Avatar and the story in storytelling

No, haven’t seen Avatar yet. I will, I want to. Just mentioning it because it creates a perfect example for what I intended to write about in this post – story in storytelling.

Going back to an earlier post, the one with the Xes. Here is a quote:

…Merriam-Webster. Here is the definition for story …“ the intrigue or plot of a narrative or dramatic work”.  Art … “ the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects; also : works so produced”.

People told me about Avatar. Many people. Only one of them mentioned the plot line of the story in the movie – in general. All of them spoke endlessly about it’s visualization as THE thing about it. “ The conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects; also : works so produced”. The story of Avatar as told by people who saw it is a story about an amazing piece of visual art, including “ the intrigue or plot of a narrative or dramatic work” – in this case, a visual dramatic work with a visual plot line (colors, effects 3D etc. and how they evolve), worth telling.

In storytelling, “the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects; also : works so produced” should create the outcome of storytelling – someone telling a story after hearing one, and that story should be “the intrigue or plot of a narrative or dramatic work” – in this case, a told dramatic work with a told plot line worth telling.

Story in storytelling is not the original plot of a story. Story in storytelling is what grows emotionally, intellectually and physically  inside the listener and turns into a story worth telling – whether it has anything to do with the original plot or not.

So what’s the difference between reading a story and hearing one from a storyteller? it’s the WE or US experience. A storytelling event is a mutual face-to-face creation between teller, story and listener. It cannot and does not exist in any other realm in exactly the same way.

The core of Storytelling – masterful storytellers

What you are about to read is the forth chapter of an article I wrote a while ago for an engineering and management KM conference in Tel-Aviv.

Storytelling is the most profound long standing influence device that exists through human history and storytellers who can harness the power of the art are the central link in this process. Many names have been given to this skill –legendary marketers, thought leaders, communication architects, but it all cuts down to one expression – masterful storytellers.

Storytelling is perceived in various ways and as a combination of literature, theater, demagogy, folklore and plain lies. What storytellers actually do is “Mediate ideas articulated in words to or with other people. Storytellers work with thought and relationship. The same process happens in literature, poetry, and theater. It is the need to successfully mediate the verbal and kinesthetic narratives to other people orally, in time, while adapting to a specific telling, that demands the use of a third narrative. That is the vocal, the narrative of patterned movement.” (Shiponi, 2002)

Storytellers work in a narrative world, expanding and zooming in on the information constantly in order to reveal the most relevant and reliable information that will help create the decision about their next action. This information is met with other performance indicators and together a decision is made in an instance.

This process of scanning information, experience and predictions is what creates the solid plot line then compared to known plot patterns they carry in order to form the best plot suitable for a specific event. In the storyteller’s absence the managing device of the story event is only partial or totally missing.

The most outstanding skill of a storyteller has to do with patterned movement and the use of it in combination with all the other facets of a storytelling event to create a space for a crystallized living body of knowledge – a story.  Storytellers are skillful in combining time patterns and content in a way that attracts people like diamonds – a purification of substance.

Storytellers organize information and knowledge, content and relationships in a non-linear dynamic way; they use structure and process interweaving polarities; they use metaphor as a tool to comprehend complex patterns surfacing an alternative mode of understanding which lives beyond the matrix; they visualize the narrative world of stories through sphere-based geometry and configurations of higher order. For storytellers, chaos is a play ground to observe, reframe and organize, so a single plot can be reframed and sculptured in time. Storytelling suggests the integration between the knowledge society and the awareness society – it is the reflection and organizing principle of a wisdom society.

Therefore it is no surprise that the top rated feature of masterful storytelling by storytellers is ’sense of story’ (Shiponi, 2007) which is an inclusion of various organizing terms among them ‘the formula’ and the ‘oral formulaic theory’ known from the works of Lord, Parry and Foley. The word ‘patterns’ indicates the element of re-using knowledge.

We all do that but masterful storytellers have larger parts of the process mastered to the extent they can collect data, process, take a focused relevant decision, aim towards a target audience at eye-level and elicit feedback at such high speeds that the outcome sounds like plain chant and seems effortless and therefore ‘must’ be a natural talent or something rather simple anybody can do. Taking one step back from this picture and looking at it from a KM perspective – the skill of storytelling is management of information in context to produce an actionable understanding that is extremely fast, almost always relevant, and never superficial.

There are two important realizations here though – there is no need to go through a thorough prolonged analysis in order to prove the power of masterful storytelling. That would be like sending oneself to get lost in the Mandelbrot set. And secondly, not everyone can be a masterful storyteller.

So? reading that chapter, whether you agree or not, whether you are curious to know more or just about to click away from here, I’ll be happy to read your thoughts. In any case, there is no way I could agree on calling storytelling “a tool”. That would be like looking at an entire person and calling here “long legs”.

If story is X, storytelling is telling X, right?

Now, this post can get so philosophical it can loose contact so I’m going step by step with my arguments.

The simple thought would be – if story is X storytelling is telling X. Along this line of thought we could say that cinema is screening X, theater acting X, screenplay writing – writing X for screening X. You get the idea. If nothing happens between X and its forms of expression so all we need is X really. The rest could be tools / techniques / skills / talents / platforms / mediums. Many actually call storytelling a tool.

Cinema, theater, screenplay writing, literature – those are arts. No body calls them tools. So it’s either they are tools too or it might be that storytelling is art too. I say storytelling is art too and therefor different than story.

Just to make sure we are on the same page let’s define story. This is the moment we’ll usually refer to Merriam-Webster. Here is the definition for story and in arts definition 3b is the closest: “the intrigue or plot of a narrative or dramatic work”.  Art is also defined (just select noun) and I say definition 4a brings us close: “the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects; also : works so produced”.

What about storytelling? Nada, so help me God. There is a definition for storyteller though “a teller of stories: as a : a relater of anecdotes b : a reciter of tales (as in a children’s library) c : liar, fibber d : a writer of stories”. How brilliant. Back to teller of X.

So before I continue, what say you – does something happen between X and the telling of X? an addition to the experience maybe? something tiny? just a bit? what is your personal experience?

Serving ‘bread and amusements storytelling’

‘Bread and amusements’ eventually enslaved the Romans to their barbarian invaders. ‘Bread and amusements storytelling’ can eventually enslave users to their brain invaders. I’m not telling you a new story here.

I’m not against technology. I’m against using technology where it causes degeneration. We don’t need to revolutionize the way we tell our stories, we need to tell them. Why have many people stopped telling stories? Because many people have stopped listening to them and started listening to ‘bigger’ stories, ’stickier’ stories created and spread through manipulation and platforms more forceful than the skillful achievement of one person or the natural pace of word-of-mouth. Fireworks makes everybody excited and some a little afraid as long as they last a few minutes. More than that, once or twice a year, takes away the meaning from the human-size events of life. Fireworks are a metaphor in this post – skillfully prepared, strategically situated to impress.

Storytelling is highly interactive, improvisational and social. Notice the difference between story and storytelling – not the same thing and a common swap that appears in MIT’s announcement like it appears in many other places. Audiences are already active participants in the storytelling process. In fact, without the presence of an audience, our art does not exist because its outcome lives only in their imagination; bombarding it with dramatic visual events well prepared, degenerates people. Lately, God has a keyboard and the only reason for something to die is running out of batteries. Humans don’t need help bridging real and virtual worlds – we created them even before modern technology existed…

How can someone come to the conclusion people need help telling stories? In the technological world – easily, just browse through any website that invites user-generated stories and you’ll find something that looks like this:

Now, that’s called lending an ear…

In the room sat the last storyteller on earth…

Snap!

Don’t worry, that is not going to happen. Storytelling will never die. Unless humanity vanishes completely. Many have this concern though, and the question is who and why?

One group that decided to take care of the issue announced it’s action plan on November 18, 2008:

The MIT Media Laboratory today announced the creation of the Center for Future Storytelling, made possible through a seven-year, $25 million commitment from Plymouth Rock Studios, a major motion picture and television studio that is expected to open in 2010 in Plymouth, Mass.

With the establishment of the center, whose research program begins immediately, the Media Lab and Plymouth Rock Studios will collaborate to revolutionize how we tell our stories, from major motion pictures to peer-to-peer multimedia sharing. By applying leading-edge technologies to make stories more interactive, improvisational and social, researchers will seek to transform audiences into active participants in the storytelling process, bridging the real and virtual worlds, and allowing everyone to make their own unique stories with user-generated content on the Web. Center research will also focus on ways to revolutionize imaging and display technologies, including developing next-generation cameras and programmable studios, making movie production more versatile and economic.

You don’t say… I thought to myself when I saw this. “And they and their robot lived happily ever after…”

What is MIT’s concern? where do they see a problem with storytelling? Is it lacking something?

Why do they think we need to revolutionize the way we tell our stories?

Why do they think that leading-edge technologies will make stories more interactive, improvisational and social?

Or transform audiences into active participants in the storytelling process,

Or help them overcome the impossible (maybe they believe so, I don’t know) cognitive task of bridging the real and virtual worlds,

And grant them back their birthright to make their own unique stories with user-generated content on the web?

You can sense, and you are right, that I’m asking these questions with a sarcastic voice. But still, I’m asking these questions. In lack of response (until now) from MIT or anyone close I can try and answer these questions myself.

Answers coming soon. If you would like to suggest any you are welcome. Keep in mind though that I’m looking for the reasons behind the actions, the ideas that set off this initiative in the first place. If anyone from MIT would take part in this thread, I’ll be much obliged.

The story pattern I used for helping the children create a story for the StoryBox

Hoping to help others, I’ve uploaded a diagram and an explanation about the pattern to Storytelling Coach II – its the second exercise on the page, just scroll down. Using a story they know or telling them a story, showing them the pattern and helping them to find it in the story you have just told, makes it very clear.

Storytelling, Technology, Social Media, Marketing – prelude

I’ve been reading through this blog’s stats to find out what the people who arrive here are looking for. As it seems, most of you are looking for coaching exercises. That’s great if I know you are actually putting them to test and finding some of them useful for you and your students and colleagues. I’ll be great full to hear about your experiences, please write me, even short notes.

Yet I know there is another reason for this blog winning its reputation, that being a rather shaky title on the web as it changes daily. The first one to notice was Tim Ereneta followed by Eric James Wolf and later on I found my name mentioned on various sites and my definition for storytelling written not far away from here on the sidebar, cited on SlideShare presentations and in various other places. I’m happy for all that and thank you people for giving me a reason to continue writing about this stuff and not keeping it for myself.

What I’m talking about I’ll tell you in a minute but one personal note first. Please read it – it’s important:

English is not my first language and writing not my preferred form of expression. I’m also not exactly THE model for “little girls must be seen but not heard” – maybe because growing up in London and hearing that sentence for the first five years of my life made me want to kick… on the other hand, if you will meet me in person, you’ll notice that my bold and passionate character is well integrated into the habit of keeping good manners and politeness. Why I’m I telling you this? don’t take offense from my written words. If you’re not sure, ask me. I have the feeling that some people feel I’m too harsh. That could be true considering WHAT I write, but not when it comes to the way I treat people – I care for the human race very very much.

That said, I’m getting back to the reason this blog started in any case – this is an Agora. In ancient Greece it was “a place for political assembly; marketplace or public square used for public assemblies.” I’m standing here, trying to ask the difficult questions and search for the answers. Can’t stop it, it’s part of my nature and I enjoy being curious. Talking about storytelling, I’m involved with it in any way you can imagine and my days are split between the art in it’s purest form and all it’s implications. I mean – all.

I’ve chosen to start a long thread of posts about storytelling, technology, social media and marketing mainly because so little has been properly brainstormed in public about these connections and I see some alarming, wonderful and hilarious possibilities there. You should know as a background opening note, that I am directly involved in all of the above, this is not only about long distance theory, but I promise to try and keep things orderly and connected to the work of others.

You are all invited to take part – this is an Agora, let the holy mess begin. First post coming soon…

The StoryBox project – field report, Zichron Yaakov Israel, part six – storystorm and farewell

Ilan took a bunch of stories home, wanting to deepen his own experience with the box and its stories. He came back to school suggesting they will read some of the stories together. The stories were written by students around the same age so the issues were close to their heart. They went through three stories before breaking into a stormy conversation about the content, the ideas, the characters, the writers, the issues at hand mentioned in the stories. Ilan was very pleased to see how the stories written somewhere else ignited such a conversation in his class.

The next time we met we had the whole class again. We took them to the drama class and asked them to select an object or garment from all the treasures Ilan gathered there, keeping in mind it is something they have stolen. Stealing has passion attached to it. Then we wanted them to tell their partners who they stole it from, why and what they intend to do with it now that it is in their possession. We used window frames as the telling platform, moving them quickly one after another telling through the windows. Then I practiced with some of them how you flesh out a story so the little bits of information could turn into anecdotes. Most of them participated rather easily and were willing to try and get better.

On Friday we met again. We are close to the box departure so we have to start tying loose ends. We took their photos, got their names in English and told them what was going to happen next. We don’t want (and neither do they want) to give up on the creative product. So the box will leave with their stories and the tiny box project, and the clip will be sent later on, after we conclude the work.
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The box left today on its way to Spain with three items we added in – The tiny StoryBox tiny project, a handwritten story prepared by one of the girls and a booklet with all their stories (15), pictures and information about Zichron Yaakov.

The StoryBox project – field report, Zichron Yaakov Israel, part five

We have stories! Today they finished writing them so the meeting was mainly about writing, prompting and writing again. Ilan asked me to bring the box, “It has a magical influence,” he said. It does. As they wrote I was looking for a matchbox Nathalie told me about and I found it. Two of the boys were finished so I gave them the tiny box, told them about the girl who made it, the girl from Switzerland who didn’t have a story and asked them if they would write one for her. Since we had only about 20 min. left until the end of the day, they decided it would be a good idea to launch “The Tiny StoryBox Tiny Project”

They wrote a beginning, we’ll write some instructions and place the matchbox into a slightly larger tiny box so it can be its own project for others to continue. I hope that by the time it gets back to Kevin the girl will have a story…

Then Ilan took me to see the drama class – he is the school’s drama teacher and his students, the same kids we are working with, were preparing scenery he thought using as a background for their storytelling. It’s a small warm space.

From here on we have several tasks we would like to complete:

Practice telling the stories so we can have a storytelling session. It will be recorded on video.

Translate the stories into English and create a printed version. The translations will be made by two of the kids, another will take everybody’s photos and another will edit and print the booklet.

Take one of the stories (Ilan will choose which one), turn it into a mini-play and rehearse it. This will be a good experience for those who will feel too embarrassed to tell their story. The play too will be recorded on video.

Ilan is going to write a piece about Zichron Yaakov which has a special story. We are going to take the entire class to main-street which is an historical site and shoot some photos and video.

If they will manage to do it on time, some of them want to create comics and a statue. These too will be documented in digital form.

We’re going to check if we can invite the local press, so if that happens, it will join the rest of the material. Ilan told them about the local press and they went “Duhh..”. “Tell them about Chanel 2 and you’ll get them listening,” I was joking and then one of them asked another, “Why don’t you tell your uncle about this?” turns out this kid’s uncle is a well known interviewer on national TV and a really cool guy… we’ll see.

All this material will be edited into a video-clip. Two of them are going to write, play and record music for it. One of the fathers, a professional video man will help us edit the digital material. The clip and the story-booklet will be placed into the StoryBox, the rest will stay here.

The StoryBox project – field report, Zichron Yaakov Israel, part four

By now we have a bunch of 15 raw stories. Some of them need polishing; others are looking for a sufficient ending. Since we knew that this time we will have only one hour to work with the kids, we decided to do two things – find a creative expression that will travel together with the stories and do some kind of warm-up on the way to actually telling the stories to others. Like in standing in front of other people and talking…

Fear is what I wanted to avoid. A little fear can turn into excitement so that is where I was aiming at. I gathered four very basic exercises and grabbed my large red spaghetti spoon. When I met Ilan he was concerned about splitting the class. His colleague didn’t come to school so he had no one to send the kids who do not participate in the project to. He was preparing some kind of alternative activity he would lead while I’m working with the rest but still was uncomfortable with “the authorities”. We decided to invite them all in and play it by ear.

8:15 AM is not a pretty site when you are 14…. They looked as if they were shoveling coal for the entire night. Action and energy were required, “ok, push all the tables to the wall, bring your chairs in and let’s sit in a circle!” they actually did it Some of the kids who are not part of the project looked concerned, “don’t worry,” Ilan said, “you can take part, you are invited.” I told them we are going to warm up to the possibility of telling a story – without telling one today, just preparing. Holding on to the spaghetti spoon I looked at the kid sitting next to me in the eye, asked for his name and said, “here Amit, and when you grab the spoon you need to look at me and say thank you Limor. Then you pass it on the same way, with the same text, switching names and looking at each other while the interaction takes place. Naturally.”

The first few had great difficulty meeting eyes. But as we proceeded they managed to keep it with occasional giggles. I asked them how it was. They realized that looking at a person for a short interaction was not a habit most of them were acquainted with – they are not used to paying attention this way, it felt embarrassing. I asked them to go for a second round aiming to succeed as a group. The flow and attention were their mutual responsibility which is the case in storytelling. No power game, no begging for attention. They did it very well this time; they too could sense the slight shiver which appears in the presence of truth.

The second exercise went a different way, inspired by the “Academy Award Acceptance Speech” from Raising Voices by Judy Sima and Kevin Cordy. “ze grrande spaghetti prize” was granted to each and every one of them, young chefs who participated in “the younge chefe natsionale competitione.” I did the commentary announcing their wins by name and what we wanted to see was their reaction to the announcement. No words, just a single gesture that will make us understand what they feel receiving such a prestigious award. It was fun and Ilan took it slightly further demonstrating what a clear gesture is so they could be more accurate and effective.

The third exercise touched the embarrassment issue again. I presume you all know the exercise where the person comes over to the storytelling space, takes it with intention, stands in front of the audience and keeps standing there while receiving applause. They were really ok there. Then we spoke about it a little and that was enough for this part.

Creative expression was our second issue. Since all the class was there and participated, we had the opportunity to bring the “outsiders” back into the story. We asked them to take part in the creative idea, since it will require a lot of work. Nobody resisted. “Storytelling is the main creative expression form in this project,” I said, “but doing some more would be nice since it can travel.” They had many ideas – pictures, video, play, short book, comics, PPT, statue, music & song, video clip. We asked them to think where they could contribute the most and wrote down their names accordingly.

Through Facebook chat with Nathalie Jendly I realized there was stuff in the box we missed, some of it which she hoped will be continued by others. We didn’t really get to see all of it. Ilan felt he wanted to take some time with the box and its stories, without his students. So we are going to meet and look through all the material.
It might be a good idea to leave a clear message for the next story-keeper about things you want them to relate to. Next time we are going to return to their stories.