Tim_11_I

I am posting this early since I have to get the book back to Brian.
I had to borrow The Story Factor in order to read the last chapter. (The edition that I have only has 10 chapters.) Thanks Brian!
In chapter 11 Simmons kind of pulls back the curtain and reveals what she has learned since the original book was published. She has learned how the book has been received through her lectures and presentations. She also lets the reader know they’ve been had. You can’t categorize all stories into just 6 types.
But the more important lesson I learned was that you can’t begin with the results you are looking for and then craft a story. You need to work backwards. Find a story you want to tell and then craft the lesson out of it. It was interesting that Simmons says if you can’t find a story that suits your purpose, maybe your desired outcome needs to be changed. It might be time to re-examin the purpose.
I also noticed that the language seemed to change in this last chapter. She is no longer writing in conversational style or almost colloquial terms, but instead takes a more analytical tone to her words. It’s as if she suddenly turned academic and after putting out the book she needs to prove that she is the expert.
The best illustration of this is a sentence I had to read about three times to understand, “Practice trusting retrospective coherence curbs the urge to cling to limiting recipes of false clarity.”
It may be the author is talking in the tongues of the storytelling religion. But I found it to be out of character related to the rest of the book.
I also think she is trying to justify her writing by trying to tie it all together. I don’t think it necessarily works, but I see what she is trying to do.
I guess the best validation though is that our program is included in the reference section in the back of the book. I wonder if any student would admit they learned of our program from reading this?

Tim_10_I

Simmons continues with her advice to use storytelling only for good. In this chapter she says to only tell positive stories. She points out that sometimes negative stories can still be influential. It is she says, the best story that will be remembered, good or bad. Her Hitler references were interesting. I supposed that goes along with the notion that those who don’t remember history, are doomed to repeat it.
Beyond the author’s preaching, there are some good points to this chapter. She talks about keeping stories alive, within a family, business or even a culture.
I wish I had taped my grandparents and even my parents to help preserve their stories. Sure I still tell some of them, but I can’t recall every one of them, only the more memorable ones. Hopefully my sons will be able to recall some of my memories for their children too.
Simmons provides more usefulness with her six ways to help generate story ideas. I am considering adapting that list to spark news story ideas for NewsLink Indiana.
Near the end, Simmons sounds like a prophet and storytelling is the religion. When she presents live, I wonder if there are people yelling “Hallelujahs” from the audience?

Tim_9_I

I bet I’m not the only one who thought of Spiderman when reading chapter 9 of The Story Factor. It pretty much had the same message, “With power comes great responsibility.”
I felt almost like this chapter was put in by the lawyers. You know, so no one can sue if they get hurt. Simmons tends to get a little preachy, but has a good message. Use this power of influencing people through stories only for good, not evil. I am sure there are those out there abusing their power of influence, even outside of politics.
The rest of the chapter seemed like a catch-all of ideas left over from other chapters. But here they are categorized as the “rules” of proper narrative with “dos” and “don’ts” of storytelling. While I thought she had more don’ts than dos, they actually were pretty even. But it’s the negative ones that we tend to remember. Still several good ideas come through in the chapter, ones that as storytellers, we all can utilize.

Tim_8_I

Chapter 8 gets to listening, something I have been trying to do more of lately. It is reminiscent of the typical communications model, we have a sender, but also a receiver. Many times I find myself thinking about something other than what is being said. I try to be an active listener and I can tell when I am successful, I can recall more of what was said to me.
I can also identify with what the author calls story stoppers. I am going along with a story weaving the details with a lesson about to be revealed when the hand goes up and a question interrupts my process. I want to be sure my audience is understanding what I am saying, but one inquirer can distract the rest of the room too.
I was concerned at the start of the chapter when the author writes about throwing away old stories to make room for new ones. She goes back to this point near the end of the chapter to clarify that we should keep the old stories and use them as a foundation for new ones.
Simmons also points out an interesting listening idea. If you listen long enough, the person will get to what they want you to hear whether they know it or not. They open up once they know you are listening.
I see how our class is closer after listening to each other’s stories every Tuesday. We hear stories they wont tell their own family, ones that make us think about our own lives, ponder what we would have done and even laugh out loud.
I appreciate when someone listens to my story, so I try to return that attitude and listen actively to theirs.

Tim_Chapter 7_I

In chapter 7 we read more about using stories to influence. But the author concentrates on using stories to deal with people who don’t want to be influenced. She talks about people who may have a different view than yours and how to use a story to soften them up. Yes it’s back to feelings and emotions being influenced through story.
I think it comes down to getting your audience all on the same page. I often tell my news students that if they don’t care, why should the viewer? This chapter brings up a lot of difficult situations where people are so steadfast in their views that it is hard to win them over. Simmons says it is about hope. If you can make your listener have hope, then you have made them care about your cause.
I mostly agree with this idea, but there are some topics you just can’t win with everyone. I was surprised Simmons brought up abortion. That is a subject to avoid. I suppose if you were enlisted to convince one side to listen to the other that you could. But listening might be all you accomplish. I imagine that it was similar when talking about slavery before the civil war. For me, sure I have an opinion, but I’d rather stay out of the argument.

Group #1 Action Update

Today we captured both video and audio of the 2007 CROP Walk in Muncie. We acquired interviews with an organizer and two young participants in addition to some great natural sound of the event.
We expect to gather more assets on Thursday.

Tim_6_I

In chapter 6, Simmons talks about using feelings and emotions to influence. But once again after pushing an idea, she says nothing is a sure thing. “No guaranteed strategies to influence,” is how she puts it.
There were two things that stood out in this chapter. One is the example of a street naming decision. It brought back the issue that was big in Muncie. It started in 2003 and only finished a year ago. The decision to rename Broadway to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard was controversial. In the end, one business chose to close it’s doors rather than accept the new street name. The rest of the town either learned to accept the name or embraced it. I still hear the Delaware County dispatch on the scanner sending crews to addresses on Broadway. Some things are slow to change.
The other thing that stood out for me was that Simmons finally brought up multimedia as an example of storytelling. This should be the connection for the folks in our program. Yes, personal storytelling is important, but now we get the author’s approval to add sound and images. I am guessing that’s why many of us are here, digital storytelling.
Finally Simmons gets to what might be the mantra of storytellers, “In the end, the best story wins. Not the right story, not even the most frequently told story, but the story that means the most to the greatest number of people-the one that is remembered.” Sometimes however I think the most frequently told story gets remembered whether it is good or not. I think of those stupid “Head-On” commercials. The incessant “Apply directly to forehead” is ingrained in the minds of television viewers to the point they won’t forget, no matter how hard they try

Tim_5

After reading chapter 5 it is pretty evident that this book is intended for people interested in business communications. The whole idea of using a story to influence people is beat into the reader’s head over and over.
I will definitely pay attention the next time a salesman tries to win me over with a story in order to make me buy something. It is almost manipulative.
I am beginning to see what other class members have pointed out, that Simmons does a good job of not being committed. She does it again saying, “The only fact we can trust is ‘We don’t know.’”
It does make sense though, that if you want to influence someone it is best to go after their self interests.
Coming from a television background is am familiar using stories inform, in the case of news, or entertain. If I were in sales, I suppose I could relate more to the idea of persuading or influencing with my stories.
I think I also like stories that are entertaining or enlightening.
Eric Kehe is a photojournalist at KUSA in Denver and a former photographer of the year. I once told him that I felt manipulated because most of his stories made me cry. They are some of the best stories and I am glad I was able to experience them. Catharsis aside, I think I enjoy laughing instead.
Instead of manipulating, I might have just been influenced to cry?
I’ll watch Eric’s stories a little more careful from now on. I’ll also read the rest of this book wondering how Simmons is trying to influence me. I already bought the book, what’s next?

Tim_Chapter_4

We just read in chapter 3 how the story weighs more than facts, now we read in chapter 4 how important the presentation can be.
This chapter goes beyond words and ideas to the mechanics of storytelling.
For the most part, I agree that how you tell a story is important, but I am not sure I buy the fact that it is more important than the story. Sure you need to be able to relate to the audience and not be distracting. But I can’t help but think of how many good stories have been told on the radio that would go against Simmons on this one.
I think about Jean Shepherd and the images he wove in the minds of radio listeners. That’s why he had such a great following, he was able to make the listener see, even feel what he was saying.
"This guy was wearing a pair of blue jeans so worn that it looked like he'd built the Union Pacific railroad all on his own..."
The final bit of advice form Simmons on tone is a bit disappointing. She says you shouldn’t try to control your tone, but rather your mood will determine the tone of your voice. Then maybe she should have written about mood instead.
I do like the idea of practicing stories in front of a video camera. That will likely provide more help than any book. At least you might know what to look for after reading this chapter.

Tim_Chapter#_3

Chapter 3
The idea that the story is more powerful than the facts makes me think especially considering my background in news. I do agree to the point that good stories can weave facts in amongst the emotion. In journalism, stories can be more important than facts, but the facts that do make their way into the story need to be accurate. When Simmons talks about the story on lying, it struck a chord. What about a white lie? I’d say those don’t have a place in journalism but for other situations may be justified.
The ten illustrations for stories that hit harder than the facts helped me to understand that point. I can think back to supervisors I had that should have learned some of those methods. One in particular come to mind.
The decision was made to institute an office dress code. I had enjoyed wearing polo shirts and khakis, favoring comfort over style. One day the boss gathered all of the workers in a meeting and told us all about the new dress code. Shirts, ties, dress slacks and shoes were the order. Then he said, “Decision final. No discussion.” Wow, I was floored. Here we were enjoying casual Fridays every week and when classes weren’t in session and we were in the searing heat of August, we could even don shorts. Not any more.
I told the supervisor at my next review that he should have at least asked for and listened to my opinion. Sure he could still have made the decision he did, but at least I would have thought he took my views into consideration. You know, make me think I had input into the matter.
After reading Simmons, I think my supervisor could have eased the staffs concerns with a story that illustrated why the dress code was so important to our operation.
After reading this chapter I even used the storytelling techniques with a couple of our students at NewsLink Indiana. It may not have worked as well as the stories in the book, but I think I was able to get my point across without sounding like I was dictating what they should do. I was able to use my past experiences to show them how they might approach a story. We ended up doing just that and I think we all learned from the situation.
I’m enjoying the book and look forward to more examples of how to use storytelling outside of news and entertrainment.

Tim_I

The message read:

"Dear Tim Underhill

Your Amazon order #058-xxxxxxx-3517903 has shipped to:

Tim Underhill

Department of Telecommunications

2000 W University Ave

Muncie

IN 47306-1022

US

Manifest of items:

- The Story Factor: Inspiration, Influence, and Persuasion Through the Art of...

Method of shipping: Standard"

That was my mistake, standard shipping. As of today, I am still waiting for the book for my TCOM 630 class. Yes, I am a cheapskate. I was thrilled to get the book and shipping for less than ten bucks. That is unheard of in the land of hundred dollar textbooks.

I am usually proud of my cost saving measures, but this one might end up biting me.

I don’t buy a lot of anything but appreciate the convenience of online shopping. One of my favorite places to shop is Moosejaw. It isn’t that they have better products or lower prices, but they will match any advertises price. The best part of the Moosejaw web site is the product descriptions. Moosejaw has a reputation for storytelling to sell it’s wares. The entries remind me of the J. Peterman character on Seinfeld, but with a penchant for outdoorsy humor. Moosejaw wants you to have fun shopping on it’s web site.

Readers are treated to obscure references and tales of dating conquests and confusion. If you enjoy the outdoors, online shopping and reading funny narratives, I recommend heading to Moosejaw.com. I’ll warn you though, you might end up wasting a lot of time. Maybe it will keep me occupied while I wait for my book to be delivered.

Tim_Q

OK, so we are using this blog to discuss class issues. I think that Blogging is already old. Seems to me it's just another name for a message board. Back in the day, we had Compuserve with topic related discussion boards. Nothing new in the Blog.
So my big question is: What's the next new name for an old internet concept?
Maybe it's time to stop calling it a Blog and come up with something new.
Any ideas?
See you all soon!