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.