Anna Deavere Smith is a wonderful actor who “performs” stories by taking on the personality of the original teller. She brings people from Studs Terkel’s collections back to life and takes her audiences on a tour . Here she is pitching a workshop on Empathy but this little clip reminded me how to really pay attention and I thought it might be a good reminder for you as well. She points out, “There is someone else going on when you are really paying attention.” [Read more…]
Sinking Ship
The guy on the right drew this map. He is bailing out the boat that is sinking. He is doing his job in spite of a bad situation. I asked, “Who is the guy on the left?” He said “That’s my boss.” A few heads turned toward his boss sitting up front. I asked “So what is he doing?” He answered, “He’s pissing in the boat and not doing much else.” There were guffaws from his cronies and the rest of us couldn’t resist smiling. It’s funny. The manager just shook his head probably thinking “is it that bad?” Then one of his buddies asked, “So why are you smiling then?” He whipped his head around and was shocked to see the smile. This was a union management meeting and so far nothing had gone well. In that split moment, he saw himself and maybe the others did too. I mentioned it much later: “Is it possible that the fight, leading the cause, being the union representative is fun for you? Would you have as good a time if we solved all these problems?” When the thirty people present got the opportunity to speak for themselves it turned about 27 of them liked their jobs and just wanted to get back to doing their jobs. Only the three union reps were angry and unhappy. Often groups that seem to be at an impasse are simply being held hostage by a few malcontents.
Exercise in Empathy
Anna Deavere Smith is a wonderful actor who “performs” stories by taking on the personality of the original teller. She brings people from Studs Terkel’s collections back to life and takes her audiences on a tour . Here she is pitching a workshop on Empathy but this little clip reminded me how to really pay attention and I thought it might be a good reminder for you as well. She points out, “There is someone else going on when you are really paying attention.” [Read more…]
The art of seeing the story…
Joe Dager of Business 901 and I begin by talking about the similarities between storytelling and art in this podcast.
I promise to send out a new Story Factor Podcast soon. I’ve been writing and editing the second edition of Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins and there is so much I want to add! [Read more…]
Episode #15 – More Moth Secrets from Lea Thau
Lea Thau, creative director of TheMoth.org for a decade (2001-2010),
Lea teaches business people not so much how to tell personal stories, but how to use the principles of storytelling to shape strategy, to roll out new initiatives, or frame business proposals. However I learned most by asking more about her process at the Moth and with her radio show, Strangers.
Lea Thau is interested in stories with high stakes. Experienced with the anti-hero stories that dominate the Moth, she looks for stories that contrast the darkest dark with light. This is kind of extreme sports of storytelling. It takes, “hours, and hours, and hours” to get it right.
Where she used to spend hours coaching storytellers to tell a story that reduced itself down to a well rehearsed twenty minute performance, she now gathers hours of interviews that must be edited down. She never has less than 5 and has had up to 20 hours of audio recordings that she edited down to a short twenty minute show.
How in the world does she pick and choose from that much material?
“The first rule is that, what happened ≠ the story of what happened.”
Lea Thau, Former Moth Creative Director
This gives some perspective on the kind of time it can take to research, develop and tell a powerful story. When we are lucky, the right story pops into our mind just when we need it. Art can be spontaneous. On the other hand, finding the right story can also take a lot more time than business people expect. If you love the power of stories, don’t balk when the process gets complex and finding the core meaning feels like hard work.
At the end of the day, storytelling is not a checklist, it is a process.
As a master editor Lea shares one of the primary principles that help her choose – and will help you choose from all the possible detail of an event which details to include.
Editing is about making choices based not only on what actually happened but on which details will demonstrate the meaning of what happened.
Lea’s new show Strangers on KCRW (also a podcast) explores what she sees as a deep cultural shift in how we define “friend” and “stranger.” Is a person you have never met a stranger, even if you’ve been playing video games with them for years? Who is your friend? One episode dives into the world of online dating. One examines the difference between growing up rich and growing up poor. Another explores the happy marriage of two exceedingly normal people who had an arranged marriage along with hundreds of other couples at the 2005 “Moonie” wedding along in Korea.
Lea Thau had a nose for stories and an ear for storytelling perfection.
- MP3 Download or play this
episode directly. - iTunes Subscribe to The Story Factor Podcast directly in iTunes.
- RSS Add the podcast to your RSS reader, podcast player or
manually into iTunes.
Feed link: http://ia601200.us.archive.org/6/items/StoryFactorPodcastEpisode15/StoryFactorPodcastEpisode15.mp3
Episode #14 – Secrets from the MOTH!
Lea Thau was creative director of TheMoth.org for a decade (2001-2010), developing the format and process that has become one of the most popular storytelling organizations in the world. From the beginning, Lea favored the idea of sticking to true stories told in the first person – a critical decision that created what we know as “the Moth format.” If you haven’t subscribed to the Moth podcast do it now. You will become a better storyteller simply by listening to the craft, detail and structure embedded in these wonderful stories.
Lea now has her own show called Strangers on KCRW – a podcast I also highly recommend. [Read more…]
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 10
- Next Page »