On the recommendation of somebody in Children’s Music Network, I just finished reading Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
by Chip Heath & Dan Heath. They list six ways to get an idea to
stick. In their chapter on stories (stories are principle six), they
refer to a guy named Stephen Denning of the World Bank who made a big
change in his organization’s information operations by telling a story.
“Denning
says that the idea of telling stories initially violated his intuition.
He had always believed in the value of being direct, and he worried
that stories were too ambiguous, too peripheral, too anecdotal. He
thought, ‘Why not spell out the message directly? ...Why not hit the
listeners between the eyes?’
“The
problem is that when you hit listeners between the eyes they respond by
fighting back. The way you deliver a message to them is a cue to how
they should react. If you make an argument, you’re implicitly asking
them to evaluate your argument—judge it, debate it, criticize it—and
then argue back, at least in their minds. But with a story...you engage
the audience—you are involving people with the idea, asking them to
participate with you.”
So
us storytellers always knew that, and tried to convey it to the
teachers we gave storytelling workshops to, and here’s a bestselling
book (not by a storyteller!) backing us up.
Speaking
of stories, it’s not too soon to plan your visit to Kennedy Grove for
the 25th Bay Area Storytelling Festival. My friends Dianne Ferlatte and Connie Regan-Blake
will be telling. Back in 1975, when she was part of the Folktellers,
Connie inspired me to quit my job at the library, as she had, and hit
the road as a storyteller. My goodness, thirty-five years ago! A bit
later, a visit from the Folktellers inspired us to create the first Bay
Area Storytelling Festival. It’s the usual amazing variety, with
performance poet Kealoha from Hawaii, epic storyteller Ben Haggerty from the British Isles, and Syd Lieberman rounding
out the program with personal stories, Jewish folktales, and historical
pieces. Save the weekend of May 22 and 23. I’ll see you there.
NOTE:
Arlo Guthrie concert coming up at Zellerbach, Friday April 23. Saw him
last time he was there and he gave a great solo performance. We loved
it. This time it's a show with his family. Roy Zimmerman,
satirical songwriter, is giving a concert the same night at the First
Unitarian-Universalist Church of Berkeley (which is actually in
Kensington, but they couldn’t say Kensington, think of the acronym!)
Decisions, decisions—the problem with living in Berkeley.
©2010 by Nancy Schimmel
Willy Claflin, storyteller, balladeer, puppeteer and goat whisperer, is coming to the Bay Area Storytelling Festival in May. He is the funniest storyteller I have ever heard.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
STICKY STORIES
