Like many of my recent Q&A finds, Dr. David Sidwell popped up in one of my Scoop.it curations. I’m always intrigued by folks who are using story in higher education, but David Sidwell’s story work cover far more territory than just teaching. I’m delighted to learn of his many story-related pursuits. This Q&A will run over the next several days.

Bio: [From his blog’s “About” page:] Dr. David Sidwell, one of the few Renaissance men in a compartmentalized world, has devoted his life and his professional expertise to making the show of life grand and worthwhile in the various institutions for whom he has worked. He is a consultant who is ready to help your organization succeed in many ways.

He is not content to simply have a job; he wants a cause to fight for.

As a talented leader, he is expert in a variety of fields, his skills fed by enthusiasm, creativity, communication and the arts. [Read more …, as well as his personal site]

Q&A with David Sidwell, Question 1:

Q: You describe yourself as a “Renaissance Man,” and the diversity of your career certainly supports that claim. To what extent do you use storytelling in your various incarnations? Do you have a favorite professional role among the many you’ve played in your career?

A: Though I have a pretty stringent definition of storytelling, I also feel that not all storytelling events or activities need to comply with this definition. One can say “It’s the Big Bad Wolf at the door” and we have just alluded to a story that most of us know. While it’s not storytelling per se, the allusion is often strong enough to do some good.

I have found storytelling to be an extremely useful tool in all sorts of ways. I think this has been the most surprising thing to me as well — just how many uses storytelling, or the allusion to storytelling, has. As program director of a nonprofit cultural arts center and living-history museum, I was able to use stories in staff meetings to inspire my staff — and they used stories to inspire me and each other. The sharing of stories became a vital tool for improvement and reflection as we told each other of successes and failures. This was real storytelling. I’ve heard it said that the only reason for an “open door policy” is so that the director doesn’t smash his face on the way out to see his or her staff, and this proved to be true in this context as well. Some staff, in their living-history duties, would often cook a lovely lunch that was shared amongst the volunteers and staff that were active on those days. If I ever joined in the lunch, I always earned it by washing dishes afterward — the job no one wanted. But in so doing, I was able to share stories of my personal life with the staff and volunteers present, and I listened to their stories, too. This simple sharing of stories made for a lot of camaraderie that helped us get things done faster, better and with more productivity.

I also used stories in marketing and public relations, and in fundraising. I discovered that the best way to raise money for your organization is to have your Board of Directors tell positive stories often to their friends, many of whom either have funds, influence or other resources that can be called upon.Of course, it’s important to feed your Board of Directors great stories regularly, too.

As a university professor, I use stories when I want my students to actually remember something. The images found in stories embed themselves in the brain better than data or facts, so I end up going from story to story rather than from concept to concept or fact to fact.

As a nonprofit business consultant, I am currently being much more deliberate about using storytelling in organizational contexts. I have a natural knack for helping nonprofit organizations succeed, whatever the problem. I’m able to help them raise money, further their cause, plan strategically, come up with curriculum materials and help in their marketing. But being more deliberate about using storytelling in these contexts has really helped me sharpen and hone my skills and communicate to my clients how interconnected everything is — through story.

See a photo of Elizabeth, her bio, Part 1 of this Q&A, Part 2, and Part 3.

Q&A with Elizabeth Gates, Questions 6, 7, 8, and 9:

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 right now?

A: Storytelling is becoming popular now because, as people increasingly understand, “hardware” is not enough. They like human interaction — loving or loathing others. But, as people find opportunities to interact are programmed out of their lives, they will make efforts to re-introduce them. And story is a way to do this.

Q: What’s your favorite story about a transformation that came about through a story or storytelling act?

A: A young girl was raped. Years of therapy hadn’t helped her forget and live life as she wished. Then a wise counselor asked her to tell her story — as a story, as if it had happened to someone else. She did. She felt witnessed. She felt empowered. She has displayed such talent and passion for storytelling and writing, she is now a full-time novelist. Telling stories has changed more lives than medical interventions.

Q: If you could share just one piece of advice or wisdom about story/storytelling/ narrative with readers, what would it be?

A: Listen with attention, reflect in depth and share.

Q: What question do you wish I had asked you but didn’t?

A: What did Einstein mean when he advised parents if they want their children to be wise, encourage them to read fairy tales?

See a photo of Elizabeth, her bio, Part 1 of this Q&A, and Part 2.

Q&A with Elizabeth Gates, Questions 4 and 5:

Q: One of your specialty areas is communication and storytelling in organizations. When organizations (and the people in them) seek out your services, why are the typical communication issues they face — and how can storytelling help?

A: Teams (like families) are quite often dysfunctional because their members have ceased to communicate with each other. Story sessions encourage people to listen, to be curious about what is going to happen, to sift their own experiences for answers to common problems and to share. Stories also generate empathy and laughter. And living — for however brief a time — in a functional “metaphor” is a “habit” that can be carried forward into everyday working life.

Q: What has surprised you most in your work with story?

A: The eagerness to engage that people display when listening to stories and telling their own — even if this is a new experience for them.

See a photo of Elizabeth, her bio, and Part 1 of this Q&A.

Q&A with Elizabeth Gates, Question 3:

Q: You offer workshops in memoir-writing and journaling. Undoubtedly many reasons exist for journaling and writing one’s memoir. What do you feel is the most compelling reason? Why do people need your workshops assist them in these endeavors?

A: One of the most compelling reasons for writing your own story is “witness” — even if the writing never sees the light of day. But — when shared in a supportive, empathic group (such as I create in my workshops) — the writing brings all the human emotion contained in the writing to the outside and allows the writer to reflect on it and feel in control once more. To do this, with an audience, is to be empowered, to lose all sense of merely being a passive recipient of the experience. This endows the writer with a self-esteem and confidence, which he or she may never have felt before.

It’s always a very special treat when someone I respect — in this case a past Q&A subject — nominates a practitioner to participate in this series. Lisa Rosetti nominated her writing coach Elizabeth (Lizzie) Gates. “Lizzie is a very accomplished writer and my writing coach,” Lisa wrote, “and she is very knowledgeable around organizational storytelling. This field is gaining a lot of interest in UK; for example, there’s an upcoming seminar in April at Northampton Business School around storytelling in organizations led by Yiannis Gabriel.” I’m thrilled to publish this interview with Elizabeth. The Q&A will run over the next several days.

Bio: Elizabeth has a BA. Honours in English Language and Literature and an MA in Linguistics. She has worked in Belgium, Germany, and the UK, training adult learners in English-language skills, creative writing and English for special purposes. Since 1985, she has been a practising journalist, writing for national and regional newspapers and magazines on health and well-being. She is also an experienced ghostwriter. In 2005, Elizabeth trained as a personal and executive coach with the prestigious coach training school, Coaching Development. And since then she has developed Lonely Furrow Company — a client-centred practice specialising in writing coaching and communication coaching and using writing interventions, transactional analysis, neuro-linguistic programming, and accelerated learning techniques such as story-telling to achieve highly-successful outcomes. Her Out of the Box interactive workshops are already recognised nationally as a powerful way of developing creative communication, leadership and writing skills. She is committed to a rolling programme of continuous professional development and supervision

Q&A with Elizabeth Gates, Questions 1 and 2:

Q: How did you initially become involved with story/storytelling/ narrative? What attracted you to this field? What do you love about it?

A: I was brought up by storytellers. Telling stories was how we related to each other, entertained each other, informed each other, re-affirmed each other. I love storytelling because what my family of storytellers did for me, I can do for others.

Q: One of your areas of specialization is storytelling and writing for well-being. How did you get involved in that area? Did you have personal experience with having your well-being improved through writing/storytelling?

A: Story-telling and writing for well-being have chosen me, and I have built on what they have given me. I started to write as I learned to read stories. And I have written all my life. But at times of crisis — when in such severe trauma I doubt my heart will hold out — writing is a form of restorative meditation. And — although I can tell stories to move to tears — I also tell stories to entertain and develop relationships. Although at times, I cannot avoid the former, I prefer the latter.

See a photo of Amy Zalman, her bio, Part 1 of this Q&A, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

Q&A with Amy Zalman, Question 5:

Q: A testimonial on your site express this wish: “I hope the two presidential campaigns have an opportunity to review and digest Dr. Zalman’s work.” Presumably that quote referred to the 2008 presidential campaigns, but what do you see as the narrative issues of the 2012 election, and what could the campaigns learn if they had the opportunity to review and digest your work?

A: It is still early in the election year, but so far all of the potential Republican candidates are revealing difficulty maintaining control over a coherent narrative about themselves or the country. Even more than four years ago, new media and social media have enabled many narrators, who can slice out elements of candidates’ speech in real time and insert it into other narrative streams. These commentators aren’t only responding to what the campaigners say, they are also producing new meanings that the campaigns may have to respond to.

All of this commentary, coupled with the new information that we are continually getting — like the winners of primaries, or the results of major polls — create a constantly adjusting meta-narrative about the campaign itself. This framework offers a great archetypical structure — winners and losers, heroes and underdogs, last minute upsets and dramatic turns.This week saw Republican primaries in Michigan and Arizona. Lately, the metanarrative of the Romney campaign has been that his campaign may be losing momentum. And everything gets folded into that narrative — the way that Romney’s speaking before an empty stadium has come to reflect his downward slide rather than the fact that he had to find a new place to speak when his first venue grew too small. Of course, these metanarratives twist and turn — as of this writing, he seems to be on the upswing.

My work recommends a holistic viewpoint, and I would say that a campaign intent on winning and seeking to maintain a strategic edge should adopt this view and try to watch the metanarrative, and intercept it as it can and as necessary. It should look down on the information environment like a subway map, and try to see all of the relevant information flows, as well as making traditional efforts to look out at the landscape at ground level and shape the agenda from that vantage.

The other important narrative issue in this campaign relates to the incredible complexity of the most important issues. The economy and budgets, foreign policy, employment strategy, the role of government in our lives, these are difficult to understand and none has a single “right answer,” but rather better and worse strategic approaches. So the candidates have to work through shorthand to explain their vision, and one of those ways is by presenting themselves as mirrors of the American people, and telling us obliquely their story of who they think we are. Santorum presents himself as the leader of a rugged, working class, strong but fearful America, victimized by a liberal elite. Romney says we are a nation of innovators and risk takers who are overburdened by a government that is taking our resources and inhibiting our intrinsic entrepreneurial spirit. Obama has not officially gone campaigning yet, but in a speech earlier this week at the University of Florida he reflected back to us a country that is also entrepreneurial, but younger, and in need simply of access to things like education in order to move us into the information age, through science and technological prowess in particular.

As voters, I think it is important for us to listen reflectively to how each of these candidates uses narrative devices to tell a story, not only of themselves, but not only in their anecdotes about themselves, but in their policy statements as well.

See a photo of Amy Zalman, her bio, Part 1 of this Q&A, Part 2, and Part 3.

Q&A with Amy Zalman, Question 4:

Q: To what extent do you think “storytelling” has become an overused buzzword? Do you find yourself annoyed when things are labeled as “storytelling” that really are not storytelling?

A: For me the culprit word is “narrative” and the arena where its use is most frequently annoying is in the news. Search for “narrative” on any given day on the Google news page, and you will get all kinds of results in which the word narrative is used to mean “claim” or “argument” or simply “position.”

I think that over time, this overuse may clear up, as communications researchers become clearer about what narrative means in the context of media analysis and how it differs from concepts such a framing, agenda setting and other similar terms.

[Editor’s note]: Since Amy’s response to this question is a short one, I’m taking the liberty of citing a serendipitous blog post from the folks at onethousandandone that talks about a similar issue. The post, titled Is Storytelling the new black?, exhorts:

For GAWD’s sake stop calling everything that moves a story! Just calling something a story doesn’t make it a story. We were working with a client who kept talking about their retail story. When asked to explain further they promptly launched into their retail strategy. So it wasn’t a story it was their strategy. It’s still OK to have a strategy (in fact it’s highly recommended) and even better is to call it a strategy. You can then have a range of stories that help people understand and connect with your strategy.