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Further
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Is AOL Spam Reporting Banning Your Site? - Martin Lemieux
As I read the awful truth of the nature of aol's new spam reporting from their 9.0 version, I left with a knot within my stomach. Have they gone too far? Last week I received a message from my hosting company notifying me that AOL has just...
To Outsource or Not to Outsource - Valerie Swisher
In these days of restricted head count and tight budgets, the question of whether to outsource or hire in-house staff is more critical than ever. The technical publications function, however vital, is undergoing more scrutiny and also facing...
What an Episode of the Original Star Trek Taught Me - Kori Puckett
Have you ever seen the Star Trek episode "The City on the Edge of Forever"? If you haven't: Commander McCoy accidentally makes himself delirious, beams down to a nearby planet, goes through a portal back in time to the 1930s, and changes history...
Small Business Q & A: Don't Fall For The Latest Internet Identity Theft Scam - Tim Knox
Q: I use PayPal to accept credit cards for my online collectibles business. I recently received an email that my PayPal account was going to expire in five days if I didn't click a link in the email and give them my PayPal account information. Being...
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Storytelling for Fun and Profit
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Written By:
Alvah Parker
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Storytelling for Fun and Profit
Storytelling - It’s a hot topic these days. What do I mean by storytelling? One website says that it is “a narrative account of a real or imagined event or events” That same website (http://www.eldrbarry.net/roos/st_defn.htm) says “Stories connect us with our humanness and link past, present, and future by teaching us to anticipate the possible consequences of our actions.”
Once a month I read to a local first grade. The children get very excited when they see me because they know we will spend a wonderful hour together using our imaginations. We do that by looking at the pictures in the book and then making up a story to go with them. Sometimes I stop in the middle of the story and ask them what they think is going to happen. When I read the poem Casey at the Bat, they preferred their ending with Casey hitting a home run!
Aside from its entertainment value stories help us to connect to others. There is a certain amount of shared intimacy when one person shares a story with another. In addition to that some stories help a person to learn something new. Business leaders are just beginning to see storytelling as a way to deal with change. It can be used to produce a practical outcome that changes an individual, a community and/or an organization.
A story is told about a student and his master. Everyday the student spent learning from his master. The student noticed that the master always taught him through stories so one day he asked the master if it wouldn’t be faster if the master taught him directly. The master responded by asking the student to bring him some water. The student thought this response was odd but dutifully got a pot and filled it with water for his master. Seeing the pot of water, the master asked the student why he brought him the pot when all he asked for was water.
To me that story says so much more than a direct answer and that is just the point of the story, isn’t it?
How does one gain the insight necessary to find just the right story? I always envy musicians and actors in their ability to improvise. A jazz musician for example can pick up the melody and improvise wonderful variations. Actors in the same way can get the barest of facts and then create a monologue or dialogue right in the moment. To me improvisation is amazing! I am in awe of those who do it.
Creating something in the moment is a skill to cultivate if one wants to use the art of storytelling effectively. As a - continued below ...
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child I remember that at camp we used to sit in a circle and the counselor would start a story. In the middle of the story (sometimes in mid-sentence) she would stop and the person beside her would continue the story. Each person in the circle would add to the story until the last person got to end the story. I haven’t done that in years but what a great exercise to flex the storytelling muscle!
Recently I listened to a wonderful interview between Dovid Grossman (www.DovidGrossman.com) and Jack Canfield (www.JackCanfield.com). Both men had stories to share and the conversation went back and forth very much like a dance. One way to learn to tell a good story is to listen to great storytellers.
I’m planning to hone my storytelling skills by participating in a teleclass called The Hero’s Journey for Parents with Dovid Grossman, a rabbi, youth leader and father of nine children and Christopher Vogler, author of The Writer’s Journey. What child doesn’t like to hear stories about his/her growing up years! My grandchildren at 2 and 5 already love to hear about what they did as babies. For more information on the program go to www.HerosJourneyForParents.com.
Whether you are a business leader, a parent, or a student, connecting with others and learning through a powerful story can be rewarding and fun. Learning the art of storytelling is a skill we all will need to develop in the 21st century.
About Alvah Parker
Alvah Parker is a Business and Career Coach as well as publisher of Parker’s Points, an email tip list and Road to Success, an ezine. Parker’s Value Program© enables her clients to find their own way to work that is more fulfilling and profitable. Her clients are managers, business owners, sole practioners, attorneys and people in transition. Alvah is found on the web at www.asparker.com. She may also be reached at 781-598-0388.
About the Author
About Alvah Parker
Alvah Parker is a Business and Career Coach as well as publisher of Parker’s Points, an email tip list and Road to Success, an ezine. Parker’s Value Program© enables her clients to find their own way to work that is more fulfilling and profitable. Her clients are managers, business owners, sole practioners, attorneys and people in transition. Alvah is found on the web at www.asparker.com. She may also be reached at 781-598-0388.
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Were You Bamboozled by Google? - Diane Hughes
It's still happening. "Florida," "Boston," "Ginger," and "Brandy" are just a few of the many Google updates that have hit within the last few months. And Google is still issuing periodic updates as we speak. No one can say for sure whats going on...
Empower It Forward - yudha
Empower It Forward ---------------------------------------- Now here's a suggestion for using this Pay It Forward action plan to start or expand your Empowerism business: Invite people to take a look at your Empowerism website and then: -give...
What's the Secret to Repeat Business? - Diane Hughes
When you think about ways to gain repeat business from your customers, you probably turn your thoughts to marketing efforts such as advertising, public relations and other means that will allow you to repeatedly be seen. However, without one...
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