What exactly is storytelling? According to Norma J. Livo and Sandra A. Rietz, authors of Storytelling Process & Practice (1986), “Storytelling is an oral art form whose practice provides a means of preserving and transmitting images, ides, motivations, and emotions that are universal across human communities.” Storytelling has been used to captivate audiences throughout the ages. It's an art as old as mankind. Throughout history, stories have passed from generation to generation as a means of preserving a group's culture, heritage, history, and tradition. Stories teach a lesson as well as entertain. Stories are at the very heart of who we are as human beings. Relatives, teachers, corporate executives, politicians, entertainers, and religious leaders among many others use stories to enhance their presentations, make a point, teach a lesson, or explain what they do. Thus, storytelling is a powerful and very effective training technique.
Our first exposure to stories was as children listening to bedtime stories told by our parents. As we grew up, we continued to hear stories from teachers telling us about famous people in history, religious leaders teaching us valuable life lessons through Bible stories, and family members regaling us with stories of their own childhood adventures. Stories touch us in a way that no other medium can. Stories reach in and grab at the core of our existence. They help define who we are and what we believe. Storytelling works not because people learn from the story itself but because they related to a story of their own and can thus personalize the message and internalize the meaning. Stories involve the audience by enabling the listener to see images and feel emotions. Throughout the world, every culture has its own oral history. The ancient Greeks, Romans, Vikings as well as the American Indians are rich in folklore. Explore the world of ancient storytelling and you will discover the reasons the best trainers use stories so extensively and successfully in their sessions.
Storytelling is just as powerful, and perhaps even more so, today as it was a thousand years ago. Don Hewitt knew this when he created 60 Minutes. His motto and premise for the show was “Tell me a story.” He said during an interview that aired in August 2009, “Why don't others get this? The reason for my success was that all I did was tell stories every Sunday night. There's nothing magical about it.”
Storytelling in the learning environment is a powerful technique and can be used at any time during your training. Use it at the beginning to set the tone and establish a safe environment for your learners. You can use a story at any time throughout your training session to illustrate a point, help simplify complex points, and provide a basis for discussion. At the end of your course, use a story to illustrate and cement your key point or message.
More specifically, the following are the reasons you should incorporate stories into your training sessions, regardless of length:
Spend some time reading parables, fables, myths, and even fairy tales. Think about how you can use existing ones in your training sessions to reinforce your message. Better still, try your hand at making up your own tales to drive home a point.
New trainers, in particular, often ask, “Where do I get my stories?” The answer is simple: from your own life experiences.
I discovered the power of storytelling quite by accident. I never planned on telling stories—they just happened. I began using stories in my training sessions to illustrate or further explain my learning points. Several years ago, I began asking participants at the end of a session, “What did you like best about this program?” The response is always the same. Participants say they like two things: the activities and the stories. One day I decided to ask what they liked about the stories. As one participant put it, “They made the ideas and points come alive. We could really relate to your experiences.”
Storytelling engages the individual participants, allowing them to relate to or identify with the trainer's story. They have either had a similar experience or they are reminded of a similar situation that evoked the same thoughts, feelings, or reaction. Thus storytelling is a great way to address the affective learning domain. Storytelling forms a psychological bond with the audience because it describes a common human experience.
People love to hear real-life accounts of events. Such accounts make the session come alive and lend credibility to the training. For example, when I tell my “red suit” story (described Chapter 8) in sessions dealing with perception and nonverbal communication, participants will often remark at the end of the session that the story really made an impact. In fact, when I have encountered former participants months and even years after a session in which I told that story, they tell me they still remember my red suit story.
A good story doesn't just happen. It takes thought, planning, and structure. The following outlines the structure of a story.
For starters, you must identify the key learning or message you want to convey. Think about situations in which someone told a story, but after hearing it you wondered about its purpose and relevance to the topic. This is similar to having participants engage in an activity that does not go through the experiential learning cycle. If the activity is not processed or debriefed, participants are confused and may feel the activity was a waste of time. The same is true of a story.
The second thing you need to decide is what you want the participants to do (or think about) differently after hearing the story. This is a great way to tap into the affective learning domain. In a customer service program, you could tell the story of a bad experience you or someone else had as a customer as a way to trigger empathy in your participants.
Begin your story by describing the setting and situation in detail so the participants can actually visualize it. Where and when did the story take place? Include time of day, time of year, weather, location, and so forth. Also, address the what. What was the occasion?
The next thing you must do in creating the context is to introduce the characters. Give them names (real or fictional) and describe what they look like. How old are they? What are they wearing? What particular characteristics do they have? What are their personalities like?
After you have created the context, you can now start your story. Create interest and tension by introducing a complication, problem, obstacle, or conflict. Again, be specific and create the picture through your words. You want to make sure that the participants can identify with the situation.
Build to the high point, climax, or turning point of the story, the moment in which tension is high.
Next, show what was done to address the problem and how the character experiences a recognition, disclosure, or discovery. Also, show the results, that is, how the situation changed for the character.
Identify what you want the learners to take from the experience. Make your point and point out the lesson learned.
To illustrate this format, read the following story from my own experience and identify the various elements.
As mentioned earlier, you are the best source of stories. Our life experiences provide a wealth of stories from the humorous to the poignant. When we use stories from our own lives, the emotion is real, and that authenticity comes across to your audience. Some trainers will use stories from other sources, and that is perfectly fine. The Internet is a great resource. You simply search for your topic and story (“Leadership story”) and you will be rewarded with many examples.
To help you develop your own unique signature stories, begin keeping a journal. Capture your stories right after the events occur. Be as detailed as possible; you can always tighten it later. In addition to recording the events, note your (or others') reaction to the situation and jot down the message or learning point. I will even jot down possible topics where I think the story might fit. The same story, of course, can be used in different contexts as well as used to illustrate different points. To keep track of your stories and in what context you might use them, create a story matrix (Exhibit 14.1). List key words to identify each story down the left side and the topics you address in your various training situations across the top. Then review and analyze all the stories and determine for which topics they might be appropriate by placing checkmarks in the relevant columns.
Just like visual aids and activities, stories must be planned very carefully, taking into account factors such as the makeup of the audience, the occasion, type of business, and your purpose. Here are some tips to keep in mind:
It's not enough to have a great, well-crafted story. You have to be able to tell it well; otherwise, it can fail to meet its objective. Use the following tips and techniques for effectively delivering a story.
I use the networking story in several contexts, but the most frequent one is to make a point about the importance of networking as it relates to leadership and career development. I discuss the concept of networking with the group, and then I tell them I want to share a story with them about my own networking experience. At the end of the story, I ask them what they learned and how they can incorporate that learning into their own situations.
Use movement, facial expression, gestures, pauses, and volume changes. If you look once again at my networking story, you will notice my “stage directions” that I inserted to remind me to take a deep breath, move in the opposite direction, pretend to grab a glass, and so forth. Create dialogue and modify your voice to distinguish one character from another. I did exactly that when I told about the person saying, “How nice.” When I share the anecdote about the style differences between my husband and me, I lower my pitch, slow down my delivery, and change position so the group knows I am now portraying my husband.
Describe the setting and the characters in enough detail that your learners can picture them. In my networking story, I described the chilly April evening as well as the setting at the meeting venue.
Many storytellers go off track or digress. To avoid these mishaps, carefully craft your story and rehearse it.
Whether you are using stories in the classroom, e-learning, or blended learning environment, stories create effective and engaging experiences for your learners.
3.145.177.39