Sarah_11_I

The part of the chapter that stuck out most to me was when Simmons says that storytelling is a reciprocal process of listening and telling. Basically, it's a two-way street, and the storyteller isn't always going to successfully direct traffic where he/she wants it to go. We may have a story to tell that we think is hilarious or poignant or life-changing, but maybe our audience doesn't quite agree or even get that same feeling after hearing the story. All we can do is tell our stories and try to convey something meaningful in the process. You can't force the audience to get what you're saying, but you just have to let them try to get it on their own. It can be a frustrating experience, but it can also be rewarding.

Sarah_10_I

The example given in the chapter about the "Stewart Woman" really made me think of my own experiences of hearing family stories. My parents never said anything like "You're a Jones" or "You come from the Turners (my mom's family)," and I think saying things like this sounds kind of family sitcom-ish. But their stories always let me know just what kind of people I come from, and whether it was intentional or not, the stories helped me decide the type of person I wanted to become based on those from which I've descended. I know from these stories that my family is full of simple, hardworking people who have tried to live honest, good lives. We come from the extremely rural parts of Kentucky and Virginia where, to some even today, indoor plumbing is an unnecessary luxury. I even remember visiting some family as a child and refusing to use an outhouse. I personally think the rural, outdoorsy life sucks a lot, but the stories of my family have taught me that life isn't easy and it's not always luxurious. It is what it is and we take it at face value. I'm glad my parents have told me about my family and where we come from. It's helped me put the world around me into a better perspective.


P.S. I would just like to say how much I love the automatic save feature because one of my cats thought he would crawl into the tiny space behind my desk and flick off the power strip in the middle of my post. He's not in nearly as much trouble as he would have been if I'd lost the whole post rather than just one sentence.

Sarah_9_I

Simmons says not to scare people or make them feel guilty. She also says story is a tool of influence. Isn't fear and guilt the best way to influence people? We see it on the news and in advertising every day and, boy, do we buy into it.

Sarah_8_I

I like this line on page 182: "Listening to people helps them pour out a little of their current thinking so they can make room for new thinking." This is reminiscent of the idea of using others as a sounding board. I like this method for venting, personally. When something is frustrating me or weighing on my mind, I like to just have another person available for me to just spew out everything that is in my head to I can clear away things in order to move on. The other person isn't there to offer advice or even respond in any way. They just exist in that moment sort of as a funnel for me to empty my head and heart so I can make room for something new and positive. And really I don't care if the person is actually listening or if they're thinking about what to have for dinner. Their simple existence is enough.

Group #3 - Survery Questions

Met with Mary Watkins at Yorktown High. She suggested we survey students.

Yorktown Middle and High School potential survey questions regarding media use vs. real interaction listed in comments.

Sarah_6_I

I know this whole book is supposed to be about making us better storytellers. That's great. We could all use some help. When I was reading the opening to this chapter, though, I couldn't help but think that maybe we don't need a huge map guiding us toward "good storytelling techniques." Maybe we just need some really good examples to help give us an idea. The story of the shaman and the woman at the start of this chapter was a perfect example. It was simple, yet it held my interest throughout and made me want to keep reading to find out if and how this woman was going to accomplish her task. Maybe storytelling is best learned through example rather than being told the ways to tell better stories. Just a thought.

Sarah_5_I

I liked the idea Simmons raised about our lack of real human contact in today's technological world. Chad sort of touched on this in his post as well. I think this section was absolutely necessary to point out to a business-oriented audience (as well as to the many who spend way too much time text messaging, emailing, and IMing their friends and colleagues rather than simply having face to face contact). Of course technology makes business communication more quick and efficient, but what gets lost in the process? As a customer in the world of business, I hate automated customer service lines, online surveys where I can win something with my receipt code, and mass mail (email or traditional), just to name a few things. These things don't make me feel valued and don't make me want to buy anything. Now I'm not asking to be bombarded by people like when you walk into store and 20 people ask if they can help you. There has to be a happy medium. Can we come to a compromise with technology and real human contact?

Sarah_4_I

This chapter read much like an Introduction to Public Speaking text book: "Gesture, dress the part, body language, etc." I agree that all this does play a vital role in storytelling. However, Simmons' depth seems a little unnecessary. As with the previous chapter, things felt a little drawn out. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand her audience to be business people trying to become better in their profession, and I would venture to guess that a majority of business people have taken a course similar to Introduction to Public Speaking. If this is the case, Chapter 4 need only appear as a refresher course rather than a full-on chapter seeming to contain new, vital information. But then again, this could just be my desire for sheer facts that clashes with the writing style of the author. She makes good points, yes, however I desire a more streamlined approach.

Sarah_3_I

I noticed that in chapter 3, the title says it all: Stories can do more than facts. What interested me most was that this chapter contains 33 pages of stories, but each one illustrates the same simple fact that facts are not as powerful as stories. Talk about leading by example.

Sarah_1&2_I

I was oddly surprised to find that Simmons waited until pages 35 and 36 to mention the influential power of stories as they relate to religion and Aesop's fables. From the start of the book I couldn't help thinking, "Just say it! Just say stories hold religion together!" All the elements were there, but she just wouldn't say it plainly for me.

She mentioned how you need to use stories to get people to believe you, to trust you. Then there was this whole talk of faith on page 3. Stories create faith, and the ultimate goal is for your audience to believe your story to the point that the story becomes theirs as well. Is this not the roots of organized religion? Each religion has its own stories that unite its members and keep the religion strong. We believe in the stories our religion's tell so much that we're willing to shun the stories of others or even go to war over opposing stories. This is true power and influence.

Because I was in this religious mindset, I also couldn't help but take the titles for the six story types literally. So here's how I saw the titles when I first read them:
1. "Who I Am" tells us who we are as people and where we came from.
2. "Why I Am Here" tells us why we were brought into existence.
3. "The Vision" tells us what the higher powers have planned for us.
4. "Teaching Stories" tell us what we're supposed to do.
5. "Values-in-Action" related to teaching and show us how to be good people.
6. "I Know What You Are Thinking"..... well, I couldn't really think of something for this.
Maybe this relates to the all-knowing God phenomenon. Or maybe it relates to naughty
thoughts equaling no presents on Christmas. I don't know.

Did anyone else have any similar thoughts, or am I just crazy?