See Madelyn’s bio, photo, and Part 1 of this Q&A, and Part 2.
Q&A with Madelyn Blair (Questions 4 and 5):
Q: Are there any current uses of storytelling that repel you or that you feel are inappropriate?
A: When the news media manipulate the story, I am outraged. Stories are used to tell a truth or a fact in a manner that helps the listener get beyond his or her biases. Thus, the implied truth or fact assumes higher credence when told as part of a story. When the news media purposefully alter stories either through commission or omission, it is a violation of the trust that citizens place in the news media. Their range of influence is broad, and their sense of responsibility should reflect this reality.
Q: What future trends or directions do you foresee for story/storytelling/narrative? What’s next for the discipline? What future aspirations do you personally have for your own story work? What would you like to do in the story world that you haven’t yet done?
A: I don’t think that I can anticipate how others will use story. As more and more people, learn about story, they will begin to use story in ways that meet their needs using processes that fit the situation. That said, I hope to use story to help people discover ways in which they can keep their knowledge current. We live in a world where information and knowledge comes at us at a pace that can’t be absorbed. Moreover, we are able to go after specific knowledge with an ease that has never before been offered. Yet, how to manage this barrage? Through the use of story, I hope to show that there are many, many ways in which individuals, teams, even organizations can keep themselves appropriately current. (My book on the subject is about to be published.) [Editor’s note: Madelyn tells me the working title of the book is “Riding the Current: How to keep your knowledge up to date without drowning, furthering noting, “it is a book filled with the stories of people who have figured out how to do this along with a process for the reader to create what works best for them. Publication will be within the next 6 months.”]