Today I am proud to share with you my new project – Applied Storytelling a seven minute weekly podcast examining every aspect of the application of storytelling in life, business and culture.

Any listener is welcome to suggest a question that I (Eric Wolf) will endeavor to answer to the best of my ability. Any question on the application to storytelling will be answered – if I do not know the answer I will find some one else who does know the answer.

This project will publish weekly but only the first of episode published each month. The other three episodes produced each month will publish inside the members only section of the International Storytelling School’s Website. You can read more about the School at http://www.thestorytellingschool.com

The free episodes in will appear as a separate feed and as a part of the Art of Storytelling Show’s feed as well.

The transcript and audio of the first show are available here – http://www.thestorytellingschool.com/2010/09/applied-storytelling-community-performance-storytelling/

Bio: Katharine (Kathy) Hansen, Ph.D., creative director and associate publisher of Quintessential Careers, is an educator, author, and blogger who provides content for Quintessential Careers, edits its newsletter QuintZine, and blogs about storytelling at A Storied Career. Kathy, who earned her PhD from Union Institute & University authored Tell Me About Yourself (April 2009), Dynamic Cover Letters for New Graduates, A Foot in the Door, Top Notch Executive Interviews (fall 2009), Top Notch Executive Resumes; and with Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D., Dynamic Cover Letters, Write Your Way to a Higher GPA, and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Study Skills.

4. How do you describe the benefits of storytelling to other people in the business world?

I call upon the gurus who evangelized storytelling long before I did — people like Annette Simmons and Steve Denning and others, early pioneers who wrote books that have become the foundation for current business narrative/organizational storytelling.

Simmons characterizes the effectiveness of stories in business in her landmark book, The Story Factor (Chapters 2 and 5):

* Story creates power.
* Story is a form of mental imprint.
* Story is a dynamic tool of influence because it gives people enough space to think for themselves.
* In a complex environment, people listen to whomever makes the most sense — whomever tells the best story (Simmons’s followup book is titled Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins.)
* Story makes sense of chaos and gives people a plot. People need story to organize their thoughts and make sense of things.
* Story invites people to creatively reframe their dilemmas, while rules alienate people who want to think for themselves.
* Change people’s stories and you change their behavior.
* Story is like mental software that you supply so your listener can run it again using new input specific to the situation.
* Story is uniquely equipped to touch you and help you touch others in this place that cannot be understood, explained, or reduced to a flow chart.
* Story builds connections between you and those you wish to influence.
* Story helps the brain remember.

And from the Australian consulting firm, Anecdote:

* Stories reveal what’s really happening in your organisation
* Stories inspire us to take action
* Stories stick in your mind much better than [bulllet] points and clever arguments
* Stories connect us to a purpose and improve our performance
* Stories share and embed values

Finally, Marguerite Ganat very recently posted (http://www.talentculture.com/digital/the-chemistry-of-storytelling/) this list rationales for story in business:

* We don’t just buy a product, we buy the story behind it.
* We don’t just join a company, we join because of its story.
* We don’t just join a cause, we join the story behind it.
* We don’t just vote for a presidential candidate, we buy into his story of what the future holds.
* We don’t just follow the leader, we buy in to the story behind her vision.
* We don’t learn best by hearing a theory or concept, we learn best by hearing stories that demonstrate the concept.
* We don’t just see a movie or read a novel, we lose ourselves in a good story.
* Based on the fact that we buy stories, it’s not the best product that will sell; it’s the product with the best story behind it. It’s not the best employer that attracts the most candidates; it’s the one who knows how to tell a story through its employment brand.

5. How is applied storytelling different then performance storytelling or traditional storytelling?

I think storyteller Sean Buvala’s definition of storytelling provides a good starting point for answering this question. He writes:

“Storytelling is the intentional sharing of a narrative in words and actions for the benefit of both the listener and the teller.”… ‘intentional’ means that not everything we do is storytelling. Storytelling is a planned activity and process. ‘Narrative’ means what is being talked about has a beginning, middle, and end. ‘Sharing’ means that there is an audience in front of the teller which can be one person or thousands. ‘Benefit’ means both the listener and the teller leave the sharing of story as a changed person.”

So, in my mind, many types of storytelling that DO NOT fall into that definition can be classified as “applied storytelling.” (I should note that Sean would not agree; he feels that if a communication does not fall into his definition, it’s not storytelling. For example, he does not consider digital storytelling to be storytelling.) Storytelling that is missing one or more elements from Sean’s definition is still storytelling in my book, but it’s applied storytelling. Examples of applied storytelling include: organizational storytelling/business narrative, journaling/memoir writing, blogging, social media, digital/multimedia, transmedia storytelling, journalistic storytelling, visual storytelling, fictional storytelling, storytelling for movies and TV, comic-book storytelling, and more, including my personal crusade, storytelling in the job search. Not every bit of communication in these venues is storytelling, but storytelling is possible within these venues.

I once proposed that all storytelling can be broken down into just three purposes: storytelling for identity construction, storytelling for change, and storytelling for sense-making/learning. Even performance storytelling can fit into this rubric in that the audience changes from an un-entertained state to an entertained (or enlightened, moved, etc.,) state.

Storytelling for identity construction can range from storytelling in social media to storytelling to establish a brand identity for products and services. Storytelling for identity construction is also what I advise job-seekers to do to make themselves stand out memorably to employers.

Storytelling for change is often the impetus behind business narrative — using story to help workers cope with and buy into organizational change.

Storytelling for sensemaking is what we automatically turn to when we seek to make sense of unexpected, tragic, or confusing events. Similarly, storytelling is effective for learning because stories are so good at illustrating concepts and making them memorable (Look back at Annette Simmons’s statement that “Story helps the brain remember.”)

6. Given the detailed exploration you have done of the applied storytelling community. Break down for us the different schools of thought that exist currently in the business world relative to applied storytelling – where do your various guests fall in these fields?

This is a very big question, and I turned to the no-cost e-book I compiled, Storied Careers: 40+ Story Practitioners Talk About Applied Storytelling, looking for an an answer. Or, I should say, a partial answer, because I am not attempting to be comprehensive here; I’m sure I’m leaving practitioners and their schools of thought out. I hope they’ll forgive me and/or comment on this entry.

Gabrielle Dolan, co-founder and director of Australian consulting firm One Thousand & One, supports helping to embed storytelling into an organization’s culture: “We normally work with clients on two levels,” she says. “Firstly we normally skill the leaders in organisational storytelling through workshops and then help them embed this skill. What we mean by that is finding ways that they can continually find and share stories and apply their new skill of not only storytelling but story listening.”

Leadership consultant Susan Luke’s focus is corporate mythology, and she calls herself a corporate mythologist: “To my knowledge,” she notes, “I am the only ‘corporate mythologist’ using that title. I coined the descriptor in trying to put some definition around who I am and what I do. Corporate mythology has two aspects — the stories of/about the organization (history, philosophy, values, vision) and the stories of the individuals who make up the organization.

Author Cynthia Kurtz upholds the idea of respecting the integrity of the raw story: “Raw stories of personal experience are far superior to crafted stories for the things I
care about when working with stories,” she says. “For the purposes of advertising products and services, delivering specific purposeful messages, and entertaining people, crafted stories are often (but not always) best. But for the purposes of helping people learn, think, make decisions, get new ideas, grow, and get along, I’ve found that there is nothing better than a raw story.”

Authors/speakers/consultants Lori Silverman and Karen Dietz evangelize the notion that storytelling is a critical skill that should be taught in business schools. Storyteller Sean Buvala agrees with this sentiment, saying, “Corporate folks must take this storytelling skill seriously. To really be an effective corporate storyteller, you need to be devoted to being the best storyteller you can be.”

Speaker and consultant Thaler Pekar emphasizes story sharing rather than storytelling.

Your question really got me thinking about developing a taxonomy of applied-storytelling schools of thought. I guess the foregoing is just a little taste of that.

http://katharinehansenphd.com/

http://astoriedcareer.com/

1.What is Storytelling? and why are you interested in it?

I am among the storytelling fans who do not like to be boxed in by a specific definition of “story” or “storytelling.” I’ve found in the more than 57 interviews I’ve conducted with storytelling practitioners that most of them, perhaps surprisingly, prefer not to define “storytelling.” (However, a few feel a strict definition is vitally important.) Of the definitions offered by the practitioners who prefer to define story/storytelling, I’ve liked some more than others. One of my favorites is: “Story is context.”

I think I have been interested in storytelling for most of my life, but I didn’t really recognize the passion until I began my PhD program. I was taking an organizational-behavior course that focused on postmodernism. While researching the concept of postmodernism, I discovered an entire academic (and applied) discipline I had never heard of: organizational storytelling. This field instantly resonated with me, causing me to realize how much I had always loved storytelling, going back to reading the anecdotes in Reader’s Digest as a child. I was so intrigued by organizational storytelling that I made it the centerpiece of my doctoral dissertation, which combined my professional background in career management and job search with storytelling.

While in my PhD program, I started my blog, A Storied Career (http://astoriedcareer.com) as part of my coursework. As I completed my doctoral program, my storytelling interests began to expand. Organizational storytelling was too narrow to encompass my interests, so I broadened the blog’s scope — and my own passions — to the field of “applied storytelling,” a term I first heard from Michael Margolis.

My work on the blog was sporadic for its first three years; I would go long stretches without blogging. But in February of 2008, I made a commitment to blog 7 days a week. I have mostly lived up to that commitment, although I have skipped some days during my recent major, cross-country move.

2.On your blog (Astoried Career) you interview a wide variety of story thinkers what characteristics attract you too a potential interviewee?

When I first began sending out invitations for the Q&A series in the summer of 2008, I focused on applied-storytelling practitioners that I knew, or knew of, and admired. I was familiar with them through their books (for example, those of Terrence Gargiuolo and Annette Simmons), through their presentations at conferences (for example, Madelyn Blair, Michael Margolis, and Svend-Erik Engh), and through encountering them on the Web (for example, Shawn Callahan and Stephanie West Allen). Once I had invited all the best-known story luminaries — and most of them accepted the invitation and participated — I didn’t really have to search hard for new interviewees. I encountered them through my ongoing research for blog material. I’m excited that for the most recent series of Q&As, I’ve received nominations and self-nominations of people who want to participate or want to recommend a participant. I had always hoped that would happen, and I’m thrilled that is has.

In the interview series, I have tended not to focus on oral-performance storytellers, people involved in transmedia storytelling, storytellers in film and TV (such as screenwriters and people who teach screenwriting), people in comic-book storytelling, and folks into the storytelling of gaming. It’s not that I’m not interested in these areas. I just feel that other bloggers and writers — like you — do a good job of covering those fields and their practitioners, so it’s better for me to have a narrower focus. So many forms and uses for storytelling exist, and I can do a better job if I don’t try to cover all of them.

3.What is postmodern storytelling and how does it have anything in common with traditional oral narrative culture?

I view the current storytelling movement as an outgrowth of postmodernism. Postmodernism is characterized by critique, irony/ionic humor, mockery, parody, playfulness, disorientation, things that are symbolically rich and meaningful, multiple perspectives, conflict, the discontinuity of traditions, contradiction, ambiguity, paradox, metaphors, a strong aesthetic dimension, diversity and multiplicity, fragmentation, as well as questioning pre-established rules, values, expectations, right vs. wrong, good vs. bad, and underlying faith in reason and science.

In part, story becomes a way to make sense out of and find meaning in fragmented postmodern life.

Postmodernism means seeing organizations as texts, narratives, discourse, stories. David Boje, arguably the scholar who has most significantly connected storytelling with postmodernism, writes that “Stories are not indicators [of an organization], they ARE the organization.”

Boje writes (http://division.aomonline.org/rm/1998_forum_postmodern_stories.html):

The postmodern turn has several key method assumptions. First, humans as storytelling animals act toward their organization and environments based upon their storied interpretations of self, other, organization, and environment. Second, story making is a collective process of social interaction in which story meanings change over time. Third, story meaning changes with the context of the telling as storytellers select, transform, and reform the meanings of stories in light of the context of the telling. Fourth, in [storytelling organization] theory the individual is part of the collective enterprise of constructing and transforming stories told to the world and stories of the environment being constructed. This is different from a structural-functionalist model of organizations in which story functions as measures of variables of an abstract structure. Fifth, the inquirer is a story-reader who upon entering the story-making world changes the story-making processes by being there at all.

Postmodernism also means fusing modern techniques with traditional concerns, which is where the second part of your question comes in. We can never get away from traditional oral narrative culture because we think in story; that’s how our brains are wired. But a postmodern view says that story does not come from an authority on high but belongs to everyone. It’s collective and distributed, and many people and perspectives participate in constructing stories (think about social media and blogs). Postmodernism also means rejecting the idea of an objective “reality;” there is only the reality we construct with others through discourse — by telling our stories.

Probably my best attempt at connecting postmodern storytelling with traditional oral narrative culture is in this essay I wrote as part of my PhD program: http://astoriedcareer.com/story_synthesis.html.

Having said all that, I am less interested in postmodernism than I used to be. Postmodern theory provided my entry point into storytelling, and my blog still carries the tagline “Kathy Hansen’s Blog to explore traditional and postmodern forms/uses of storytelling,” but it’s not a big part of my current thinking.

http://katharinehansenphd.com/

http://astoriedcareer.com/

Press Play to hear Michael Reno Harrell speak about American Folk Music and it's effect on American Storytelling Community on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.

Michael Reno Harrell Writes...
People like to be talked to. Well, if you have something interesting to say, they do. It's in our genes. All of mankind's knowledge was passed on through storytelling until very recently as things go. And it's a good bet that music started out as a part of that storytelling at about the same time. The two are as closely intertwined as fishing and talking about fishing.
I've been playing the guitar and writing songs for longer than I care to admit. And having grown up on folk and bluegrass, the songs that I tend to write are apt to be the kind that tell a story. And as a singer/songwriter I tend to do a whole lot of solo performances and am lucky enough to do mostly concerts. That is to say, where folks sit and listen to what I'm offering.

I found out a long time ago that an entertainer needs to connect with his audience on every possible level, so I started talking to my listeners. So, what do you say other than, "Thanks for coming out" or ‘The title of this next song is…"? Well, I've found that people have an interest in the story behind the song. So, I began to tell a bit about what I was doing or thinking about when I wrote a particular piece. That grew into writing a story that would lead into the song. Pretty soon the stories were longer than the songs, but my audiences didn't seem to mind.

Now when I do music festivals and someone comes up after a set and says something like, "Man, I really dig your songs, but I love the stories", I say, "Dude, you need to check out a storytelling festival!" (Hey, I only say "dude" if the guy says "dig".)

About Michael Reno Harrell

Michael Reno Harrell is an award winning songwriter, as well as a veteran storyteller and entertainer, and he's from the South; the Southern Appalachian Mountains to hone it a bit finer.

One could compare Michael's performances to his granddaddy's pocket knife: well warn and familiar feeling, but razor sharp and with a point. His brand of entertainment appeals to a very diverse audience. A typical day for Michael might include a program for 4th graders in the afternoon and a concert for a mixed audience that evening.

Michael's recordings top the Americana Music Association charts year after year. His original songs and stories have been described as "Appalachian grit and wit" but, as his writing shows, Michael's awareness is much broader than the bounds of his boyhood home or even the Southern Experience. Having toured throughout the British Isles and much of Europe, as well as most of the US, the songs he writes and the stories he creates reflect an insight into people's experiences that catch the ear like an old friend's voice.

Michael's natural knack for storytelling, in print, song and spoken word has earned him praise from not only the music community but from the literary and storytelling worlds as well, having had the honor of being a Featured Teller at the National Storytelling Festival and to be Teller In Residence at the International Storytelling Center, as well as performing at major music events like MerleFest and the Walnut Valley Festival. Along with his performances, Michael often conducts workshops in songwriting and storytelling as well.

Michael's recordings have for years received and continue to garner awards in Country, Americana and Folk circles. His humor and wit, as well as the emotional depth of his work, keep his fan base growing and staying tuned in for whatever comes next. Don't miss the chance to experience what those faithful fans keep returning again and again to enjoy.

http://www.michaelreno.com

Many iPhone listeners of this show have complained that they can not listen to the back catalog (Shows 1 through 60). But now via this iPhone application they can listen to every episode that previously was only available on the website. Over one hundred hours of information and interviews on venerable art of storytelling.

You can purchase this iPhone application in the iTunes store here.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-art-storytelling-show/id359696135?mt=8

If you purchase this application please review it in the iTunes Store. I will add published reviews in the iTunes Application Store to this post here –

Review by Dianne de Las Casas

“If you loved listening to Brother Wolf’s show, The Art of Storytelling via iTunes, you will love this new app for the iPhone. Episodes are easy to find using the search feature and the shows are clear as a bell on the iPhone. This new app gives me tons of new listening material, especially since I am always on the go. Great job, Brother Wolf!

Thank you for advancing the art of storytelling around the world! - Dianne de Las Casas, Award-Winning Author & Storyteller, Author of The Story Biz Handbook: How to Manage Your Storytelling Business from the Desk to the Stage (Winner of 2010 Storytelling World Award)”

Review by Gregg Morris

Gregg Morris over at his blog “What’s Your story” wrote glowing review of this application and you can listen to it here -Art of Storytelling iPhone Application review .

Rate this application on yahoo rating service….
http://www.appolicious.com/education/apps/208501-the-art-of-storytelling-show-podcast-app-wizzard-media

Press Play to hear Brother Wolf speak with Limor Shiponi on striding towards storytelling mastery on the Art of Storytelling Show.

Limor Shiponi writes…

Mastery is an ambiguous word raising the impulse of ownership and recognition, resonating something standing apart while representing a form of wholeness. What is it about mastery and mastery in storytelling that keeps me at this issue for so long?

For me, mastery is about inspiration, a northern-star I can dream about and act upon. I want to help my audiences, including myself, touch our stars for the sake of joy in life. I believe mastery leads that way and therefore I seek it, investigate it, I want to understand.

This is what I know: mastery lives in the physical world and it has an age; It lives in people. Mastery is not a degree or a title but rather a state of being, formulated by the work of a person who turnes his search and art into his walk in life without even knowing he is on the path to mastery; until one day, it arrives.

How do you know? You feel one with story, with listener and nothing stands in the way anymore. Time gives-in to your ability to craft it with each word, gesture or sound you make while traveling through a story told so many times before – told once again with the special group of people sitting in front of you. When you seek mastery, they are your companions sharing the path you are unraveling underneath their feet.

When mastery is present the story transcends its documentation, set free into full life. I see mastery in storytelling as magic – a performing art that entertains by creating suspension of disbelief in front of what is seemingly impossible or supernatural, using purely natural means like skill, knowledge, wisdom and love.

Since very young age I’ve been trying to understand how it is that people are fascinated from what seems to be there while it is not, trying to pass through the curtains and reach the back-stage of imagination. Eventually I found myself standing there and I can tell you what I know: mastery lives in the real world in the form of your own kindness, enchantment and glint in the eye. You get there if you are willing to acquire the skill and knowledge, walk the path and share the magic of life.

Bio

To make a long story short…

I tend to tell powerful stories that kick you out of balance and then help you land in safety. I execute my work through performances, workshops, talks, consulting and writing for various formats. I’m constantly and deliberately pushing toward excellence in storytelling and receiving the recognition it deserves. Why? Because I think there is not enough amazing storytelling to go around. I believe humanity deserves its soul back, the permission to do our best and help each other speak the truth. I’m also deeply interested in the connection between high science, storytelling and politics. That’s on the blade side. To the Chalice: I love people and love listening to people. The amount of compassion people stimulate in me makes me an easy weeper, in joy and in sadness.

I prefer being my best and influencing others to be their best. It is the core of everything I do through the main disciplines I’ve studied and practice – orchestra conducting, storytelling & coaching. I feel at home in both eastern and western environments, conflicts are my play-ground for finding balance. Very few matters can leave me speechless or unwilling to participate, one of them is deliberately hurting and neglecting children, another is humiliating a person in a ‘friendly’ way.

I do many things in many fields which people find hard to believe until we meet and actually work together. This is not about boasting but about delivering the nature of my work and the way it is perceived by my clients. I’m curious about almost everything and thank goodness, this trait has not killed me until today. It just helps me to see a problem from many angles and find solutions.

Translating the above into professional jargon…

Some of the issues I speak about – social media and marketing, managing in time (you can’t manage time, it’s the other way round), storytelling and politics, branding (including self-branding and how to do it the right way), organizational culture, woman’s issues in the 21th century, learning.

Some of my storytelling programs – medieval stories, the nine female characters in Arthurian Legends and what we can learn from them, Israeli stories (different from Jewish stories), Mediterranean love stories, wine and bawdy stories, folktales from many cultures, wisdom tales. Most of my audiences are adults and at the same time I love telling to children over the age of four, teenagers and adolescence.

Smart Storytelling Systems™ – include ‘The Quest Master’ & ‘The Key’. The Quest Master is a tactical tool for generating better decision making between high profile professionals. The Key is a process for eliciting great sales stories, brand culture and language and fresh customer service.

Business & organizational consulting – marketing strategy, social media, buzzing, brand language and organizational culture. These are broad issues that narrow down according to the client’s request or my recommendation.

Writing & experience design – I teach copywriting from a storyteller’s point of view, write and evaluate copy, cooperate with experience design and interactive specialists.

The amount of storytelling projects and initiatives I’m involved with will make this text way too long to read. My links will show you the way if you want to know more.

And… I have a request or a serious invitation really. I’m looking for people from the gaming industry that will be wild enough to design a new game from scratch, beginning from storytelling. Not story nor script, storytelling. What do I mean? Contact me.

Limor’s Storytelling Agora
You may find a discussion on this episode between several listeners and Limor here.

SB: And you’ve done over a hundred, haven’t you?

BW: There are 103 online, with 17 more waiting to be uploaded.

SB: And is it mostly an American audience?

BW: I view the podcast as an International project. 44% of my audience is overseas. I’ve been working really hard to connect with international potential audience when they’re in the United States.

SB: So, the podcast is a big part of what you do?

BW: Yes, definitely. One of the things that’s started happening recently is that people are starting to come and say “interview me,” but it really doesn’t work that way. I’ve only ever done that twice, and both times I regretted doing it….
One of the things I struggle with is that a lot of podcasts that are very successful aim at an audience that is very tech savvy, but my target audience (storytellers) is almost the opposite. What that means is that the build is much slower than with other projects of these type. It’s one of the great frustrations of the project for me. And recently I rebranded it, which makes that process even slower. That’s why I’m always quick to say to anyone “if you like listening to it, let other people know, or people at your institutions know,” That’s the biggest way my audience grows…

SB: And I actually brought that up when speaking with Dale Jarvis as well. He’s quite successful at using social media, he does a lot of traditional storyteller-type reaching out to people as well, so he’s getting a kind of synergy going there, but he often has to think about bridging the gap between people who are traditional storytellers and are often over 40, and potential storyteller audiences who might not even be aware of the storytelling world unless he reaches out to them using social media.

BW: You use the term “traditional storytelling” a lot. I wouldn’t describe most of the storytellers I know as traditional storytellers. I would say “performance storytellers I know” or “community storytellers,” but I wouldn’t say “traditional tellers” unless I was talking about Native Americans, people from Africa, like the Griots from Africa, places where they still have a living tradition. Though it’s true that most of them are over 40 because it takes many years to master the tradition… Community storytellers doesn’t get as much respect in the U.S. and you can see this in their promotional materials, which often don’t even use the word “storyteller.” The storytelling brand is badly damaged; it’s associated with children and librarians reading books to children. That’s why I recently re-branded my podcast. (From “The Art of Storytelling with Children” to “The Art of Storytelling.” —SB)

SB: What do you think listening to stories does for people?

BW: I think that human beings are community animals. Not in the sense of lower, but in the sense of us being biological. Storytelling arises out of that need to build and structure community. When we know the people in the room, we’re really creating opportunities for connecting with them. In diplomatic relations, there’s a technique for using storytelling to prevent the hotheads from getting out of hand. Tellers are used to using metaphor and simile to speak to each other.

SB: What has being a storyteller done for you?

BW: The creator of the world makes us storytellers – it’s part of why I’m on earth.

SB: Would you say that storytelling is your calling?

BW: I would go beyond a calling; it’s part of the very fiber of who I am.

SB: How did you get started as a storyteller?

BW: When I was 8 and my sister was 4 I told her class the story I made up of how the old man’s shoes flew off and the class was all terrified, they loved it and wanted me to come back. This is what I always return to. But that’s not really important – what I think you want to hear is… Let me tell you three pieces of advice for a storyteller; the three things that made me a lot better as a storyteller.

SB: Okay, what are they?

BW: 1) When you tell your first story to a new audience, it’s always a story you’ve done many times before. Never start with new material. Always show them who you are in your best setting. That was the biggest step for me. Your second best story is your last one in a performance.
2) I stopped explaining everything. Bad tellers, they leave no stone unturned, no thing unexplained.
3) To be good you have to be practiced. I have a local/closed group, we’ve been practicing for five years. Sometimes it’s just a matter of doing it a lot. You need to focus on one genre and really do it.

SB: How does technology and storytelling interact?

BW: I feel like there’s been a real revolution in terms of technology in the 21st century but I think lots of people are having trouble wrapping their heads around it. Hardly any storytellers are aware that you can use Tunecore, CDBaby or CafePress and you can sell your storytelling CDs one at a time. If you have an amazing story… if you have a following of 300… then chances are half of those have iPhones or iPods. We’re leaving money on the table. We are missing opportunities to build relationships with audiences. We could do what Disney does. There’s so much crap out that… but it’s so loud and so viral… Susan Boyle, for example. We think we can’t compete, but because of Google we can compete. We’re better… we’re SO much better.

SB: I will interview Margaret Read MacDonald next week.

BW: Oh, she’s great. She was one of the very earliest supporters of this show, one of the first people I interviewed. So in a sense she’s been a real early adopter of this technology.

SB: Thanks for talking with me.

BW: My pleasure.

Writer’s Bio: Stephanie first learned the art of storytelling in 2005 and has been telling at schools, libraries, cafes and festivals ever since. She specializes in Alberta history, tall tales, and biographies, but her repertoire also includes silly, salty and spooky stories from many parts of the world. Stephanie is a member of T.A.L.E.S., The Alberta League Encouraging Storytelling, and can be contacted through them. This interview was conducted as part of her graduate course work in 2009.

Have something worth sharing on the Art of Storytelling Blog?
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Press Play to hear Brother Wolf takes questions from his audience on the Art of Storytelling Show on being a professional storyteller. This is 3 of 3 shows commemorating the 100th Anniversary episode of the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf Show. This Episode is podcast in 128 bit rate – this higher bit rate costs more to cast online – if you enjoyed listening to the higher quality show – perhaps you would consider purchasing your next download through the website….

This picture is called a Wordie – it is picture of the words people used when they wrote their thoughts on the 2010 National Storytelling Network Oracle Award..
What People are saying about the Art of Storytelling Show…

I would like to thank the following people for contributing there time and energy to the 102ndt Anniversary Episode….

Harvey Halbrun – Show ID – http://hdhstory.net/
Steve Otto Show Introduction http://www.i-tell.net/
Ellyce Cavanough Introduction of Brother Wolf – http://www.freespiritnaturecamp.com/
Fran Stallings – Oracle Award Committee - http://www.franstallings.com/
Michael D. McCarty – Invitation to attend the National Storytelling Conference in LA in July/August in 2010 – http://www.storynet.org
Jean Luster – Art of Storytelling Ipod Testimonial – The Cleveland Association of Black Storytellers
Buck P Creacy - http://www.buckpcreacy.com/
Heather Forest – Defining Storytelling http://www.storyarts.org
Journey Sandeers – How does one become a professional storyteller? http://www.jostory.com/
Dale Jarvis – International Conference in 2010 in Canada – International Perspective – When storytelling and when is it a tradition? http://www.sc-cc.com
Margret Endinburg – How do I go about telling stories for pay? http://www.kuumbastorytellers.org/MargaretEdinburgh.html
Rob Mcabe – How do I get Grant Money? – http://www.robmccabe.com/
John Daily who lives in Hawaii – bi-noral sound.
Mary K Croft Working with Open Mic’s
Margaret & Noel-Lewis-Watt storytellers http://www.aroundtowntellers.com/
Captain Bob Milller Invites us to fist the South sure Near Boston. LANES Website and Karen Chace story cafe…
Jenni Cargill Strong – Itales ve Itunes – Her company selling storytelling CD’s

Press Play to hear Brother Wolf takes questions from his audience on the Art of Storytelling Show on the future, current health and past history of the podcast. This is 1 of 3 shows commemorating the 100th Anniversary episode of the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf Show.

Each of the people asking questions on this show have there own work and I can hardly expect anyone to get all the way through this episode with out having to listen two or three times…

Audience Members who Participated in this Show…
Judith Black – Show ID http://www.tellingstoriestochildren.com
Robert Kikuchi-yngojo – Show Introduction – http://www.ethnohtec.org
Bill Lepp – Guest Bio – http://www.buck-dog.com
Anne Shimojima storyteller – Wonder and Amazement – http://www.storytelling.org/shimojima/
Lisa Eister – How did the Art of Storytelling Start? – http://www.scstorytellingnetwork.org/guilds.html
Fiona-Jane Brown, aka Story Esquine What do you think of having children tell true life stories? http://www.grampianstorytellers.org.uk
Jeff Gere of the Talk Story Festival – How has this process effected you? – http://www.jeffgere.com
Mylinda Buttterworth – Can you tell us more about Eco Tales? http://www.storymasters.org
Donna Washington – Thanks for Contributing. – http://www.donnawashington.com
Tim Errneta – What is your listenership like? – http://storytelling.blogspot.com/
Judith Alexander – How long are you going to be keeping up this podcast? – http://www.seattlestorytelling.org

Thanks to all the people who participated in the making of this episode. If you are one of the other wonderful people who dialed in a question or a comment and I didn’t use it here please come back next week to hear my answer to your question.

Never apologize before performing – if you have to apologize due it at the end of your performance where people can except your apology as a part of there approval of your good performance. I have been a little delayed in my production of this episode. Scratch this delay up too a desire to make the show decent and a fear of success that seems to be over taking me at this point. More on the that in a few days.

My friend Tim Ereneta has hit upon a brilliant idea. On Youtube and elsewhere online are hundreds of really good storytelling videos already produced. He has found all those videos with their embed codes and moved them to one place. Just brilliant and just what we need. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. This is the place to demonstrate storytelling in all its beauty, joy and mastery.

Tim serves as the keeper of the chalice. Giving out only the finest sips of storytelling wine so that we can just enjoy the fine samples he has found for us.

I am so enamored of his website I am going to link to it right here on the front page of my site and I am going to refer to it as a recommended link from here on out. He is doing a public service one that should have been provided by the National Storytelling Network or the International Storytelling Center several years ago.

The Story Lab X Project

Art is not limited by state budgets, the few hours of life apportioned or others acceptance. The only limitation of art is our desire to embrace art as we know it and to love that expression that calls us into our passion – into our being – into the voice of God. Of all the arts, storytelling is the most able to thrive despite budgets cuts, institutional ignorance and community apathy. Storytelling brings people together and serves as a beacon for community healing.

To be an artists is to give yourself over to a creative process that promise no fruit with each effort. But instead enlightens our lives with a gift that can only be declared – soul. Art in it’s purist form is God’s hand in our mortal lives. A living testament that their is more to our lives then this simple physical frame. To be an artist is to see the world, not only as it is – but as it can be or will be by our will.

Art makes meaning where there is none, gives power to the powerless, heals wounds long scarred, and above all hold love triumphant for the entire world to see. Successful art brings people together through compassion, forgiveness and understanding. Art and storytelling is held and holds community in it’s sacred trust. Art binds the sinews of the mortal world into a tapestry that ancestors hold in their immortal coil.

When we examine what it means to be dyslexic in a modern society we find ourselves looking at an entire class of creative types who are artists by definition. Though their creative efforts may be far from what society defines as “art”. They as a group fall in the range of artist by their very necessity of invention. Their inability to fit with the bounds of normality causes them to rush into the worlds of creativity that others will never experience. Not to say that to be dyslexic is to be born a painter, actor, poet or artist. Far from that. Dyslexics make the best storytellers by the requirements of the world bent down upon them.

Storytelling is the refuge of sinners and survivors. Storytelling is an art long associated with lying and dishonesty. Oral Narrative is held in disrepute for the same reasons it is so widely successful. The ease at which storytelling can be adapted and used to support the powerless and the oppressed is the same ease that allows sinners and con artists to bends it to their will.

Press Play to hear Christine Carlton and Jenni Cargill have a conversation on Australian Storytelling on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.

Tired of the tin sound? Purchase a HQ Mp3 File of Interview #092 Christine Carlton and Jenni Cargill 2 Australian Storytellers for $2.23 Examining the Skeletons in the Cultural Closet.

Written by Jenni Cargill-Strong

Eric asked what does it mean to be Australian? Ask 20 different Australians these questions and you might get 20 different answers.
Christine explained and I'd agree, that it can be hard to define the Australian identity, because we have such a diversity of cultures. Many Australians arrived in recent decades since World War 2. The Aboriginal population is less than 2% and most Aborigines live in isolated inland rural areas, whereas most Australians live in cities on the coast, so most Australians don't have much direct contact with Aboriginal people or culture.

I would agree with Christine now that yes, if you were to generalize, as a people, we are mostly laconic, relaxed, friendly and we have a great sense of humor. Like any country, we also have our shadow, our racism and unresolved issues. However at least Aboriginal issues are much more on the table to be openly discussed now, our Prime Minister gave the apology* to the stolen generation** that many of us had been waiting for and progress is slowly happening with land rights.

Despite all the struggles of Aboriginal Australians, as we both mention in the interview, we now have not only very strong traditional Aboriginal art, dance and storytelling, but the most wonderful flowering of contemporary Aboriginal dance, film, art, theatre and even comedy that keeps building momentum.

I loved Eric's' reference to -the elephant in the room'. The apology was an important step in our national history and in the development of our identity, because it acknowledged one of the big elephants that had been sitting in the room of the Australian psyche "“ the facts and the pain of the stolen generation.

I feel that stories that connect us to country are also very important, especially in the context of the level of social dislocation and the state of the environment. A Maori*** friend told me about the Maori concept of your -tangata whenua' which translates to your lineage and the land you come from or -the ground you stand on'. It makes you stronger to clearly know and claim who you come from and the land you come from. She said in traditional Maori culture, you get shown the plot where you'll be buried when you are young and you visit that spot regularly, so you also know the ground you'll end up in.

In Australia, this national sense of -the ground we stand on' is still evolving. So when you ask a non-Aboriginal Australian to tell an Australian story, it's not as straight forward as it may be for an Aboriginal person, a Celtic person, a Hawaiian person or a Japanese person- assuming each of these people are still have connected to their cultural stories.

Non-indigenous Americans must face similar issues, but I imagine since you've been there a few hundred years longer and you have a larger body of American folktales to draw from. New stories are slowly emerging in Australia, woven from and reflecting the many cultural strands that make us up. The version Christine told of -Stone Soup' is a great example. I am currently working on a new collection of environmental stories to record that reflect connection to country, connection the Earth and connection to the rhythms and the seasons.

The gift of our Australian situation is that we are not weighed down by any rigid traditions- so many strands to weave with and we have much room to evolve, experiment and discover. Let the adventure continue!

The Apology' refers to the speech our current Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd made in 2007 to acknowledge and apologize for the pain and suffering created for the stolen generation by government removal policies.

The Stolen Generation is a group of Australian Aboriginals who were taken from their families according to Australian government policy between 1910 and 1970. While it is unclear exactly how many children were taken from their homes, some estimate that the numbers could be between 1/3 and 1/10 of all Indigenous Australian children born during that time." See more at http://www.actnow.com.au/Issues/Stolen_Generations.aspx

*** Indigenous people from New Zealand. Moari's refer to their country as Aotearoa (pronounced Ow-tay-ah-row-ah), which means -Land of the long white cloud.

For people interested in Australian Aboriginal films, there have been some amazing films that have come out of the Australian Aboriginal community like "Samson and Delilah'; Rabbit Proof Fence' and -Ten Canoes'. If you come to Australia and you are interested in Aboriginal culture, I recommend in particular that you check out "The Dreaming Festival" which happens in our winter on the east coast see www.thedreamingfestival.com.au

Jenni Cargill-Strong
www.storytree.com.au

Christine Carlton
President NSW Storytelling Guild, Australia
http://www.storytellersnsw.org.au/

Bio
Jenni Cargill-Strong, Director of the Storytree Company is a storyteller with unbridled enthusiasm and passion for her art. Teachers often remark after a show, that students who seldom listen well, sit spellbound. Jenni employs a wide repertoire of dramatic skills and a beautiful singing voice to hold her audience. Her training includes a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Sociology from the University of Queensland, classical singing training and a diploma from the Drama Action Centre in Sydney. There she studied clowning, improvisation, dance, singing, mask, mummers, percussion and workshop facilitation specialising in storytelling. Her professional experience was gained in over twelve hundred schools in Australia and New Zealand.

Jenni's first CD "Wonder Tales of Earth and Sea" claimed a special award from the National Library of Australia and she has now two new albums: "The Mermaid's Shoes" and "Stories to Light the Dark". She has performed for ABC national radio as well as ABC TV's '7.30 Report'. She has performed and presented workshops for the Bennelong Program at the Sydney Opera House, The Powerhouse Museum, the National Storytelling conference, the Woodford Folk Festival since 1993, Byron Bay Adult Community Education and The Byron Bay Writers Festival 2004.

Bio
Christine Carlton believes in the power of Storytelling to engage, affirm and transform the human spirit. For more than twenty years Christine has worked as a freelance Consultant, Facilitator and Educator in the areas of Story, Drama and Creative Arts in Education, Business and Community Development.

She travels throughout Australia and overseas offering a variety of opportunities for individuals and organisations to tap into their own creativity to gain insight and direction for their lives and their communities.

Christine lectures in Story and Drama in Education at the University of Western Sydney , facilitates leadership and team-building processes, offers teacher inservice, storytelling workshops, reflective retreats and is regularly called upon to provide creative leadership and group facilitation at national and international conferences.
Currently she is president of the Australian Storytelling Guild(NSW), a member of Australasian Facilitators Network, Australian Institute of Professional Facilitators and a number of professional associations that support and promote the transforming power of Storytelling.

Press Play to hear Anne Glover speak about Finding Your Authentic Voice in Storytelling on the Art of Storytelling.

Tired of the tin sound? Purchase a HQ Mp3 File of Interview #089 Anne Glover for $2.23 Finding your Authentic Storytelling Voice.

Anne Glover writes….

Here are two things I feel passionately about in storytelling: authentic voice, and connection to the audience. They are closely intertwined. Some people think “authentic voice” means “no character voices.” If you’ve heard my dialogues with the character “Monkey,” you know that I use character voices, particularly for comedic episodes, as Eric learned when he interviewed me. (Have you recovered yet, Eric?) But when I use those other voices, I make a clear distinction in my voice, my brain, and my body between the character and my narrator.

As both a performer and a listener, I prefer a natural voice for the narrator persona. Sometimes as tellers, we think we need to be doing “more.” We alter our voice, add more breath, and drop to a different register, as if “storytelling” required something other than our true selves. It doesn’t. In fact, it demands that each of us bring our true self to the fore, without letting our ego get in the way of the story. This requires that we constantly watch ourselves and our deep intentions, with ferocious honesty.

Sometimes we get so wrapped in the notion that storytelling requires a special voice, that we get in the way of the story. Some people want to know how to “find” their authentic voice. Here’s a technique I like. I might say, for instance, “Bob, tell me what your story is about. Don’t tell the story. Just tell me what it”s about.” And Bob says, “Well, it’s about this guy who (blah blah blah)” – So far, Bob is using a normal conversational voice. Then he gets caught up in the story and he starts telling it: he gives more detail, and – most significantly – his voice changes. All of a sudden, he’s using a “special” voice, extra breath in his speech, and maybe he’s changed to a different register and volume.

What I want is for storytellers to find that conversational, relaxed voice, and develop a working relationship with it. I’m not saying it’s all we should use. But it should be part of our repertoire. I want storytellers to be comfortable being themselves, using their own voice, along with whatever else they use. Think about what our voice carries, along with the story. It carries, in invisible code, a message of how much we trust ourselves (and therefore the audience) with our true self.

Connection with the audience is essential to storytelling, and it’s alarmingly easy to lose. There will be surprises and concerns: “I thought there would be 300 high school kids – what are all these pre-schoolers doing here?? And why isn’t my mic working and is my fly zipped?” Dealing with all this is an art in itself. But knowing our authentic voice and being comfortable with it will keep us real and connected to this audience (as opposed to the audience we thought we’d have, or the audience we had last time, or the audience we wish we had). If we have that authentic connection, we can reach our audience.

©2009 Creative Commons A Glover and Brother Wolf Storytelling (Nonderivative Noncommercial use only)

More about Anne…
Anne Glover is an entertainer and consultant based in Victoria, BC. She has spent years enchanting audiences with her stories and string games and inspiring educators with her innovative approaches to education. Anne has appeared at countless schools, festivals, and conferences across the continent, and has performed her original stories on CBC radio, in both English and French. She is a polished, engaging entertainer with a humorous wisdom and an infectious enthusiasm for life in any language. Anne Glover’s Website.

Over the Next month I will be releasing the video version of this email course available now on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf

I promise that I send you the seven emails about storytelling over the next ten days or so and that in addition I will send you Announcement about storytelling workshops or activities I am organizing nationally or locally – but never more then two a month if that.

Eric Wolf