See a photo of Lisa, her bio, Part 1 of this Q&A, Part 2, and Part 3, and Part 4.

Lisa is repeating the teleseminar, “Success Story Secrets,” that she presented earlier this week, offering a chance for coaches to learn all about how to attract clients, build business and increase confidence by finding their success story!

It will be TOMORROW, Saturday, May 1 at 4 pm Eastern.

Click here to reserve your spot now on this complimentary call.

Q&A with Lisa Bloom, Question 5:

Q: What people or entities (such as Web sites, blogs, books, organizations, conferences, etc.) have been most influential to you in your story work and why?

There have been lots of influences in my life and work in relation to story.

• My parents told stories at home all the time and always encouraged me to tell my stories.
• My father’s wonderful friend, a Catholic priest, who used to read me bible stories, and later guided me in my own personal soul searching in relation to faith and the meaning in life. He is one of my first storytellers!
• Annette Simmons’ books: I love the way she writes and her books are jam packed with story wisdom. There are other authors and story practitioners that I am grateful to as well; Steve Denning, Sue Jennings, Jack Maguire, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Allison Cox, to name but a few!
• Doug Lipman’s very wise and generous story guidance is a reference I go back to again and again to make sure my story delivery is right on the mark.
• The Moth.Org is a site that I visit regularly to hear and be inspired by very natural and entertaining personal storytelling.
• Byron Katie is a great inspiration to me in terms of examining your story in order to look at the reality you have created.
• The International Coach Academy has been a great support to me in my Story Coaching journey. They love storytelling and have encouraged me along the way in creating my programs for coaches.
• The International Coach Federation has supported me in accrediting my program “Cinderella and the Coach — the Power of Storytelling for Coaching Success!” and I will be participating in Virtual Education and Local Chapter programs in the next few months.
• And I must not forget TED.com that is a constant source of inspiration and awe!

[Pictured below: Top row, from left: Bible stories, Annette Simmons, Doug Lipman, The Moth; Bottom row: Byron Katie, International Coach Academy, International Coach Federation, TED.]

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

See a photo of Lisa, her bio, Part 1 of this Q&A, Part 2, and Part 3.

Lisa is repeating the teleseminar, “Success Story Secrets,” that she presented earlier this week, offering a chance for coaches to learn all about how to attract clients, build business and increase confidence by finding their success story!

It will be Saturday, May 1 at 4pm Eastern.

Click here to reserve your spot now on this complimentary call.

Q&A with Lisa Bloom, Question 4:

Q: You grew up in Israel, traveled to many other places globally, and returned to Israel. What cultural differences have to observed in the ways stories are told, used, and regarded around the world?

A: Actually, I grew up in Ireland and moved to Israel when I was 18. I spent the next 10 years in Israel, more or less, aside from about three years in the middle where I traveled extensively. Then, returned to Ireland for an additional seven years before setting up home here in Israel (again!).

I’m always fascinated how the same stories show up in many cultures. I told a traditional Irish story about two horses at a Storytelling Evening in Jerusalem. The host thanked me and then said that he tells the very same story about two donkeys in Jerusalem! This is not an unusual occurrence; it seems to be quite universal.

My experience is that the power of story and storytelling is universal. People love to hear stories and it connects them to a place of long ago, a time when society valued the storyteller more. I think that this sense of value of the power of stories and the important role of the storyteller has been somewhat lost in modern western world cultures. But, as we discussed earlier, there is a return to these values.

The Irish storytelling culture is very strong historically. However, it has been negatively affected by the economic boom in Ireland and the breakdown of the family and community. While there are less frequent gatherings of extended families or community, there is less opportunity to create the storytelling environment that was so rooted in Irish History. Nowadays, there is certainly a revival and I believe a strong emerging storytelling community. Similarly, the Jewish culture has traditionally cultivated stories and storytelling as a way to preserve history and values. This has somewhat broken down in modern society but where the traditions are practised, the stories thrive. Again, Israel is experiencing a revival of storytelling as an art form and there are more traditional storytellers here than ever!

In conclusion, my personal experience has not led me to see great differences in cultural attitudes to storytelling. Perhaps if I were comparing Africa or India to America, there would be more obvious cultural differences. I believe that storytelling is rooted in every culture and every place; and thankfully, it is being nurtured back to life as practitioners all over the world rediscover the almost lost culture and art of storytelling.

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

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

Q&A with Lisa Bloom, Question 3:

Q: The storytelling movement seems to be growing explosively. Why now? What is it about this moment in human history and culture that makes storytelling so resonant with so many people right now?

A: I believe that there are several reasons for the explosive growth of storytelling. Here are the ones that I feel are most relevant:

Community: There has been a breakdown of traditional communities in most cultures. As a result, not only are people isolated socially, they are also lacking the access to the traditional lessons that were taught through community interaction. They have less opportunity to understand value systems that traditionally were taught through communities. Storytelling brings back that sense of community, values and a context in which they can be practiced. The stories communicate how people used to live and the lessons that were taught in the community setting. t is an access to the way the world used to be and the way people lived in that world; and it is welcomed by so many isolated individuals that crave the warmth, safety and clarity of values that a community can offer.

Technology: Nowadays, we are inundated with technology; and this allows us vast amounts of information that need to be deciphered and choices that need to be made. This unlimited supply of information becomes very confusing and quite overwhelming. As a result people have begun to crave the simplicity of the story. The simple story brings us back to a place of comfort (sometimes as a reminder of childhood) where things were clear. The choices are limited, the world within the story is familiar and predictable and the overall experience is safe and comforting.

What is interesting is that technology has also become a storytelling tool; so it is both the source of confusion and isolation while delivering the remedy to this problem through digital and technology enhanced story experiences.

The “Trust” Issue: Over the last few years, there has been major breaches of public trust, particularly in the area of personal finances, general economic solidity and the church. When your life long savings suddenly become worthless because someone else has been greedy and untruthful; when the nation’s financial institutions are threatening to collapse; when the church’s leading figures are accused of causing unspeakable harm to helpless community members (particularly children), you’ve got to wonder who you can trust. In this light of this major trust issue, the person who tells a story that you can believe in goes a long way to repairing faith and trust. I believe that as a result of these major breaches in trust, people crave stories that they can hear and instinctively believe in. When we don’t know who to trust, it is a relief to “believe” someone’s story; this is one of the main reasons that storytelling resonates so much for people at this present time in history.

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

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

Lisa is presenting a teleseminar, “Success Story Secrets,” TODAY, April 27 at 2 pm Eastern, offering a chance for coaches to learn all about how to attract clients, build business and increase confidence by finding their success story!

Click here to reserve your spot now on this complimentary call.

Q&A with Lisa Bloom, Question 2:

Q: How did you initially become involved with story/storytelling/narrative? What attracted you to this field? What do you love about it?

A: I have been telling stories my whole life, it’s a part of who I am! I think that with my Irish and Jewish upbringing, it was kind of inevitable! I discovered storytelling professionally when I was a training and development manager and found that the more stories I told, the more my training courses were successful. People responded to stories in an entirely different way than when I simply “taught” the material of the courses. So, I started to use stories more and more and found that the participants were so much more engaged and retained the material much better. I moved to coaching after I had young kids and wanted a home-based, self-run business. As I attained my professional coaching qualification, I wrote a research paper on the connection between storytelling and coaching and then I realised how incredibly interwoven the two fields are. So, as I developed my coaching practice, I started to see areas where other coaches could benefit from my use of storytelling.

I love telling stories. And I love to hear a good story told (or a story told well!). I believe that everyone has a story and that’s part of what fascinates me about story coaching. To be able to hear people’s stories, and help them tell their stories in an authentic and heartfelt way is an honor. It’s also incredibly empowering for my clients to understand how narrative is an integral part of how we define our lives, and for them to begin to create new stories. It’s true what they say, that when you find what you love and can make a living from it, you never have to work another day in your life! That’s how I feel about story coaching.

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

I’ve been aware of Lisa for quite a while and mentioned her in a roundup of coaches who use story. She made wonderful contributions to the teleseminar I led last fall on why storytelling is getting so much attention now. I’m thrilled to present her Q&A, which will run for the next five days.

Bio: Lisa Bloom is a highly professional and accomplished Storyteller, Training and Development Specialist and Professional Certified Coach (ICF) with more than 20 years experience working in public and private sectors, high-tech and financial services environments. Lisa has excellent capability in needs analysis, program development and delivery, and project management. She has proven ability in increasing organizational effectiveness through consulting, coaching, and learning and development skills. And she can spin a great yarn!

The real magic, however, has been in combining Lisa’s greatest passions, experience and skills to create Story Coach.

Lisa is presenting a teleseminar, “Success Story Secrets,” Tuesday, April 27 at 2 pm Eastern, offering a chance for coaches to learn all about how to attract clients, build business and increase confidence by finding their success story!

Click here to reserve your spot now on this complimentary call.

Q&A with Lisa Bloom, Question 1:

Q: One thing that distinguishes you from other coaches who use storytelling in their practices is that you offer training to coaches in your techniques. Can you talk a bit about some highlights of training other coaches, as well as how you came up with the “Cinderella and the Coach” metaphor?

A: I love showing coaches how to use storytelling because it’s so instinctive for so many people, it’s like pointing out the obvious, the metaphor that lives in each client and each coach. What I mean is that I believe that we are all storytellers, in that we all tell our life stories all the time. We ‘tell’ how we got to work this morning, where we ate dinner last night and how we feel about Aunt Bertha coming to visit next week! We constantly tell our lives to the people around us. And the telling is completely subjective; we chose the words, we chose the narrative in every way. It’s like two siblings growing up in the same house, they tell a completely different story of their childhoods. What this means is that if we examine our stories, really look closely at what we choose to tell, we can determine whether our stories serve us well or whether they actually create the problems in our lives. So, our stories define our reality. As we examine this reality, we can make changes that help create amazing transformations in life.

Now clearly there are issues and incidents in life that we cannot change. But so often our suffering comes from the way we interpret and live with these unchangeable incidents. Coaching helps us find the tools and resources to change what we can and live better with what we cannot change. Story coaching helps us discover and tell the stories that create the new reality.

What I love about training other coaches is that, as a group, they are a very self-enlightened bunch! Coaches are personal development junkies! So working with them is a treat; their outlook is positive, they believe in the power of change and transformation, they are curious about other people and passionate about helping others achieve more fulfilling lives. Usually coaches love stories! Listening to stories is so much a part of our work, so when I give other coaches the tools and skill-set to really understand storytelling and how powerful it is in the coaching context, it helps their business and life thrive. There is no greater honor or joy for me!

The name, “Cinderella and the Coach — the Power of Storytelling for Coaching Success!” is a play on words (of course) but also immediately focuses on the power of the stories we live with. Everyone knows the Cinderella story, so there is an immediately connection. t is a story of transformation, and story coaching is intensely transformative so it fits the title!

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

I was instantly attracted to Judy Mandel’s memoir, Replacement Child. Mandel’s sister, Donna, whom she never knew, was killed when a plane crashed into her family’s home. Mandel was envisioned as Donna’s replacement. Here’s more description:

A plane crash — the impossible choice a mother must make — the death of a child — leave a hole in the family that threatens to tear it apart. In a great act of hope, the parents give birth to a “replacement child,” born to heal wounds and provide a “salve for the burns.” The child unwittingly plays her role throughout childhood, riding the deep and hidden currents of the family tragedy. Years later, as an adult, she discovers the truth of her family’s life-changing event and the complex layers of her own relationships with her father, mother, and sister.

The description of the book speaks to me because I, too, was a replacement child. My sister Betsy (pictured), born 59 years ago today, was killed about a month before her second birthday when a car driven by my parents’ landlady backed over her, crushing her skull.

I was born 364 days after her death.

Of course, my situation was somewhat different from Mandel’s. Her sister was 7 when she was killed, and thus had a much more fully formed personality than Betsy did at age 23 months. Mandel had a much bigger job as replacement child for her sister. All I really had to do was be born a girl. During three out of my mother’s four pregnancies, my parents hoped for a boy. But they hoped I would be a girl to replace Betsy.

As soon as I learned of my departed sister’s existence, I was far less consumed with replacing her than with longing for her presence in my life as my big sister. I grew up feeling I was meant to have, not be, a big sister. My role — or perhaps the role I tried to fit into — was reflected in the imaginative games my sisters and I played as children (my parents never did get their wished-for boy); my younger sister Robin would always play the mother when we played “house,” while I played the big sister. I used to pray for Betsy to return to life — for just one day — so I could have a big sister. Later as a teenager, I ached for a big sister who could show me the ropes of things like applying to colleges.

The Encyclopedia of Death and Dying cites Replacement Children as a fairly common phenomenon:

When a child is born into a family that has suffered such a loss, there is concern that the new child might be compromised in his or her development. Such a baby is often described as a “replacement child,” a substitute or replacement for the child who died. This baby is thought to be at risk for later psychological difficulties because of an inability to form an identity separate from the dead child.

I’m guessing (not having read her memoir) that this difficulty in forming a separate identity may have been an issue for Mandel, but it was much less so for me because Betsy’s identity was still so unformed.

Research has been conducted on replacement children, such as the work done by Leslie A. Grout and Bronna D. Romanoff that took the form of a

qualitative interview study [that] examines the family stories told by bereaved parents, with particular attention to how parents represent the dead child and subsequent children in the current family structure. We categorized parents’ stories as those which suggested that parents replaced the loss by an emphasis on parenting subsequent children, or maintained a connection to the dead child through storytelling and ritual behavior. The two ways in which parents maintained the connection were to preserve the space in the family that the dead child would have inhabited, or to create an on-going relationship with the dead child for themselves and their subsequent children.

I would suggest that my parents did both. They preserved Betsy’s space with me, but they also created an on-going relationship with the dead child for themselves and their subsequent children; in our nightly prayers before bed, we would always say, “And God bless Betsy up in heaven.”

What “replacement child” stories do you know? Are you a replacement child?

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

What kind of story could you tell about yourself based on the contents of your pocket, backpack, handbag, or wallet?

That’s the question that the Pocketology Field Research Unit explores on Stories You Haven’t Heard. (Carol McLeod made me aware of pocketology). Here’s how the site describes pocketology:

Pocketology, the study of pockets, is an exploration of how objects we interact with on a daily basis help form the story of our lives. The objects we accumulate in our daily experience become the puzzle pieces of our days; the evidence of how we live life as individuals in the context of larger communities. … Stories You Haven’t Heard [the official blog of the Portrait Gallery of Pocketology] is a place to tell and read about the parts of life that happen while we are busy making other plans. Excavating items we find in our pockets or backpacks (handbags, wallets, etc) we evaluate the origins of these often overlooked artifacts and honour stories that contribute to the larger picture of our daily lives. … All those who feel inspired are invited to dig into coat pockets and old wallets. Discover these artifacts and share your stories with the Pocketology community.

The site then invites visitors to email pocket stories, ideally with photos of the artifacts found in the storyteller’s pocket (or similar container).

I’m glad the site mentions backpacks, handbags, and wallets; otherwise, pocketology would be biased toward men. One of my pet peeves has always been that women’s clothing doesn’t have enough pockets. You can see some sample pocket stories on the site.

My second discovery is perhaps less of an approach than a tool for transcribing oral history. It’s a free software application called Stories Matter (v.1.5.1), described as a “database tool: a new media alternative to oral history transcription” that addresses this issue: “In transcribing our interviews, we lose the orality almost immediately thus shoring the narratives of much of their meaning.”

The folks at the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling, developed the tool that allows oral historians “to clip, index and export audio and video recordings — and so it represents a real alternative to transcription.” The developers at Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling have been using Stories Matter extensively for the past six months and are in the process of building a large database for their Life Stories project, “which is interviewing survivors of war, genocide and other human rights abuses.”

I wish I could have downloaded Stories Matter and used it or at least taken a better look at it. The application uses Adobe AIR, and my computer got caught in an endless loop of trying to install AIR, to the point where I couldn’t open any of my applications (a memory issue perhaps?). I’d be interested in hearing if and how any readers are using it. You can get some sense of what the app is like by clicking on the small screenshot image below, which will take you a larger version of the image:

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

See a photo of Kim, her bio, Part 1 of this Q&A, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

Q&A with Kim Pearson, Question 5:

Q: If you could share just one piece of advice or wisdom about story/storytelling/narrative with readers, what would it be?

A: I put a sticky note on my computer which says “It’s not about you.” Even if you are telling your own life story, it’s still not about you. It’s about your readers or your listeners. Stories come through you, not from you.

If you write books, articles or a blog, you’ve probably been told that writing new and useful content is of vital importance. Content is King, in other words.

I disagree. Content is vitally important, but it isn’t King. We don’t live in a monarchy, and your readers are not your loyal subjects. You don’t get to stuff your content down your readers’ throats — or through their eyes. (Sounds painful, doesn’t it?)

Content is more like the president. It’s only good if it’s elected by a majority of the populace — the readers. That’s because the president serves the people. He or she cares about what they think, because if he/she doesn’t, he/she won’t be president very long.

Many writers say, with great pride, that they “write for themselves,” as if this means they are a “real” writer, in touch with their Muse. But this is only true if you are writing a journal, meant just for your eyes.

Books, articles, blog posts and the like are communication vehicles. All effective communication is two-way. The written word is no exception. You have to know what is important to your reader. Otherwise, he or she will not read your writing. People have a choice to read your book or blog, or not to read it. It’s as simple as that.

How you present your ideas must be done in a way that your readers will understand or be entertained by. Yes, I am talking about slanting your writing.

Slanting your writing so that your reader can “get” you is not pandering, manipulation, or selling out. It is simply good communication. It shows respect for your reader. You are paying attention to what they care about. Aren’t you more likely to listen when people pay attention to your interests, and offer you respect by talking in terms you understand? Of course you are. It’s the same with writing.

Tailoring your writing to your reader’s “care abouts” will allow you to elicit emotional responses from them. You want bells to go off in their heads, or for them to snap their fingers with delight, or be dazzled by the brilliant light you have poured over them. Emotional responses lead to action or change. And that’s ultimately what you’re trying to get from your reader — you want them to do something, or learn something.

You can only emotionally hook them if you know what they care about.

This does not mean you are pandering or betraying your own muse. All it means is that you are treating your readers with respect, and paying attention to who they are.

After all, the reason you write is so someone else will read it. It’s not about you.

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

See a photo of Kim, her bio, Part 1 of this Q&A, Part 2, and Part 3.

Q&A with Kim Pearson, Question 4:

Q: The bio on your Web site suggests that your ability to conduct interviews with skill is key to your success as a writer/ghostwriter/storyteller. Without giving away all your trade secrets, can you offer readers a bit of insight into your interviewing techniques? To what extent does your training as a historian help you as an interviewer?

A: Most people see history as something outside them. They don’t see themselves as part of history. But they are. When I interview my memoir clients, I come from a historian’s perspective — I look for how they intersected with the events and trends of their time. Asking about these events and trends opens a rich vein of stories. This is what I tell them:

You make history. History is not just about the famous or the infamous. It is not just about “big” things that make the newspapers. History is merely connection over time. We are all connected to each other, to the past, and to the future. We are connected by our stories.

We are all actors in the powerful drama of earth, part of the vast dynamic web circling the universe. Our actions reverberate along this web, creating consequences for all other living creatures. We do not merely react to events and historical trends — we create them. Each individual, even you, is a part of history.

You are a witness to history, as well as an actor. Do not underestimate the necessity of this role. You know what you saw and what you experienced. Tyrants and unscrupulous power-seekers always seek to rewrite the inconvenient (to them) past. This is why it is often said that history is “written by the winners.” But those who preserve their stories help ensure that the truth remains.

How many of us wish they had an ancestor’s story, told in their own words? Wouldn’t it be wonderful, we think, to know the hopes, dreams, wishes and fears of Great-Great-Grandma as she bounced over the plains in a covered wagon? Wouldn’t it be cool to know what Great-Great Uncle Joe was thinking while he robbed that bank?

Yes, it would be wonderful to know our ancestors’ stories. But what we often forget is that we, too, are someone’s ancestor. We are the future historians’ primary sources. A primary source is a term historians use to describe the thoughts, opinions and witness of those people who were really there. When you record what you saw, what you felt, what you did, you become a primary source. Two hundred years from now, historians could be looking for you. What do you want them to find? Just your tombstone with the dates of your birth and death, and perhaps a line of verse? Does that tell your dreams, desires, triumphs, griefs, loves and hates? Does it tell what part you played in the story of the world?

Sharing your stories is an affirmation of belonging. You have a rightful place here. Without you, the history of the world is incomplete.

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

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

Q&A with Kim Pearson, Question 3:

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’m active on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and I’ve been writing a blog called From the Compost since 2006. I blog about writing, history, and storytelling, with some haiku thrown in. On Twitter, I have two accounts. One is for me, @storykim, as my “real” self, where I tweet mostly about writing (specifically ghostwriting) and history. My other Twitter account is for my dog, Goody Beagle. I wrote a book about Goody, called Dog Park Diary, which is “told” by Goody — in other words, I ghostwrote the book for her, about her adventures at the local dog park. We worked with a professional photographer to illustrate it with real photos of Goody and the dogs she met at the dog park. I started her Twitter account @dogparkdiary to promote the book. It works pretty well - I do sell some books. I tweet in Goody’s voice, and what a fun voice it is — a dry comedic voice, much different than my own. She focuses on what’s important to her — smells, food, her run-ins with “The Cat” who steals her sofa and “The Baby” (my 1-year-old grandson) who pulls her ears. She makes comments about her human and that human’s failings. Did I mention smells? I love tweeting as Goody, and now Goody often “guest blogs” on my blog too, where she can expand eloquently on the same subjects. I have a future project in mind - another Goody book (again with photos) based on Goody’s tweets. By the way, Goody is at least three times as popular on Twitter as I am. I’m not sure what this means. But I’m not jealous.

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

I’ve referenced Storytelling for User Experience by Whitney Quesenbery and Kevin Brooks several times — and now the book is finally here.

The publishers were kind enough to send me an ebook copy of it. I’m looking forwarding to reading but am not sure how valuable a review by me would be since I know little about User Experience design.

For now, I’m presenting the table of contents. Each chapter also has a summary and suggestions for further reading:

Chapter 1
Why Stories?
What is a story?
There are many types of stories in UX design
More work? not really!

Chapter 2
How UX Stories Work
Stories are more than just narrative
Stories have many roles in user experience design
Maybe you’re not convinced

Chapter 3
Stories Start with Listening (and Observing)
UX design requires good listening skills
Listening and observing leads to better understanding
Being listened to is addictive
Learn to be a good listener
Teach your team to listen

Chapter 4
The Ethics of Stories
Good research ethics — good storytelling
Professional societies give us relevant ethics for stories
Acknowledge your own influence
Tell the story accurately
Keep the story authentic
End the story well

Chapter 5
Stories as Part of a UX Process
UX is a cross-disciplinary practice
Using stories in user experience design is not a new idea
Stories can be part of many UX activities

Chapter 6
Collecting Stories (as Part of Research)
The best stories come from being there
Other sources of stories are all around you
Listen for stories
Get groups to tell stories to each other
Explore memorable incidents
You can observe stories, too
Tips for collecting stories
Write stories into your notes

Chapter 7
Selecting Stories (as Part of Analysis)
your first audience: yourself
What are you looking for?
Finding the stories
Finding stories in data
Building stories into personas

Chapter 8
Using Stories for Design Ideas
Stories evolve through the design process
Brainstorming for new stories: generative stories
Brainstorming helper: the storytelling game
Developing user research stories: generative stories (again)
Incorporating your user research into the brainstorming game
Moving from brainstorming to concept: expressive stories
Stories that document design: prescriptive stories
Stories can be part of the brand story

Chapter 9
Evaluating with Stories
Using stories to create usability tasks
Turn user stories into “instant” usability tasks
Turning tasks into stories
Collecting stories just in time for usability testing
Using stories for reviews
Collecting stories during a usability test

Chapter 10
Sharing Stories
(Managing Up and Across)
Don’t worry — everyone is a storyteller
Help the audience build the story you tell
If you don’t know your audience well, try listening
A few audiences you may meet

Chapter 11
Crafting a Story
What do we mean by “craft”?
Stories get better with practice
Sometimes stories fail
Think carefully about your goals

Chapter 12
Considering the Audience
The relationship between the audience and the story
Details from user research help ground stories
What if they think they know, but they don’t?
Mirror stories are stories about ourselves
The relationship between you and the audience
How much are you like the audience?
Is your relationship to the story the same as the audience’s?
Do you bring different pieces of the puzzle?
Help them get from here to there
Use stories to advocate
Bring them home safely

Chapter 13
Combining the Ingredients of a Story
Perspective
Characters
Context
Imagery
Language of the story
Putting the ingredients together

Chapter 14
Developing Structure and Plot
Story structures are patterns
Story structure helps the audience, the author, and the story
Useful story structures for UX stories
Using plot
Choosing a story structure and plot
Stories are more than the sum of their parts

Chapter 15
Ways to Tell Stories
Telling oral stories
Written stories
Visual stories
Multimedia, video, or animated stories
Putting stories in your reports
Make presentations a story of their own
Choosing the medium for your story

Chapter 16
Try something new

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

See a photo of Kim, her bio, Part 1 of this Q&A.

Q&A with Kim Pearson, Question 2:

Q: What’s your favorite story about a transformation that came about through a story or storytelling act?

A: A few years ago I was teaching my class “Making History” at a local Senior Center, covering the decades of the thirties, forties and fifties, and encouraging the participants to share their stories of those years. One of the topics we talked about was the enormous changes in the status of Americans of color during those decades (Jackie Robinson comes to mind), although all the people in the class were white. But they had a lot to say — racism has always affected us all, no matter what our color. Here’s one of the stories told that day, by a white woman almost 80 years old:

She was 21 in 1947, an office worker in downtown San Francisco. Every day she took the bus to and from work. The bus was always crowded. One evening she boarded the bus and was lucky to find a space on a bench seat facing the aisle, next to an elderly black woman. At the next stop, a man got on the bus. He was a middle-aged white gentleman, probably in his early fifties, wearing the traditional businessman’s attire of tailored suit and hat, and carrying an umbrella. He made his way down the aisle, and stopped directly in front of the office girl and the elderly black woman. After a few seconds of staring at them, he suddenly raised his umbrella above his head and brought it down — thwack! — across the shoulder of the old lady.

The bus became absolutely quiet. No one said anything, not even the old woman who had been struck. She stared straight ahead. As if taking their cue from her, the rest of the passengers stared straight ahead too. No one said or did anything. But inside the office girl, a tortured debate was going on. What should she do? What could she do? What he did was wrong, of course, but sometimes that was the way things were. But maybe she should say or do something. Say what? Do what? What good would it do? What if the man struck her too? What if she made it worse?

She was still debating internally when the old woman got off the bus at the next stop. An audible sigh of relief from the rest of the passengers could be heard.

And that’s the end of the story from 1947. But in 2004, the now-78-year-old ex-office worker looked around the room. “I should have done or said something,” she said. “At least I should have asked her if she was okay, or put my arm around her. That’s what I would do now. But at the time I didn’t know I could.”

She added, “I’ve never told that story before. I guess I tried not to think about it, because it made me feel so bad.”

For fifty-seven years she had carried that untold story around with her, a story that made her feel guilty and ashamed. But her guilt and shame is not the point of the story. She is forgivable, after all — a young woman, unexpectedly confronted with an evil act, is momentarily paralyzed by indecision. We can understand her reaction. I hope that by telling her story, she has forgiven herself.

And of course, she actually did nothing wrong. She simply did nothing.

And that’s the point of the story — the teaching point, if you will. Doing nothing. I bet all of us have had moments when we’ve seen something we know to be wrong, but we did nothing. Because we were afraid, or because we didn’t know what to do, or — God forgive us — because we were too busy.

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

Steve Denning reports that audio recordings of Friday’s Smithsonian symposium Storytelling to re-invent the workplace are now available. . Also available are audio excerpts from Thursday night’s introduction to organization storytelling by Svend-Erik Engh and Thaler Pekar: here and here.

Thaler has published her reflections on the weekend here.

And Michael Margolis has shared his slides from Saturday’s Golden Fleece Day here (and also embedded below).

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

My cousin Jennifer introduced fellow Washingtonian Kim Pearson to me. I am fascinated my Kim’s primary profession as a ghostwriter because I used to do something similar; one of my favorite jobs was as a speechwriter. Both ghostwriters and speechwriters have to get inside the heads of the people they’re writing for and write in their voices. And, as Kim discusses in her Q&A, knowing and writing for your audience is the most important aspect of ghostwriting — or any kind of writing, including speechwriting. I’m really tickled to present this Q&A with Kim. This Q&A will run over the next five days.

Bio: Kim Pearson is an author, ghostwriter, editor, and the owner of Primary Sources, a writing service that helps others become authors of polished, professional, and compelling books, articles, and blogs. Her books include: Making History: how to remember, record, interpret and share the events of your life; Dog Park Diary: the social round of Goody Beagle; Eating Mythos Soup; and several e-books. She has ghostwritten or edited more than 40 non-fiction books and memoirs, which tell the stories of a wide variety of people and cover a broad range of topics, from saxophones to finance, city histories to hypnotherapy, psychic horses to constipation, and many points in between. Kim teaches workshops and teleclasses on writing and history, and an interactive online course on ghostwriting. She writes From the Compost, a blog about writing, history, and storytelling.

Q&A with Kim Pearson:

Q: As a ghostwriter, you get inside people’s heads and write their stories. Given that you also teach others how to ghostwrite, what skills do you feel are required to be able to tell other peoples’ stories? Are there people who are not cut out to be ghostwriters, or can anyone learn to do it?

A: First and obviously, to be a good ghostwriter you must know how to write well. Writing is a skill and an art, and it takes time and practice to be proficient. But you must also be aware that writing for yourself is different than ghostwriting. A ghost needs to write compelling prose that is close to another person’s voice, not their own. You need to put your ego in the background and write what is important to your client, in a way he or she might say it — only better. This skill involves more than writing ability. You must be able to ask penetrating questions that elicit sparkling stories and deep emotions. You must be able to listen compassionately to the answers, and then delve even deeper. You must be able to translate what you find in someone else’s head into written words that convey someone else’s truth. You must share the passion of your client, at least temporarily, and to do this you need to be insatiably curious and in love with learning. You must be fiercely dedicated to producing an excellent work of art, yet recognize that this work does not belong to you. A ghost is a different kind of writer. Not all good writers make good ghosts.

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

After my entry the other day about Google Search Stories Video Creator as a storytelling tool, I noticed that a couple of storytelling folks had tried out the tool.

On her blog Story Route, Cathryn Wellner crafted a memoir of her career using Google searches. (I was tickled to see that the top result from the search “how to change careers” was from A Storied Career’s parent site, Quintessential Careers.)

And Bernadette Martin shared hers with me with me — about going for a run in Paris. Kudos to Bernadette for including image searches and for her clever ending.

I thought both storytellers created storied searches that were easier to follow and more self-explanatory than mine — which perhaps shows I’m not that great a storyteller myself.

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

Storytelling Weekend 2010 is now history, but you can still follow tweets from the three days of the conference using the widget below. You may also want to check the Twitter feed GMUGoldenFleece and/or the hashtag #gmugoldenfleece.

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

In the run-up to Storytelling Weekend, practitioners had an interesting conversation on Golden Fleece’s Working Stories discussion group about the desirability of tweeting the conference. Steve Denning, leader of yesterday’s Smithsonian portion of the conference, maintained that he is “old school” and not fond of the idea of people tweeting during conference sessions. The conference was to focus on face-to-face storytelling, after all, Denning pointed out.

But Michael Margolis expressed a different perspective:

Storytelling is happening across many mediums and communication channels, even in the most “old-school” organizations. There is a communications revolution under way. If you want to go where the boundaries of “story” are really evolving, expanding, and being redefined — it’s in social media. Countless organizations get that. We probably should too. Being relevant means we have to talk about it, engage with, and make it our friend.

It’s easy to fear and knock down that which we don’t really know or understand. Sure, is there lots of noise and irrelevance on social media? Of course. Is it an absolute time suck if you don’t know how to use it purposefully? You bet. Are lots of people using the platforms for their own ego machinations? Yup. Despite, all these “valid” excuses, social media is changing how we tell stories, shape our identities, manage relationships, process knowledge, and make meaning. Can it be a positive game-changer? Plenty of examples to support that too. We each have to decide where and how we want to play.

While I know many story purists feel the notion of social media as a storytelling venue cheapens the definition of story, I tend to agree with Michael that social media is expanding and redefining storytelling. And I find it fascinating that social media is not only a way to tell a story, but also a way to tell story’s story.

So, who won the argument? No tweets emerged from the Thursday night storytelling weekend event. Leaders Thaler Pekar and Svend-Erik Engh said participants were too engaged to tweet. The Friday Smithsonian event got moderately tweeted. A little more than halfway through today’s Golden Fleece Day, tweets seem heaviest for this event. Even Denning is doing his share of tweeting.

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

When I first mentioned stories based on Google searches, I didn’t realize that Google had created a mashup application using Google searches and YouTube (which Google owns). One of my Facebook friends turned me on to Google Search Stories Video Creator, described this way:

Every search is a quest. Every quest is a story. Use this handy tool to bring your Search Story to life. Simply type in your searches, choose the music, and watch as your narrative unfolds on screen.

The tool is a technological marvel and very fun and easy to play with, but I’m not sure the results are really stories. The first criterion, in my opinion, for the story quality in these videos is that, like Parisian Love, the search video I cited in my previous entry, the video needs no explanation beyond what you see on the screen; the viewer grasps the story without additional information.

The quick-and-dirty search video I created to test this application doesn’t meet that criterion. I’m sure I could create a better story if I gave it more thought and put more planning into it. But the process of creating it made me realize that Google Search Stories Video Creator is a good tool for helping the user think about story structure. I had to think about how I could integrate classic story elements — setting the scene, introducing conflict, and presenting resolution.

My search video, Misadvententures in Moving (embedded below) attempts to tell the story of what happened this week when the moving van we’d hired to move our possessions from Florida to Washington arrived. Since the story does require some setup, here it is: Randall thoroughly researched movers to find one with a high rating for our move to Kettle Falls. The pickup of our stuff in Florida wasn’t perfect, but we had no major problems. The movers arrived here in Kettle Falls on Wednesday. Because of the steep elevation of our driveway, the movers couldn’t get their truck up to our house and had to park it nearby and shuttle everything in smaller loads. The area U-Haul outlets were all out of trucks, so the shuttling took place in a pickup truck — many trips over a day and a half. The movers wanted another $900 for the shuttling. We discovered we had already paid this $900 on the other end, as though there had been similar conditions in Florida (which there weren’t, Florida being quite flat). Many phone calls by Randall to the movers’ corporate offices and a long delay ensued. We got out of paying the extra charges for now, but the company is “investigating.” The happy ending — or beginning of the next chapter/story — is that we are here on our beloved homesite, which we call “Empowering Retreat.”

How could I have made my search story better?

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

As I noted Tuesday, you can follow Saturday’s Golden Fleece conference using the Twitter hashtag #gmugoldenfleece.

I’ve just learned that the hashtag for tomorrow’s Smithsonian portion of storytelling weekend is #storycon.

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

Cathie Dodd of Tears of Joy Video has been running number of Twitter storytelling contests. I’ve been asked to participate on the judging panel for the contest, on the theme of “friendship,” that starts today.

Here’s what Cathie has to say about the contest:

Do you have a good friend? Do you have a great story about friendship? Have you written a great poem about what it takes to be a good friend? Then this is the contest for you! Share your short stories or poems about your friends or friendship. Up to 2 entries per person.

Participants can enter stories starting today and ending Friday, June 25 at 11 pm.

Between May 22 and June 20, votes will determine five finalists. Then the other judges and I will choose a winner on June 25.

You can get more details at Cathie’s Web site.

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

On the eve of this year’s storytelling weekend in Washington, DC, conference leader and business-narrative pioneer Steve Denning received a critical question from a blog reader: “Why have you abandoned storytelling?”

Denning quotes the full question in blog entry: “Why have you in the last eighteen or so months allowed yourself to be drawn into ‘management speak’ and that has diluted the impact of your original approach that was so special, attractive and accessible to the many people who do not read management books and who are not comfortable with that vocabulary?”

After all, Denning’s first three books specifically addressed organizational storytelling in their titles, while his two most recent volumes ostensibly drift further from the narrative emphasis. “Narrative” appears only in the subtitle of his 2007 The Secret Language of Leadership: How Leaders Inspire Action Through Narrative and not at all in his forthcoming The Leader’s Guide to Radical Management.

Denning defends his approach in the blog entry, noting especially that storytelling still is not part of the management mainstream.

“I haven’t abandoned storytelling,” Denning insists. “It is a key element of everything I am talking about in the new book.”

He’s got a lively conversation going in the comments to his blog entry, notably a dialogue with Michael Margolis.

Especially with storytelling weekend marking its 10th anniversary, examining the state of organizational storytelling is an important enterprise.

Check out the conversation and weigh in.

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

If, like me, you can’t attend this year’s Washington, DC, storytelling weekend (which starts this Thursday), you can follow at least one portion of it — the Saturday Golden Fleece conference (which happens to be my favorite part of storytelling weekend) on Twitter. You can follow the Twitter feed GMUGoldenFleece (GMU is for George Mason University, where the conference is being held) and/or the hashtag #gmugoldenfleece.

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

The fabulous storytelling weekend in Washington, DC, is happening this week, beginning Thursday. Each day, Thursday through Saturday, is a separate event, and all promise to be enriching and engaging with exciting agendas.

The weekend marks a decade for the conferences and workshops.

Steve Denning, who helms the Friday event at the Smithsonian, has detailed his favorite stories from the last 10 years and has added those of other participants.

You’ll also find links for more information and registration in Steve’s posting.

I won’t be attending this year but hope to publish reportage of the weekend by attendees.

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

I’ve been exploring for a while the extent to which social media are storytelling media. Author Emily Liebert would likely say that stories can be found within social media.

As noted on the Facebook fan page dedicated to it, Liebert’s new book, Facebook Fairytales: Modern-Day Miracles to Inspire the Human Spirit “is filled with captivating narratives of 25 real-life stories culled from interviews with Facebook users who’ve used the site’s many applications to find — for example — an organ donor, biological parents, to relay messages to loved ones during the Mumbai terrorist attacks, and to save a teenager’s life across an ocean.”

The book is also described as “a diverse collection of 25 of the most inspiring stories that have resulted from Facebook connections. These stories emphasize real-life characters’ personal struggles and triumphs.”

You can read an excerpt from the book, the story of a couple’s efforts to overcome infertility, on Oprah’s book-club site.

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

I’ve heard of corporate people whose job functions deal extensively with storytelling and who even have titles like Chief Storytelling Officer. But until recently, I had not seen an opportunity for someone with a burgeoning interest in storytelling to get in on the ground floor.

Michael Margolis is offering an internship with his publishing, educational, and consulting company, Get Storied. The internship starts out unpaid but could become paid in three months. As of earlier this week, Michael said, he had had about a half dozen inquiries and planned to review them carefully. The application deadline is April 25. Here’s a description:

Forget photo-coping and filing papers, you’ll be creating and contributing in a meaningful way. This is a demanding position - which in return will provide you a wealth of real-world learning experience and a portfolio of creative work to show. As part of this unique internship, you will have the opportunity to be mentored by Michael Margolis, a social entrepreneur, author, teacher, speaker, and consultant.

Learn how to build a fast-growing internet-based media, education and publishing platform. The ideal candidate will be entrepreneurial and creative, with strong communication skills and fluency in social media.

This is a telecommuting internship. The successful candidate will require real motivation and self-discipline. You will be supported in turn with regular coaching sessions and feedback on your efforts. Your internship can start any time, ideally by early June and must last a minimum of three months.

The internship is a terrific opportunity. I hope to closely follow how the position develops as it could be an excellent model for other story practitioners seeking to open doors to applied storytelling.

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

See a photo of George, his bio, Part 1 of this Q&A, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

Q&A with George Dutch, Question 5:

Q:You provide readers of your book with the downloadable exercise, Enjoyable Achievements and Autobiographical Events, and offer a resulting “personalized, customized written JobJoy Report.” You also talk in the book about your passion and skill for “analyz[ing] complex subjects, then boil[ing] them down to a theme.” How did you develop this process and determine that the components that go into the exercises would enable you to “identify the specific details that are the essence of an Individual’s Passion Pattern?”

A: Each life has integrity; that is, each life has a holistic pattern of meaning to it, one that is consistent with plot, character, and theme if you will. There are many literary, psychological and spiritual tools that can be used in a scientific way to delve into the meaning of stories through an understanding of thoughts, feelings, moods, dreams, hopes, faith, love, memories, and so on. I learned about some of the tools that are used in literary criticism, in the writing of biographies, in the narration of case studies. Our stories can be mapped. We can identify and define landmarks in the terrain of meaning. These landmarks [like those pictured] have been fashioned by career practitioners over the past 50 years into a lexicon of key success factors relevant to work, such as talents and strengths, preferred subject matter, motivating situations, natural relating styles, and others. I studied these practitioners and undertook many career assessments to develop a methodology that made sense to me, as I tried to distinguish between similar concepts, such as aptitudes, skills, talents, strengths, traits, values, and so on.

Like plot and character in a story, these factors serve a central theme or Individual Passion Pattern — the key route to a destination of right work or jobfit. I bring my talents and passion for story analysis to this process. This is not a generic report that puts individuals into categories and boxes. Human beings are more complex than simple labels that cannot capture the complexities, nuances, and subtleties of a life. I love the uniqueness of each individual, and I have a passion for leveraging their motivational pattern into the world of work. Their unique pattern can be identified and defined in simple but profound terms, then matched to specific jobs in specific work settings that will recognize and reward an individual for what they do naturally and effortlessly. After all, there are over 60,000 job titles operating in our world of work, with new ones being created daily. We are so fortunate to live in a part of the world that offers so much opportunity. My clients use their customized reports to navigate through career decisions. Like a map, my report gives clients a clear route to a new destination of employment, or self-employment, or business building; and, it provides them with a vocabulary to communicate with clarity and confidence to others along the way. Career decisions are made easier. The journey becomes the adventure it is meant to be!

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

See a photo of George, his bio, Part 1 of this Q&A, Part 2, and Part 3.

Q&A with George Dutch, Question 4:

Q: What’s your favorite story about a transformation that came about through a story or storytelling act?

A: We are all inspired by stories of people who overcome tremendous odds to succeed in accomplishing a goal—the archetype of the hero’s quest. But I have a bias for quests in which I am engaged on behalf of my clients. I feature Success Stories on my JobJoy website. These are stories of ordinary individuals who realized significant career transitions through my process. These are my favorite stories because each one honors the uniqueness of a person that plucked up the courage to leverage their authentic self into the world of work. Each of them wanted both vitality and security in their lives, and each one was able to attain it. Each time that miracle happens, it makes the world a better place.

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

See a photo of George, his bio, Part 1 of this Q&A, and Part 2.

Q&A with George Dutch, Question 3:

Q: The storytelling movement seems to be growing explosively. Why now? What is it about this moment in human history and culture that makes storytelling so resonant with so many people right now?

A: In the beginning was an empty void. Then came story. Storytelling was central to society long before cultures learned to write. The history of civilization is the history of story. The world has become increasingly complex and conflicted in this postmodern age (even the word postmodern is part of a huge story). We are unable to live easily, happily, joyfully in a world we cannot understand. We cannot bear to think there is no meaningful structure to the way we develop. Story provides that structure of meaning. The stories we choose to tell, to live by, get us into trouble, and they can get us out of trouble. It is important not only to tell stories but also to think deeply about the stories that drive our behavior as individuals and as societies. The best stories will save us from the consequences of our worst behaviors.

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

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

Q&A with George Dutch, Question 2:

Q: How did you initially become involved with story/storytelling/narrative? What attracted you to this field? What do you love about it?

A: Like most children, I was steeped in stories, and found them fascinating. By the time I was 8 years old, I was writing and presenting my own stories in school. In a world made of atoms and stories, I decided early in life to study stories. I traveled, and exposed myself to other cultures, worldviews, lifestyles, as I studied English literature and communications at university. I am consciously focused on Story, its profound beauty, and its usefulness for doing life. Story is life. We are immersed in plot, character, and theme on a daily basis as we watch tv, DVDs, movies, read the news or blogs, listen to radio or podcasts, join a book club, or gossip at the water cooler. Story is what we do in order to deal with the haphazardness and randomness of existence. That is what fascinates me about story. If life is a mystery, story helps to find patterns, plots, and meanings. If life is a puzzle, story is the solution to understanding so much about life that is not atoms.

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

It took me a long time to realize that I was not the only “story guru” in the professional organization of which I serve on the executive board, the Career Management Alliance. Story also figures prominently in the practice of Alliance member George Dutch. Unlike the way previous Q&A subjects Rob Sullivan and Judy Rosemarin deploy storytelling in the job search, though, George analyzes written stories from his clients then writes reports that help them fashion a new work identity that they then use to make radical or significant career transitions. I’m delighted to bring you this Q&A with George, which will run over the next five days.

Bio: George is the founder and president of JobJoy, a career transition company. As a certified career professional with almost 20 years experience working one-on-one with 3000+ clients, he specializes in Personal Story Analysis and Creative Positioning to help his clients find their right work. His blog, vlog, and podcasts all focus on storytelling the details of successful transitions. He is the author of a series of books, including JobJoy: Finding Your Right Work Through the Power of Your Personal Story, now available as an eBook for $15.

Q&A with George Dutch: Question 1:

Q: You write in your book Find Your Right Work, “Writing your life story helps you understand your own life in terms of the forces that have defined and changed you over the years. The facts, people and events of your life have formed a seamless web of meaning that help you to answer the questions, “Who am I?” and “What am I trying to accomplish with my life?” How did you come to realize that having clients and readers write their life stories could accomplish these and more insights?

A: The world of work is a hard taskmaster. At some point in a life story, reality breaks everyone. Even though we live in one of the most affluent places in the world in one of the most affluent times in history, the No. 1 workplace disability in North America is depression (according to the World Health Organization). I think narrative counseling is inextricably tied to this sad phenomenon. When we construct a story for ourselves, we construct a thread that we follow daily. If individuals lose the thread of their story and how it relates to the bigger Story that shapes our worldview, our deepest values, our culture … then we put our lives in danger at many levels.

For example, our personal sense of identity might disintegrate and leave us with empty, haunting questions: Who am I? Where am I? Why am I? What’s the point? Even worse, to believe we have no story is to acknowledge that our existence is meaningless. This is an unbearable idea. When stories take such a drastically dark turn, we may find ourselves terrifyingly alone, spiritually blind, psychologically or physically broken. But it’s not just us as individuals who suffer; the rest of society is deprived of our contribution.

Fortunately, our personal stories have the power to help us heal from the inevitable trials and tragedies of life. It certainly helped me, and that’s when I came to realize how journaling, autobiography, morning pages, and other writing exercises could provide deep insights to the unconscious patterns of strength and weaknesses that operate below the radar screen of life. Certain activities and events in our lives — during childhood, teen years, and in each decade of adulthood — are particularly enjoyable and consistently satisfying. These are things we choose to do because we discover them as satisfying; or, we choose to do them in our discretionary time because they energize rather than drain us. So, I give my clients a simple format around which to organize those stories so that they can be easily analyzed for their key success factors. Like mining for gold, the format helps to separate the ore from the gold to get to the relevant material in an efficient and effective manner.

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

Elayne Zalis (pictured), whom I met on Facebook, has compiled a huge, fascinating collection of Autobiographical/Biographical Webs: Selected Links, an outgrowth, she told me, of her academic studies of experimental video autobiographies in the late 1980s and early ’90s. “I was in the humanities,” she said, “so my critiques are influenced by critical theories popular during those years, and also by theories of new media that developed later.”

The compilation includes Online Diaries/Journals, Self-Representations/Memoirs, Letters, Travelogs, Representations of Others, Memorials/Remembrances (including those from September 11, 2001), and Fan Sites.

For more background into Elayne’s research, she recommends her site The Memory Channel, especially the links there to two articles she wrote that put her current research in context:

The first is regarding video. Here’s the abstract for it:

The essay links the independent videos Flag (USA 1989), by Linda Gibson, and Trick or drink (USA 1984), by Vanalyne Green, with traditions of women’s autobiographical videomaking in the United States that blur boundaries between “private” and “public” spheres to politicize the personal. The essay focuses on how Flag and Trick or drink interweave personal, social, spatial, and historical strands to tell the story of a woman’s life. The personal archives that the videos showcase are particularly noteworthy for the inclusion of diaries from the videomakers’ adolescence, which instigate the adults’ remembrances of the past. The essay suggests that Flag and Trick or drink open up directions for others to explore further in a range of old and new media.

The second article, about new media, At Home in Cyberspace: Staging Autobiographical Scenes. Here’s a snippet from the article that captures some of its essence:

Professional and nonprofessional communicators alike construct personal home pages, online diaries, blogs, and generic hybrids that fuse elements of traditional and new media. Repertoires of Net art and e-literature contribute to the mix. Designed to attract audiences online, sites explore novel ways to reconfigure boundaries between “private” and “public” social spheres, as well as between “high” and “low” cultures. Such experiments with autobiographical production thus complement the ongoing “democratization of video,” and reinforce Tamblyn’s notion that cultural intervention and innovative self-representation can occur almost anywhere (13-14). As a medium that for more and more users plays a key role in everyday life, the Web, like video, expedites the production of social space, while at the same time accommodating personal storytellers.

(I’ve long been fascinated with the ways people construct their identities through new media, especially today’s social media, and how comparable those constructions may be to the ways folks construct identities in other media.)

Elayne says she left academia after earning her PhD in 1993, “but I try,” she says, “to continue my research when I can. I like to explore innovative approaches to self-representation and personal histories. Besides discovering new trends, I get ideas for my own creative work.” She has posted samples of her creative work here.

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.

Nothing has tested my resolve to blog 7 days a week more than my move from Florida to Washington state, currently under way. I’ve missed a few days in March and early April, especially in the last week. The last-minute packing, closing on our house, and cleaning it for the new owners comprised last week’s excuses. This week, it will likely be spotty access to power and Internet as we RV across the country to our new home in Kettle Falls.

I’m sure it matters to no one but me that I’ve missed some days of blogging, but I felt I had to acknowledge the deficiency. Will try to blog as regularly as possible as we complete the move.

Thanks for hanging in there, and happy Easter!

Entry by Kathy Hansen. Learn more.