Storytelling!

How do you effectively communicate your message to a group who has not experienced what you have experienced?

Do you provide an overview, or a generalization? Do you talk about what might it feel if they were to experience what you experienced? Do you create a simulation of the conditions you faced and let them respond/cope?

We can do some or all of these. But what I have found significantly impactful is “story telling”.

I remember a few years back moving from the Audio-visual mode of presentation to the “story telling” method for interactions with groups of students. A person who had experienced the company, talked of his experiences. These were not generalizations but actual experiences that were spoken about. I remember the presenters being enthused about doing this, and I remember the audiences raving about what they had experienced.

Last year, we tried communicating the importance of e-learning through “street plays”. Till then we had struggled to find buy-in for our e-learning initiatives. We had used e-mails, e-mail advertisements, presentations in conferences, etc but to hardly any avail. But the street plays seemed to strike a chord with people. Suddenly the number of site visits, course enrolments and course completions jumped up.

I remember my Mathematics teacher in School (if I remember correctly his name was McDermott) used to tell us stories towards the end of the class and he used to have us in rapt attention – Omen was our most favourite story! (any memories ? J). I actually can still recollect visuals of he telling us his stories even though I don’t remember much of the Mathematics he taught us.

A common childhood memory we cherish is one of our significant parental figures (mother, father, grandfather, or grandmother) reciting stories to us. Can you visualize such instances from your past? How does it make you feel?

The “Storytelling” parts of the Appreciative enquiry discussions, we had last year around, impacted me the most. I remember neither the details of the session structure, nor the exact details of the stories of my teammates. But I do remember the feelings I was left with at the end of those conversations. I also retain a strong bond of friend ship with my teammates.

Over and over again, the power of storytelling shines forth!

What makes storytelling such a powerful mean to communicate? I wonder!

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Sourav