The debate was over what makes up a great story. The crowd filtered into the gym. They took their seats. Wedging themselves into the metal folding chairs that can turn your butt to stone in an instant. A small podium faced them On one side of the podium sat the traditionalists. Joseph Campbell, Keith Browning, […]
The Storyteller’s Promise
December 18, 2019 by Leave a Comment
A Manifesto by Rebecca Solnit. Edited (with apologies to the author) to fit the Art Of It style. Or lack there of. Stories surround us like air. We breathe them in. We breathe them out. The art of being fully conscious in life means seeing the stories and becoming their teller. And not letting them […]
How Movements Spread
December 3, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Once there was a little girl who loved yo-yos. Nancy loved the way they twirled. She loved the tricks they did. She loved the way she could control them with just a flick of her wrist. One Monday morning Another kid brought his yo-yo to school. To him it was just another toy. It was […]
How To Build A Storytelling Culture
September 18, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Natalia is a 15-year-old girl who lives in a small village in Mozambique. It is amazing how much of her life revolves around water. Waiting on water Each morning, after caring for her six brothers and sisters, she walks with pails to a riverbed miles away. When she get there she stands in line, waiting […]
Modern Movements, #MindTheDigits
May 15, 2019 by Leave a Comment
By Sam Stern Sam Stern is CEO of MagnifyGood, a communications consultancy that magnifies the good of social sector programs by improving the value of their communications efforts Creating change After the initial news of Harvey Weinstein’s longtime abusive practices spread across the globe, an innumerable amount of stories began piling up. For almost two months, the […]
Want To Lead A Movement? Start With A Story
April 16, 2019 by 1 Comment
Two children were born on the same day in Uganda. Two children grew up in the same Ugandan village. One boy One of those boys dropped out of school. He never learned to read. He ended up cutting sugarcane. He eventually struggled with alcohol abuse and parented many children out of wedlock. The other boy […]
What A Doughboy Knows That We Don’t
March 19, 2019 by Leave a Comment
It’s the beginning of a new semester. And Bob is at it again. Each semester, Bob shows a video to his international students. It’s this one. Behold the Doughboy effect “Does this make you hungry?” he asks them. They laugh nervously and answer, “No.” “Does this make you think of family or getting together […]
To The Truth Tellers
February 5, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Truth was naked and cold. Destitute. She had been turned away from every door in the village. Her nakedness frightened the people When Parable found her, she was huddled in a corner, shivering, and hungry. Taking pity on her, Parable gathered her up and took her home. There she dressed Truth in story, warmed her, […]
Visual Stories My Old Friend Tells Me
January 22, 2019 by Leave a Comment
We have met at least once a month for the last 22 years, my old friend and me. And every time I visit I see something I didn’t see before. Something new from my old friend to me. For 22 years Every time we’re together I feel inspired. That’s my old friend’s gift to me. […]
The “So, You’re A Storyteller?” Experience
May 30, 2018 by 1 Comment
Zeros in on what a real, emotionally compelling story is. Not what most storytellers think Then teaches your team how to structure stories that move people to action. All through lots of stories, examples, exercises, and a personal, interactive experience. Together we’ll cover Messages Don’t Work Anymore What’s A Story, Anyway? How To Shape A […]
