See a photo of Sean, his bio, and Part 1 of this Q&A.

Q&A with Sean Buvala, Questions 2 and 3:

Q: How important is it to you and your work to function within the framework of a particular definition of “story?” (i.e., What is a story?) What definition do you espouse?

A: I think that definition of storytelling is critical for it is within the lines of definition we get the most freedoms. I have worked for some time with the following definition. “Storytelling is the intentional sharing of a narrative in words and actions for the benefit of both the listener and the teller.”

Just quickly, “intentional” means that not everything we do is storytelling. Storytelling is a planned activity and process. “Narrative” means what is being talked about has a beginning, middle, and end. “Sharing” means that there is an audience in front of the teller which can be one person or thousands. “Benefit” means both the listener and the teller leave the sharing of story as a changed person. Even after telling some stories for decades, I still hear new ideas from even my oldest stories. Usually, what comes as new to me is when the listener tells me what they hear. I am not a fan of giving the morals to stories. I would rather the audience work that out with me instead of being told what to think.

That is a rather quick take on my definition of storytelling. We usually go rather in depth in our workshops on this definition so the audience can add to or take away as they need.

Q: The culture is abuzz about Web 2.0 and social media. To what extent do you participate in social media (such as through LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Second Life, blogs, etc.)? To what extent and in what ways do you feel these venues are storytelling media?

A: I like Twitter (and I have the fun ID of @storyteller) for the immediacy of having some very smart people sending bits and pieces of wisdom and fun my way. I enjoy podcasting as a way to let people think about ideas. Although audio stories in podcasts in themselves are not storytelling, recorded pieces do open the door to live interaction. I have had some fun with YouTube, most recently making a video-podcast of our “gestures” training. Storyteller.net embraced technology and storytelling very early on. I love seeing what’s next in the tech world since I am one of the “early adopters” we keep hearing about.