When I read the following quote by Peter Guber in an article called “Four Truths of the Storyteller” in Harvard Business Review, I immediately thought of my mother:
… many people assume that storytelling is somehow in conflict with authenticity. The great storyteller, in this view, is a spinner of yarns that amuse without being rooted in truth.
Similarly, Casey Quinlan of Mighty Casey Media Mighty Mouth Blog writes here:
The word “story” and the word “lie” — or, less in-your-face, “prevaricate” — are often thought to be synonymous. They often ARE synonymous.
These thoughts reminded me of trying to explain my dissertation topic to my mother. “Storytelling in the job search” was the shorthand I used to describe the complex document. “What do you mean, storytelling — you mean making things up, telling fibs?” She could not grasp that storytelling could be anything but inauthentic. Clearly my mother is the kind of story skeptic to which Guber refers.
How odd a worldview when story can so beautifully convey a person’s authenticity.
Wally Lamb writes in an article in O magazine (about teaching women in prison to write autobiographically): “Your uniqueness- - your authenticity — is your strength.”
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How fascinating that your mother takes such a narrow view of storytelling and truth. When did this shift in meaning occur? Throughout the history of mankind, "stories" have been used to convey Truth and history, whether by sagas, legends or myths. Perhaps it's only in the last century or few that concern for accuracy of facts has surfaced, as our ability to keep precise records has improved.
Thanks for the shoutout - my only quibble is that my blog quote is truncated.
I say, clearly, further down the page -
Here's a revolutionary idea: tell the truth. It will set you, and your customers, free.
I'm all about, and ONLY about, authenticity in storytelling. Particularly in the part of the forest where I work: business storytelling. A great story is a wonderful thing. A great AUTHENTIC story is the ticket to business success.
Lie, and you'll be pilloried.
Casey Quinlan
Mighty Mouth
Mighty Casey Media
Thanks, Casey, and didn't mean to suggest you don't support authenticity in storytelling. Just wanted to point out that to some people (like my mother), storytelling is kind of the opposite of authenticity. The quote I pulled out of your blog encapsulates my mother's view perfectly; thank you for elaborating on the rest of your entry and clarifying your viewpoint.