Category Archives: Storytelling: Other

When reader Raf Stevens challenged me last fall to clarify what makes a good story and to present examples of good storytelling, I began a mental journey to explore these questions and find answers. The challenge began with a discussion of winners of a slide-presentation contest — which were not … Continue reading →

Over the weekend, Jared (who doesn’t use his last name on his blog), writer of the fascinating and popular blog Moon Over Martinborough, told me about a dilemma he’s having. He recently added a podcast to his blog. Here’s the issue: I’m aware that these podcasts are more ‘books on … Continue reading →

Sometime last year, I started a protocol of listing story-related events on an inside Story Events page instead of here on the main page of A Storied Career. Recently, though, I’ve broken that protocol and listed story events here. I’m afraid I let the Story Events page get horribly outdated. … Continue reading →

I love The Moth and have written about it numerous times, most recently here, where I shared some favorite stories from The Moth’s podcast. I receive regular email updates from The Moth, announcing its events mostly in New York City but sometimes in other parts of the country. It’s kind … Continue reading →

Madelyn Blair and Denise Lee are planning this year’s Golden Fleece conference, with Madelyn noting the organization has received several proposals but wants more. They’ve therefore extended the date for submission to January 25.

This year’s theme is “You, Me and We: Connecting through Story.”

Golden Fleece is a superb and rich applied-storytelling conference. I wish I were attending this year, but I’ve established a pattern of attending in odd-numbered years — plus, this year’s event is very shortly after we will have made our big cross-country move. I’m glad Madelyn shared this info because at least one reader has asked me for details about the conference. I see that the conference is back at George Mason University (after several years at the National 4H Center), where it was when I first attended in 2005. The photos above are from the 2009 conference.

DETAILS OF THE RFP

The Golden Fleece is seeking proposals on “You, Me and We: Connecting through Story” for workshops and presentations on storytelling in the workplace and our teams, communities, and beyond for our upcoming one day Conference to be held:

Date and Time of the event: Saturday, April 17, 2010 from 9 to 5.
Theme: You, Me and We: Connecting through Story
Location: George Mason University, Arlington, VA, Campus
(Washington, DC area)
Workshop Proposal Submission Deadline: January 25, 2010.

Golden Fleece, in conjunction with the 2010 Storytelling in Organizations seminar of the Smithsonian Institution’s Resident Associates Program (April 16, 2010), is pleased to announce the ninth annual International Storytelling Weekend in Washington. This one-day conference offers the possibility for change leaders, executives, storytelling professionals, organizational development practitioners, students and researchers to conduct workshops, present findings, and discuss the important aspects of using story to explore all of the myriad of contemporary challenges we face today and in the future.

GOLDEN FLEECE IS CONVENING THIS DAY TO:

• Open a Forum for peer-to-peer learning about what has and hasn’t worked and to create insight into the experiences of those who use story in their work with organizations including an examination of constraints and difficulties – and how they were resolved.
• Introduce New Tools through presentations, experiential workshops, case studies and discussion in a collegial atmosphere. We will explore chosen topics in-depth and are especially interested in identifying new tools and applications with the expectation that participants will have gained enough specific knowledge to adopt/adapt these after the session.
• Promote Inclusiveness by creating an event that encourages new faces (especially students) to feel open to participate
• Strengthen Golden Fleece by enlarging our community of practice.

See proposal guidelines in the extended entry.
Continue reading →

Two interesting concepts in visual storytelling have crossed my desk recently. In a speech addressing criticism of 19th-century realist art, Fred Ross notes that 19th-century realists got a very raw deal — harsh criticism for lack of relevance — and should be appreciated: “The suppressed truth about this period,” he … Continue reading →

From Michael Margolis, who is holding a telecall today: I don’t know about you, but I HATE the concept of New Year’s resolutions. Every year, I say I’m going to lose 20 pounds, but it never happens. And I just feel crappy about it. Maybe this is a familiar story … Continue reading →

An interview by Michelle James with Michael Margolis enjoyed significant buzz and retweeting on Twitter — and with good reason; it’s filled with gems. One of my favorites is Michael’s response to the question “What is one technique or approach that people could start applying today to bring more creativity … Continue reading →

Here’s the second half of my list of applied storytelling’s top growth areas in 2009. See yesterday’s entry for the first half. More business and cultural leaders recognize that storytelling skills are crucial in the 21st century. Story practitioners Lori Silverman and Karen Dietz are seminal evangelists for the idea … Continue reading →

Well, I wanted this entry to be the top 10 applied-storytelling developments in 2009, but none of the areas I identified within applied storytelling — with the possible exception of No. 10 — are really new this year. Instead, these are areas experiencing tremendous growth and buzz this year. If … Continue reading →