I learned of Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg indirectly through Yvette Hyater-Adams, who completed the Transformative Language Arts that Caryn co-founded at Goddard College. I find the TLA program fascinating, and I’m delighted to present this Q&A with Caryn over the next five days. Bio: Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg is the poet laureate of Kansas … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: June 2010
‘A Company Without a Story Is Usually a Company Without a Strategy’
I have a very embarrassing confession, especially as a former business professor. Three alliterative business concepts — strategy, sustainability, and scalability — elude my total comprehension. I basically understand the concepts on a rudimentary level, but I have not completely wrapped my head around them. If you asked me to … Continue reading
Storytelling Is Centerpiece of Gender-Bending Ad Campaign
Zack’s story, is a recent ad campaign from Tampax that is accompanied by a website, blog and Twitterfeed in the voice of 16-year-old-Zack, who supposedly wakes up with a vagina one day. The campaign has received some criticism from feminists for gender stereotyping. Miriam on Feministing writes: “The series also … Continue reading
Q&A with a Story Guru: Steve Spalding: Finding the Essence Leads to Carefully Crafted Narrative
See a photo of Steve, his bio, Part 1 of this Q&A, and Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. Q&A with Steve Spalding, 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: Find the essence … Continue reading
Q&A with a Story Guru: Steve Spalding: Pure Marketers Shouldn’t Cast Themselves as Storytellers
See a photo of Steve, his bio, Part 1 of this Q&A, and Part 2, and Part 3, and Part 3. Q&A with Steve Spalding, Question 4: Q: Are there any current uses of storytelling that repel you or that you feel are inappropriate? A: Advertising can be storytelling, but … Continue reading
Q&A with a Story Guru: Steve Spalding: Everything is a Storytelling Medium
See a photo of Steve, his bio, Part 1 of this Q&A, and Part 2. Q&A with Steve Spalding, 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 … Continue reading
Q&A with a Story Guru: Steve Spalding: The Only Way to Stand Out Above the Noise is to Have a Story to Tell
See a photo of Steve, his bio, and Part 1 of this Q&A. Q&A with Steve Spalding, Question 2: 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 … Continue reading
Q&A with a Story Guru: Steve Spalding: From Electrical Engineering to Storytelling
Steve Spalding, who calls himself “chief storyteller” at his firm, initially caught my eye because he’s based in one of my all-time favorite cities, Gainesville, FL, where I met my husband, married him, and had my first child. Then I became intrigued with the work he’s doing in digital storytelling, … Continue reading
Six-Word ‘Stories’ from Tony Nominees
I have faithfully watched the Tony Awards for as long as I can remember. Like most viewers (I’m guessing), my experience with seeing Broadway shows in the flesh is quite limited. My dad, who was living in the Big Apple in the 70s, once treated me to a glorious weekend … Continue reading
Fund-raising Discourse is Story-Deficient, Research Finds
Storytelling is a hot topic in fund-raising and philanthropy. Andy Goodman is arguably the leading evangelist for storytelling in fund-raising; the folks at NTEN (membership organization of nonprofit professionals who put technology to use for their causes) regularly hold storytelling webinars; and my friend Thaler Pekar consults with nonprofits about … Continue reading