these movies that were shown.
It was fascinating to hear the story behind the animation. Morton Schindel, the founder, was there to give us his unique perspective. We also had the current president of Weston Woods on the tour. Overall, a wonderful experience into a different type of story.
They are trying to get the old property where the original studios are housed approved as a museum. There are some zoning issues. My hope is that they can overcame these obstacles and everyone can enjoy the behind the scenes story of Weston Woods.
I can't say I was familiar with Weston Woods but once I got to the property I realized that as a youngster I was the beneficiary of the creative genius behind the studio. The first projects were taking well known children's books and animating them for movies. Their idea was to use the pictures from the book and use the actual text. They produced many of these shorts for Captain Kangaroo. As a devoted fan of the Captain I vaguely remember these movies that were shown.
It was fascinating to hear the story behind the animation. Morton Schindel, the founder, was there to give us his unique perspective. We also had the current president of Weston Woods on the tour. Overall, a wonderful experience into a different type of story.
They are trying to get the old property where the original studios are housed approved as a museum. There are some zoning issues. My hope is that they can overcame these obstacles and everyone can enjoy the behind the scenes story of Weston Woods.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Business Storytelling: New Forms of Communications
I just received a newsletter from a speaker colleague. She was announcing her debut on YouTube. It seems she attended an all-day event with celebrity speakers and then ended the evening by watching President Obama deliver his health care reform speech.
As a speech, body language, voice expert she normally would have written up a description of what she observed. However, this time she was encouraged by another colleague to put her comments on video. The reasoning from the other colleague is that we are about to experience another major shift in communication styles and videos will play a key part in the revolution.
She may be right, she may be wrong, but what I thought about as I watched the video, as opposed to reading about the speeches, was how history repeats itself. It made me wonder if in a couple centuries we are a world without the written word? Will all our lessons and history be passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth? Will Storytellers once again be revered members of society instead of viewed as children's entertainers? Who knows for sure.
What I do know is that the ability to communicate orally is once again becoming important. Learning to tell great stories is no longer just for entertainers, if you want your message remembered wrap it in story.
As a speech, body language, voice expert she normally would have written up a description of what she observed. However, this time she was encouraged by another colleague to put her comments on video. The reasoning from the other colleague is that we are about to experience another major shift in communication styles and videos will play a key part in the revolution.
She may be right, she may be wrong, but what I thought about as I watched the video, as opposed to reading about the speeches, was how history repeats itself. It made me wonder if in a couple centuries we are a world without the written word? Will all our lessons and history be passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth? Will Storytellers once again be revered members of society instead of viewed as children's entertainers? Who knows for sure.
What I do know is that the ability to communicate orally is once again becoming important. Learning to tell great stories is no longer just for entertainers, if you want your message remembered wrap it in story.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Business Storytelling: Networking with Stories
This past Thursday I attended a networking meeting. There were many familiar faces there but some new "commercials". One that impressed me was an insurance man who normally stands and gives the run down of services and products, very standard.
This week he started by saying that he wanted to share a couple of stories of customers that he helped this past week. He was engaging and informative as we all learned a bit more about the kinds of coverage he delivers and his commitment to servicing his clients. We talked briefly afterwards and I said how much I enjoyed his stories.
He was appreciative saying he had never tried anything like that before but that several people approached him to tell him what a great introduction he had. He thought he may have included a few too many stories and he may be right but he is on the right track by using stories. He received immediate feedback to just how powerful of a technique storytelling is in business.
So what's your 30 second story?
This week he started by saying that he wanted to share a couple of stories of customers that he helped this past week. He was engaging and informative as we all learned a bit more about the kinds of coverage he delivers and his commitment to servicing his clients. We talked briefly afterwards and I said how much I enjoyed his stories.
He was appreciative saying he had never tried anything like that before but that several people approached him to tell him what a great introduction he had. He thought he may have included a few too many stories and he may be right but he is on the right track by using stories. He received immediate feedback to just how powerful of a technique storytelling is in business.
So what's your 30 second story?
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