See a photo of David, his bio, Part 1 of this Q&A, Part 2, and Part 3.
Q&A with David Sidwell, Question 4
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: As an art historian (I teach art history in higher education, among
other things), I can see various artistic movements through time as waves coming after another. My views on this subject begin at a literal, historical level. In the 1950s and 60s, a folk movement began that really got going with folk music. Suddenly, folk music — which has always been around and will always be with us –became pop music, too. We began to see singer-storytellers arise, too. In the 1970s, a few folks influenced by the folk-music movement formalized the movement along storytelling lines with the creation of the National Association for the Preservation and Perpetuation of Storytelling. This organization has now become the National Storytelling Network, but back then, a few folks interested in folk stories gathered together and began organizing themselves into a kind of storytelling club of performers.
I don’t know how storytelling jumped from these troubadours into the business world and elsewhere, but I’m glad it did, and I’m glad it is still growing. In fact, I see it in its fledgling stages right now. Only a few books have been published on the subject, and I see many more coming and many being tailored more and more to specific applications. I do not believe it is a fad that will fade away. Even as our culture becomes more and more digital, we are also seeing a great democratizing of our society. Anyone now can post a YouTube video or write a blog or have a voice in one way or another, and I perceive that storytelling is spontaneously arising in our cultural awareness simply because it captures so eloquently and so clearly the communications that are coming from us as individuals. With the world going more and more digital, it is also growing more and more social. Social media is changing our lives just as much as the printing press changed lives hundreds of years ago. I see this social movement parallel to how our ancestors shared stories. Our front porches now are computer and smart phone screens. Our banter has become our tweets and Facebook updates.
There are also some key individuals that have really pushed applied storytelling forward into a more prominent position in our society. Stephen Denning, for instance, is a very successful organizational storytelling proponent who has had a strong voice. His work has influenced and inspired others to continue exploring this path. It is difficult to find a book or article on organization storytelling that does not quote or allude to Denning. Above all, however, is the simple fact that storytelling works, and it works in all the authentic and honest and powerful ways we want things to work. Being image-based sharing, it also has the power to motivate and inspire people on so many different levels. We are probably smart enough now as a society that when things work well, we are able to communicate that success, and we can begin to use these effective tools more and more and in different situations as required.