As I read a piece by “Jennifer” on “the lost art of storytelling” (which I don’t believe is actually lost), it dawned on me that storytelling is a mainstay of 12-step groups. I have been sober for 26 years, after 10 years of problem drinking in my 20s, but I … Continue reading
Author Archives: KatHansen
Name Badges Can Offer Story Prompts
Anecdote, the Australian story-based consultancy, offered a neat idea in its latest newsletter — using name badges as story prompts. Suggesting this activity as an icebreaker for folks meeting the first time or that don’t know each other well, Anecdote instructs: Ask everyone to write something interesting or quirky about … Continue reading
Skip This If You Hate Self-Indulgent Blog Postings
Today is an anniversary of sorts. A year ago today, I relaunched this blog (originally launched in May 2005) and made a commitment to blog every single day. I’ve kept my commitment. Purists can uncover one entry (sometime in Aug. 2008) that I placed back into draft status because I … Continue reading
More Scientific Evidence of Story’s Effectiveness: Story Learning May Enhance Memory Retention Up to Seven-fold
We remember stories better than we do other forms of learning-delivery, report Drs. Fernette and Brock Eide in their blog, Eide Neurolearning Blog. I wish they’d cited the exact research studies they’re referring to The research reports they cite are below the blog entry the above link goes to. The … Continue reading
My Big, Fat Career-Storytelling Synthesis
Sometimes I feel like a lonely voice crying out in the wilderness about the value of storytelling in the job search and career advancement. Particularly when I was in my PhD program describing my dissertation about using stories in the job search, other scholars would look at me as though … Continue reading
Did You Land a Job By Telling Your Story Through Social Media?
My colleague, Chandlee Bryan, of CareersInContext, is looking for folks who landed jobs through social media: Did you or someone you know land a great job due to smart use of social media and social networking applications? I am in the process of preparing a presentation for the Career Management … Continue reading
“Bandwidth Exceeded” Wordle
I switched A Storied Career and three other blogs I maintain to a new host and server last year. Toward the end of 2008, I started getting e-mails around the end of every month that I was in danger of exceeding my bandwidth. This month it finally happened — earlier … Continue reading
Vicariously Experiencing The Moth
Ever since Annette Simmons turned me on to The Moth, I have been in love with this nonprofit that is dedicated to “promoting the art of storytelling” and “celebrat[ing] the ability of stories to honor the diversity and commonality of human experience, and to satisfy a vital human need for … Continue reading
Great Opportunity to Hear, Vote On Moth Stories
As a companion piece to today’s other entry about The Moth, here’s a terrific chance to hear some Moth stories and vote on the selections for the Audience Favorites Vol. 6 CD. The choices consist of the 51 stories featured on the Moth’s Mainstage in 2008. You can hear some … Continue reading
A Rich Source for Story Prompts
The Story Ideas Virtuoso is Deb Gallardo. Her site offers story ideas and writing prompts for creative and fiction writers, but many of them can work for brainstorming memoirs or as a foundation for group story-based activities. For example, Gallardo suggests the Innocent Bystander idea in which: You overhear a … Continue reading