Think about what happens when you strike a pitch fork and then bring another one close to it. The second dormant fork picks up the vibrations of the other. The two forks begin sharing the same frequency.
This is exactly what happens with stories. Neuroscientists can show us now with real data how a listener and speaker become harmonized in a shared space of story. As I share a story with an intention of care and a genuine drive to connect with myself and others, my brainwaves and the brainwaves of my listeners will become coordinated. Sense making replaces chaos. A temporary structure of meaning becomes a suspended moment where the flurry of sight, sounds, and sensations becomes the quiet eye of the storm around us.
Learning and insight can occur here. Time slows down. It's a state of mindfulness and engagement. We hunger to step into the geometry of this archeticture. We are more deeply ourselves...more deeply connected...more deeply human.
Nancy Duarte's book is brilliant. She has taken the lessons of one story form - the hero's journey and mapped "sparklines." These sparklines are guided by the archetypal structure of the hero's journey and shows how presentations and communications can be molded around this scaffolding to create powerful communications.
Congratulations Nancy! You've brought a level of insight and innovation to the field of communications!
Speech Write extraordinaire Ian Griffin interviewed me at Nancy's book party last week. Here's a link from his blog to what five of us leaders in the field had to say...
