See a photo of Annie, her bio, Part 1 of this Q&A, and Part 2.

Q&A with Annie Hart, Questions 4 and 5:

Q: You are neuro-linguistic programming trainer. I’ve always felt NLP had some relationship to storytelling. How do the two areas overlap, in your view?

A: NLP has a lot of relationship to story. One of the most important connections is through Milton Erickson, MD. He is one of the main people from whom they modeled NLP. Milton Erickson was a Master Hypnotherapist. He spoke in story to create change in the unconscious mind because the unconscious has a metaphorical orientation already. The stories made it easy for the solution to go right in and endure over time. There are many famous stories about Erickson; he was quite a character. One of my own NLP mentors studied with him directly. He said that when they would go to see Milton he would just sit there and tell stories the whole time and they would think that absolutely nothing was happening. Then three weeks later their lives would change!

Milton Erickson truly knew the therapeutic use of story and since I am trained specifically in his work as well, I tend to use a similar structure for most of my stories. That way the message goes in really easily and people have a lot of fun while listening to my stories. One example of this is of an older woman was attended one of my storytellings. She called me the next day to tell me excitedly that she’d had a dream about love. This might not sound unusual but she was in her 80s, and apparently she hadn’t thought about this in a long time. But through the story something wonderful woke up in her unconscious. I love using story in all my work with clients.

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 am dedicated to spreading a new definition of storytelling that includes its deeper powers. My personal mission is to create a context in which story can be known and experienced as the force of change that it is. Stories change us individually, collectively and globally. Storytelling is no longer just a medium of entertainment but a context in which to live our lives and a tool for personal and global change. I want everyone to realize that our lives are built on story and that we can use stories to create a better world.