Another blogger inspired me to create an A-Z list of highlights of story finds for the year. Strictly speaking, not all of these are finds. Some are my own creations or initiatives. Others are practitioners I’ve highlighted in the past who’ve been resurgent in the last year. Still others are … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: December 2011
Yet Another Storied Way to Assess Your Year, Plan the Next One
To my current theme of year-end review and new-year goals, I’m adapting some ideas from an article by Ernest R. Stair in the January 2012 issue of Toastmaster magazine (to read the full article, you’ll need to return to the link later in January — unless you’re a Toastmasters member). … Continue reading
The Gift of Story in Santa’s Bag
I know I’m a bit late in the day of Christmas with this post. Just a few last-minute bits I came across with nice, storied elements for the holiday: These American Lives, edited by Ira Glass, tell of ordinary lives “with an untold tale.” In the Huffington Post Religion section, … Continue reading
Journaling Technique That Will Pay Off at End of 2012
I’m on a roll with storied techniques for reviewing and reflecting on accomplishments and such at year’s end. The latest is a re-discovery of an old friend, John Caddell. John created The Mistake Bank, a place for folks to tell stories about their mistakes and what they’d learned from them. … Continue reading
Story Your Future with Personal Scenario Planning
As we reflect on 2011 and set goals for 2012, using techniques such as the Milestones and Memorable Moments exercise I shared last week, here’s another interesting tool. Peter Schwartz’s Your Future in 5 Easy Steps: Wired Guide to Personal Scenario Planning actually appeared back in 2009, but I came … Continue reading
Recording Your Year-End Stories for Professional and Personal Growth
My colleague Darrell Gurney has conducted an annual process for more than eight years in which he “powerfully wrap[s] up the passing year before going on to design my coming year.” He offers his exercise to subscribers and friends at the end of each year. While the end of the … Continue reading
Story of a Competent Communicator (Who, Me?)
Well, I did it. I got through the 10 Toastmasters speeches that comprise the organization’s initial manual. That qualifies me as a “Competent Communicator.” It’s the point at which I initially envisioned that I might end my Toastmasters experience. Apparently a large percentage of members do quit after reaching that … Continue reading
Lisa Bloom’s Book Launches — With (Mysterious) Bonuses
Providing a bundle of bonuses to early buyers of a book has become a common practice. Usually, though, you know what the bonuses are before buying. Today Lisa Bloom is launching Cinderella and the Coach — The Power of Storytelling for Coaching Success and says buyers can get bonuses worth … Continue reading
Stories NOT to Tell in Your Job Interview
Harry Urschel recently published a blog post that serves as a good reminder that not all aspects of your career experience are ripe for storytelling in job interviews. One of the cardinal rules of cardinal rules of job search is not to trash a former employer. As Urschel points out, … Continue reading
Now, THESE Are Storied Slideshow Resumes
From time to time, I’ve scrutinized the story quality of slideshows, especially resumes in slideshow form; the most recent was last month’s exploration of a “Présumé™” (presentation resume) that was nicely crafted but not really storied. Since then, I’ve come across a couple of more storied examples. While the above … Continue reading