In the author's note of David Baldacci's Wish You Well he says "Oral histories are a dying art, which is sad indeed, for they show appropriate respect for the lives and experience for those who come before." The book is not his typical suspense novel but more a reflection of life in the early 40's in the harsh environment of the Virginia mountains. He "mined" his own family history for the story idea.
Obviously, for professional writer's family history can be a treasure trove of ideas but what about for the regular folk? Oral histories not only show respect for ancestors they ground younger generations giving them a sense of who they are. Society has become more mobile and it is not unusual for families to live thousands of miles apart seeing each other infrequently. Facebook and other online mechanisms have made staying in touch easier but it doesn't always make it easy to know where we came from, why our relatives act the way they do.
Not everyone has the means to investigate family history as they do on the show "Who Do You Think You Are". Every family does have the means to share stories of their lives. The history doesn't have to be about long ago relatives, although those would be great, your life and your parents lives can be the starting point for your children. The stories also don't have to be long and involved, snippets of life can be fun and easy to remember. Stories create a closeness.
Don't let oral histories die out, tell your family stories and listen to the stories of others in your family.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Why Write Stories Down?
I've recently done some work for couples documenting "How we met" and "How we got engaged". They are fun stories and generally are short, quick reads. In the process I've asked numerous people if they know how their parents met and very few people can tell me those stories although they are all interested to know. Several have headed off to ask their parents that question. I usually ask wouldn't it be nice if along with a wedding album a story was included on "How we met". Everyone agrees.
Then usually someone says, but now it is so easy you can have it recorded and copied to DVD just like all the wedding videos. Yeah, not like the wedding videos because if you were married in the early 80's and have a VHS tape you probably can no longer watch the video. Even early DVD technology has been replaced and not all DVD's will play in all players. Of course we now have blu-ray making inroads. Will you once again have to pay to have your video updated or will you never again look at that video?
That is the beauty of the written word, it will still be here 50 years from now. Sure the language changes a bit and book pages may yellow but if taken care of books will last a long, long time. This thought was running around in my head when I received an e-newsletter from a videographer. He was lamenting the latest update to Apple's Final Cut Pro. Apparently he installed it and now "8 years worth of projects can no longer be imported into Final Cut Pro X."
How frustrating. Maybe it makes more sense to hire a story writer for your wedding than it does to hire a videographer. Chapter 1 How We Met......
Then usually someone says, but now it is so easy you can have it recorded and copied to DVD just like all the wedding videos. Yeah, not like the wedding videos because if you were married in the early 80's and have a VHS tape you probably can no longer watch the video. Even early DVD technology has been replaced and not all DVD's will play in all players. Of course we now have blu-ray making inroads. Will you once again have to pay to have your video updated or will you never again look at that video?
That is the beauty of the written word, it will still be here 50 years from now. Sure the language changes a bit and book pages may yellow but if taken care of books will last a long, long time. This thought was running around in my head when I received an e-newsletter from a videographer. He was lamenting the latest update to Apple's Final Cut Pro. Apparently he installed it and now "8 years worth of projects can no longer be imported into Final Cut Pro X."
How frustrating. Maybe it makes more sense to hire a story writer for your wedding than it does to hire a videographer. Chapter 1 How We Met......
Friday, July 22, 2011
Business Storytelling: What if you can't write?
I just finished reading a blog post by Marie-Claire Ross titled "Corporate Story-telling Improves Company Performance." Ms Ross makes gives some excellent examples of how stories are used in business but it left me thinking about how much writing needs to be done. Stories come in many forms, prose and oral amongst other choices but not everyone is comfortable with all formats.
If a company supports writing great customer service stories are some stories missed because writing is too laborious for some? It is possible that some people do not have the skill necessary to write and therefore stories go untold. Likewise there might be some people who are not willing to tell a story in front of a group so staff meetings may not be the best place to capture stories either.
A company that offers its employees several options for sharing narrative will capture more. Allow employees to write, tell, use a scribe, dictate, create a song, the list could go on but you get the idea. One method does not fit all and the more freedom one has to express oneself the more likely it is that untold stories will be shared to the benefit of all.
If a company supports writing great customer service stories are some stories missed because writing is too laborious for some? It is possible that some people do not have the skill necessary to write and therefore stories go untold. Likewise there might be some people who are not willing to tell a story in front of a group so staff meetings may not be the best place to capture stories either.
A company that offers its employees several options for sharing narrative will capture more. Allow employees to write, tell, use a scribe, dictate, create a song, the list could go on but you get the idea. One method does not fit all and the more freedom one has to express oneself the more likely it is that untold stories will be shared to the benefit of all.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Business Stories: Lessons from Tell to Win
I've been reading Peter Guber's "Tell To Win" book and recommend it to anyone who needs to persuade others. That includes sales, marketing, pitching ideas, getting your spouse to agree to your vacation idea......
Not surprisingly he uses stories to illustrate all his points about the power of story in business. He also uses several examples which is nice and reinforces the fact that different stories speak to different people.
What I especially like is that he proves the point that stories do no need to be lengthy to be powerful. He tells some very short stories, which in business are usually the best.
Too frequently people feel you cannot tell a story in three lines, yes you can but you do need to craft it well. Peter masterfully summarizes movie length stories so the reader understands the references. These are full length movies he summarizes in just a few lines. When you read the book pay attention to what and how he condenses the plot to reinforce the point he is making. And I do recommend you read the book, there is nothing tedious about it, just great examples and directions on using stories purposefully and powerfully.
Not surprisingly he uses stories to illustrate all his points about the power of story in business. He also uses several examples which is nice and reinforces the fact that different stories speak to different people.
What I especially like is that he proves the point that stories do no need to be lengthy to be powerful. He tells some very short stories, which in business are usually the best.
Too frequently people feel you cannot tell a story in three lines, yes you can but you do need to craft it well. Peter masterfully summarizes movie length stories so the reader understands the references. These are full length movies he summarizes in just a few lines. When you read the book pay attention to what and how he condenses the plot to reinforce the point he is making. And I do recommend you read the book, there is nothing tedious about it, just great examples and directions on using stories purposefully and powerfully.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Business Stories: Capture an Audience
From the blog 53 Mind-Blowing, Psychology-Proven Facts You Should Know About Yourself I found the following post "People Process Information Best in Story Form". Short and informative, give it a read.
Suan Weinschenk, of course, starts with a story about when she first realized the power of telling a good story to engage a rather reluctant audience. She then gives tips on story structure and lists several motifs.
Her first motif listed is The Great Journey. I sat in a Donald Davis workshop when he said ALL stories are about the journey. When you look at the other motifs you can see that indeed they all involve a journey of some kind, physical, emotional, or intellectual. Stories are powerful because they show a transformation giving hope that we too can change, improve, survive.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/100-things-you-should-know-about-people-part-2#people-process-information-best-in-story-form-9#ixzz1LNy75aj4
http://read.bi/iImfCE
Suan Weinschenk, of course, starts with a story about when she first realized the power of telling a good story to engage a rather reluctant audience. She then gives tips on story structure and lists several motifs.
Her first motif listed is The Great Journey. I sat in a Donald Davis workshop when he said ALL stories are about the journey. When you look at the other motifs you can see that indeed they all involve a journey of some kind, physical, emotional, or intellectual. Stories are powerful because they show a transformation giving hope that we too can change, improve, survive.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/100-things-you-should-know-about-people-part-2#people-process-information-best-in-story-form-9#ixzz1LNy75aj4
http://read.bi/iImfCE
Monday, May 2, 2011
Business Stories: Stories in Leadership
President Obama was on the Oprah show. When Oprah asked him how he thought he was doing so far his answer included "Part of leadership is telling a story of where we are going." He said he understood that during the campaign and thinks he did a good job of telling a future story then but he has not been doing such a good job of telling the story since the election.
It doesn't matter whether you agree with his politics or not he gets the power of story for leaders. People want to follow someone who has an idea of where they are going, stories communicate that vision. Stories make it easy for people to see the possibilities of a future world and inspire them to work towards that goal. It is hard to feel inspired or passionate for a goal when you have no idea what that goal is. A well told story will ignite the passion.
If your organization is facing changes (which ones aren't?) then think about what your vision is for the changes and create a narrative to share with your staff so they see your vision in your story.
It doesn't matter whether you agree with his politics or not he gets the power of story for leaders. People want to follow someone who has an idea of where they are going, stories communicate that vision. Stories make it easy for people to see the possibilities of a future world and inspire them to work towards that goal. It is hard to feel inspired or passionate for a goal when you have no idea what that goal is. A well told story will ignite the passion.
If your organization is facing changes (which ones aren't?) then think about what your vision is for the changes and create a narrative to share with your staff so they see your vision in your story.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Business Stories: Fact of Fiction
I just finished reading an article in the Hartford Business Journal of April 4th. The title of the article, "Does your marketing program pass the test?" intrigued me. The opening line "All marketers are liars.", really intrigued me. As a Corporate Storyteller frequently I am asked about the truth in stories.
The thesaurus lists liar as a synonym for storyteller and according to this article by John Graham, marketers tell stories to make sales and therefore are liars. He ends the article with "In the end, we're all marketers and, therefore, all liars. At the same time, some of our stories have a clear ring of truth."
And that is what I try to convey to clients. The story should be as accurate as possible allowing for some poetic licensing to move the story along or complete the story structure, however, one cannot exaggerate the usefulness of the product or service in the story. That myth will be uncovered and since stories are powerful communication tools the intended affect of the story could have just the opposite effect.
Keep it truthful, if your product or service is good the story will carry that message for you.
The thesaurus lists liar as a synonym for storyteller and according to this article by John Graham, marketers tell stories to make sales and therefore are liars. He ends the article with "In the end, we're all marketers and, therefore, all liars. At the same time, some of our stories have a clear ring of truth."
And that is what I try to convey to clients. The story should be as accurate as possible allowing for some poetic licensing to move the story along or complete the story structure, however, one cannot exaggerate the usefulness of the product or service in the story. That myth will be uncovered and since stories are powerful communication tools the intended affect of the story could have just the opposite effect.
Keep it truthful, if your product or service is good the story will carry that message for you.
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