Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Guideline for Working with a Group's Stories - Part 2 of 9


2. Incorporate material relevant to the group into stories


Good storytellers know how to customize a story to a group. Think back to when you were a kid and your teacher personalized a story by using your name or one of your favorite things as a detail in the story. Didn’t you feel engaged and excited to become an integral part of the story? Was your imagination stimulated? The same is true for adult learners. We love to see ourselves in the situations being painted by a compelling story. Our techniques for incorporating relevant material into stories with adult learners can be as simple as weaving in a personal fact to richer ones such as referencing other people’s personal stories. As you become more adept at this you will find yourself naturally weaving in all sorts of artifacts from the group’s process or history. In this way stories cease to be stale since they offer tellers a way to stay invigorated. The very act of weaving in new material with the story will create opportunities for the teller to uncover new nooks and crannies of meaning.

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