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The shapes of stories (that teach)

#1

Storytelling is powerful educational tool. When founders get together, we tell stories. Classrooms change from dry to vivid with a good storyteller.

To what degree are we using story-telling as an explicit educational tool? What are the story-telling shapes we can repeat for purpose - both online and in-person? (@teodor.mechev @ehalsey1 @NikolayPetkov Would love your thoughts on this too.)

#2

I like the different references, but at some point it feels like a stand up comedian show instead of a teacher explaining a lesson.

#3

We have a similar narrative arc for The Sources:

  1. How they used to think (or the context)
  2. Their aha moment or challenge/solution
  3. What they did on a practical level to move beyond it

It’s derived from a slightly more complex framework on storytelling, called Springboard Stories, which was defined by the guy who founded knowledge management for the World Bank. They’re for a specific purpose: to sell a change idea and to aid recall of the relevant source when more information is needed.

You’ll notice as he tells his story, it’s similar to how we edit the entrepreneurs’ stories in The Sources. Springboard Stories go a bit further though:

  • they set a clear time and place
  • they include a specific inciting event
  • what would have happened without the change idea

(You can see the a one-page Springboard Story template here.)

Other good examples of story-telling?

What other examples we can discuss to become better educators. Are there any good documentaries, or journalists, or story-tellers you guys like?

#4

When I think about effective storytelling, part of the difficulty is holding one’s attention. The first task is to craft the story well, but to make it more effective you have to find an engaging medium.

For me, the most engaging medium is the podcast. Because of the way people engage with this type of content, there are usually minimal distractions. Whether it’s while cleaning dishes or sitting on a bus going somewhere, it’s a type of content you generally listen to when you can focus intently.

On top of that, the medium is very intimate. With the right quality of sound engineering, it creates a very close space where the listener feels as if the narrator is speaking to them directly. If you want examples of programs which I think accomplish this very well I would say:

99% Invisible
This American Life
Startup
Planet Money

Just to name a few.