Friday, January 25, 2008

AWNM Story Fishbowl/LiveBlog Per. 3

Participants for January 25th LiveBlog:

Miguel Guhlin:
Miguel is Director of Instructional Technology for a large urban district in Texas, as well as President of the state-wide Technology Education Coordinators group in one of the largest United States technology educator organizations. He continues to model the use of emerging technologies in schools under his goal “…to use powerful technologies to transform practice and enable learners to communicate and collaborate with each other.”

Lucie Stanish:
Lucie is the Treasurer of the Littleton Public Schools' School Board.

Ben Wilkoff
Ben is a passionate Educational Technologist. He lives to collaborate and create with districts, schools and individuals. He was named the Totally Wired Teacher of 2007 by The George Lucas Educational Foundation (Edutopia) and Yahoo for Teachers. He lives with his wife and child (soon to be two) in Denver, Colorado. Ben teaches at Cresthill Middle School in Highlands Ranch, CO

154 comments:

Miguel Guhlin (@mGuhlin) said...

Howdy! I'm delighted to be connecting with you folks today! It's about 8:48 AM central time, or about 7:48 AM your time.

At least, I think so.

;->

What's funny is that this morning, I started at a bit of a deficit. I was a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to meet my commitment. I encountered several obstacles:

1) This meeting cropped up at the last minute. How could I be in two "places" at one time, in a mandatory meeting in another district on a foreign network and live-blogging with you?

Workaround: I spoke to the Director of Technology in the district I was visiting and secured access to MeBeam and Mrs. Moritz's Honors Blog!

2) Since I wasn't planning on being present, I left my copy of the "A Whole New Mind" at work.

Workaround: I emailed my team of folks and received a scanned copy of Chapter 5 in Acrobat PDF via email.

3) What time is it in "MST" compared to Central time, which is where I'm at?

Workaround: Converted using this tool (know a better one?): http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/

Whew!

Looking forward,

Miguel

Miguel Guhlin (@mGuhlin) said...

A Story

The phone rang. Again. And, again. I reached for my mobile phone.
"Good morning, this is Miguel." I hadn't bothered to scan the caller id. I should have but who calls that early in the morning?
"Good morning! Plans have changed. We have to go to the meeting in Comal ISD."
"You're kidding, right?" I balked at the command. Not only did I have pending projects at work, but I also had a live blogging event with Ms. Moritz' Honors Class. "Do I have to go?" I asked, knowing the answer.

As I prepared for the day, packing my bag, I realized that my copy of "A Whole New Mind" was at work. I'd read "A Whole New Mind," but being a visual learner, it's was critical for me to have a copy. I also had expected time to re-read the emails from Karl Fisch, but sitting in a car, journeying to another location, I wouldn't have a chance to check my instructions.

When I arrived at Starbucks, I considered jumping on the network, but the early morning mist and fog, the dark and cold made doing so unappetizing. My boss arrived, pulling into the parking lot. At this point, I started to despair. How could I get a copy of Chapter 5: Story of Dan Pink's "A Whole New Mind?" How could I overcome the lack of internet access on a long car trip? What would happen when I arrived at the meeting in another town, and tried to access MeBeam and Ms. Moritz' blog? These questions weren't washed away by the cup of bitter tea I sipped, which blended with the sweetness of the old fashioned chocolate donut.

My elder by a few months, her blonde hair exhibiting a few strands of silver, like an empress' tiara, bid me good morning. As I replied, I shared with her the challenges I was facing.
"Miguel," she started, "why don't you use my AT&T mobile card equipped laptop? You can access the web, even while we're on the road!"
"That's a great idea," and I quickly fired off an email to the kindly lady that is my secretary. "Could you send me a scanned copy of Chapter 5: Story from the Dan Pink book on my desk?"

After that, I logged into my email and read Karl's messages. When I arrived at Comal, I made contact with the network administrator. He immediately granted me access to the network, enabling easy access to the resources. As I logged into the network, made connections to Ms. Moritz' blog to leave a preliminary comment, I felt a sense of achievement. In spite of the obstacles, I'd triumphed. I was grateful that others had helped, appearing at each step of the journey to ensure that I was successful.

Ok, how close is this to the hero's journey outlined in Dan Pink's work? How could I make this more dramatic?

MattN said...

Miguel- It sounds like you've had a rough morning, but i'm glad you were able to make it!

Unknown said...

Me too Miguel. Your ability to craft your situation into a story lets us see your difficulties in a empathetic light, which is another one of Pink's major points.

Miguel Guhlin (@mGuhlin) said...

Thanks, Matt. I'm glad I was, too! I was trying to dramatize the story a bit more (smile).

Miguel

Unknown said...

Is there a video feed at mebeam available? I would love to see the class in action.

MattN said...

So what do all you guys think about telling stories in certain subjects in order to learn more and help understand hard concepts?

Miguel Guhlin (@mGuhlin) said...

Ben, that's what I was trying for. This would have been more "George Lucas"ish if I'd used VoiceThread.com, snapping photos with my camera phone with upload to Flickr, then working them in with audio narration.
(sigh).

How do we facilitate learning of organizational storytelling? I suppose this is "academic storytelling," isn't it?

JSelzer said...

I think it was interesting how Mr. Pink claimed the human brain thinks almost completely in stories. Is this true for you? If so, why do you think so many subjects in school concentrate mostly on facts?

Karl Fisch said...

Ben, the mebeam room name should be in your email - I don't want to put it on the blog.

Unknown said...

Storytelling is a major part of understanding (no matter what discipline). If we do not make stories from our math and science contexts then there is no meaning being made. We create stories in our heads regardless of what is going on in the classroom. What Pink advocates for is the explicit storytelling that makes for greater understanding for all.

matthewg said...

I really don't know why schools focus on facts. And mainly useless ones, too. When I get older and get a job, why will the facts about the elements in the sun and half of the things I learn in science matter to me?

MattN said...

Joe, I think that the fact is facts are the important points that need to be made and getting them across in strories sometimes makes it easier to get all the facts.

Miguel Guhlin (@mGuhlin) said...

JSelzer, I have always believed in the power of story. Jerome Bruner shared that we are the protagonist, the main agent in a story..."Selfhood derives from the sense that one can initiate and carry out activities on one's own. Even the simplest narratives are built around an agent-self as a protagonist. Personhood implies narrative."

We are captured by stories because we are the main character in the story of life.

kennaw said...

Daniel Pink talks about how in order for businesses to be successful today that the products need to have a story behind them. That on the labels somewhere they should have stories on them to personalize the product and make more wanted to know there's a good reason to buy it. He uses examples of how wine was made and that half old century home being sold. Do you think putting an emotion and story into a product will make it more appealing and wanting?

JSelzer said...

Matt- I use story in school subjects all the time. For example, in Spanish i make up stories in order to remember vocabulary and grammar rules.

KelsieL said...

Joe- I think that at school teachers are so focused on getting the facts in your head and they don't think about the best way to help you learn. Stories are a great tool to help you learn, but it takes longer to get a point across. Do you think it would be more beneficial to maybe take a little longer to learn the information through story rather than just the facts?

MattN said...

MatthewG- I totally agree with you, the fact that 3/4 of the facts we intake will never be applied to us in our real life. It is just tedious and not needed.

Jennifer said...

In response to Matt’s question, I think that stories help us to understand the situation more and help us to connect what is going on. Personally it helps me understand the class better if I can relate to it more, and stories help with that.

mollyd said...

I think stories play a huge part in learning. Stories really enhance the learning the process and are remembered better than facts. I find it a lot easier to remember stories. When I am given facts I try to find a way to turn those facts in to a story so I can remember it easier.

CatherineD said...

Most of the facts that they pack into our minds are only useful depending on the career you pick. So maybe schools should let us pick what classes we will need depending on what we want to be.

Miguel Guhlin (@mGuhlin) said...

Matthew, for much of human existence, we've scrambled to find the truth of our existence, to find the essence of people and things. Facts are a natural by-product of that heart-led process, the honing of the human mind is key. Yet, facts lack the power to inspire, to enliven because they are like a photo of a beautiful scene...unless you're in the picture, aesthetics are insufficient to capture the human spirit.

When someone says "Just the facts," they are still telling a story. It is a story of lonelines, separation, and forced solitude. Share a story that explains the facts, why then, you have a theory.

8->

Miguel

MattN said...

Ashley Golden brings up a good point on how age really affects how you view story. Younger kids have better imaginations and can more easily entertain themselves then sayh some one who is 35.

Mikenn@R said...

I think that story holds a lot of siginifcance. I know that I learn information better if i have s story to connect it to. When or do you even think that story is not going to help us?

jeffreys said...

Joe, a lot of the subjects that we learn are teaching us facts through stories. Like Pink always says about the left brain, fact is still completely necessary, but it is no longer sufficient and now needs story as a medium to get the facts across.

lisal said...

Good point Matt! I think story is important because twenty years from now, none of us going to remember what we were taught our freshman year. Twenty years from now we will remember all the stories we experianced and wrote with our lives.

lisal said...

Good point Matt! I think story is important because twenty years from now, none of us going to remember what we were taught our freshman year. Twenty years from now we will remember all the stories we experianced and wrote with our lives.

KelsieL said...

Kenna- I think it's great to put stories on products! Not only does it give someone something to relate to in just story but it also incorporates empathy in a way.

Unknown said...

Matt-

I don't think that the importance of facts goes away, but it is the context that we put the facts into that finds prominence in the 21st century. Is it possible for you to create the context/story for yourself or do you need someone else to do it for you.

By the way, my Macbook is not letting me use the webcam on mebeam. It keeps kicking me off. Sorry.

roser said...

I think we need to know facts to part that line between the pretend story vs. the reality and accuracy of facts. But I still think stories are essential.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Matt on how many facts we remember. Facts we memorize for a test, but stories we apply to our lives.

Jennifer said...

I don't know if younger kids have more imagination, they just have a different kind of imagination than older people becuase they don't know the world as well. But older people have just as much imagination as younger people.

JSelzer said...

Kelsie- that's a great point, and I totally agree. I also tend to like and learn better from the teachers that tell stories.

kennaw said...

kesliel- I do think it would be beneficial for teachers to take a little longer and tie a story into the facts, but not everything that is taught can be done that way. So, when it's possible, I think that teachers should do that for all those visual learners and thinkers like me! Also stories stick in your mind. Facts are shoved into your brain until you take the test and then are forgotten. If teachers want us to remember things forever, putting stories behind it would help that.

emilyh said...

I think that we need to have both facts and stories because I think that we can learn facts from stories. I do think that some of the facts we learn right now will not directly impact our career or future, but knowledge is knowledge, and the more things we learn the better we understand the world around us. I think we should still learn the same amount of facts in the future that we learn now, just teach them with more stories.

MattN said...

Rose~ I totally agree that stories are definitaly still essential but as we get older and story is harder to percieve, they become more and more unneccesary!

Miguel Guhlin (@mGuhlin) said...

People are tired of brochure-speak, of impersonal language. The power of story is that it allows us to come from around the podium and share how facts and knowledge can be used to impact our lives.

How could you craft a story that captures the meaning of those facts? Wouldn't those facts be memorable, and usable LONG after had you learned them as part of a story?

Miguel

matthewg said...

I can still remember how a few toys could entertain me for hours. Now, it takes a lot more to keep me occupied. Now I equate "fun" to "challenging". Instead of playing with toys in my room as I did when I was younger, I now try to find challenging things to do, like beating a hard game, ect.

CatherineD said...

I have noticed that a lot of people bring up the fact that story relates to empathy. So does this mean that without empathy story wouldn't be such a powerful sense?

Mikenn@R said...

Matt G- Amen! i think that information we learn in school is sometimes useless and I'm not sure how we will ever use that. I think that are school system is somewhat similar at times with F451 when Beatty is talking about stuffing society with useless facts so that they feel that they are learning something.I often feel like we learn certain things here just to fill time and to say we learned something.

MattN said...

Miguel~ you bring up a really good point, and I think that being able to tell a story that really relates to the person personally they will remember it for a much longer time and it will make a very big impact on their life.

KelsieL said...

Kenna- To put it in one word, yes. I'm a visual learner too but it also helps me to hear a story and learn the information that way.

Unknown said...

Matt, you're right - little kids do have great imaginations! Do you all think that you lose your imagination as you get older or do we value it less and you don't have as many opportunities to your imagination?

Jennifer said...

Matt- I don't think stories become less neccessary as we get older. As people, we continue to learn our whole lives, and stories help with that. Imagine your life without stories of other people or even of yourself. Stories are a vital part of life for everyone, and that is what Daniel Pink is trying to emphasize.

roser said...

Jennifer- I don't think I really agree because little kids just have the craziest ideas and have a really pure imagination, which isn't deluded by the world/society. Older people kind of lose that innocence as they get older and experience the world.

Unknown said...

rrapp-

You bring up a really great point about how story can skew the ways in which we think about the facts. If someone is a really great storyteller, they can frame the facts so that they don't even really matter anymore.

What we need need is to have stories that enhance facts, not cover them up.

Anonymous said...

I think kids have new ideas so they seem to have more creativity, but adults can still be creative they just have used most of their ideas before.

MattN said...

I am definitaly not saying that stories are not important, I could not live without stories or relating stories to my own life, but I think as we get older and we have real jobs and its actually OUR LIFE while working hard stories become more irrelevant.

Unknown said...

Catherine:

I'm not sure that you can separate empathy from story. We feel stories. We don't feel facts. We don't feel jargon. If we want to prove our points about nearly anything (in an essay, in a meeting, etc.). We need to be able to create words that allow people to feel. We need to create stories.

matthewg said...

Jennifer- You're right. Story never becomes less important, but when we begin to get older and are forced to learn the facts, do the math, read the words on the page, we're immersed in a world that discourages story, and we conform to it.

Mikenn@R said...

catherine- I think thats a great question. I think that it takes empathy sometimes to understand and connect to somebody elses story.

evand said...

Lucie- I beleieve as we grow older, our imagination becomes less valuable to us becasue we aren't given the proper time to use it.

Patrick D said...

Matt N-
I think that in some of the boring subjects, it is good to tell stories because it gets people involved and makes them listen. I also think that stories should be told before a stressful situation because it helps people relax and think about something other than the big test. I also think they are good in confusing subjects because it relates to the real world so we can understand it better. This way, instead of seeing number and not knowing what to use it for, you then learn how to use it if you ever see a real world problem like that.

Anonymous said...

Everyone has a story, so if you understand everyone's stories do you think it could improve your life?

kennaw said...

Cat- I think your right! Empathy is brought up a lot during stories I think because stories have a lot to do with emotions and sometimes how you felt in the situation. When someone is telling you a story, do you sometimes imagine what it would of been like to be there? Well, that's putting yourself in someone else's shoes which is empathy. Emotions play and important role in story telling. Also the way someone tells a story can make you more involved in the story which makes you feel what they're feeling.

Unknown said...

Are there certain jobs or careers that don't use story at all?

jeffreys said...

Lucie, I completely agree! As people get older, society forces them to be more serious and their imagination gets sucked out of them.

matthewg said...

Do you think that people who are compulsive liars are just storytellers who don't realize their potential?

MattN said...

Laney in the inner circle is so right. All of these people are using stories from their own life to help explain how STORY relates which in itself is kind of ironic. They are using stories to better understand and discuss the topic of story.

Unknown said...

A few people have brought up the idea of being a visual learner as if it were separated from storytelling. An image can tell a story better than much of the writing that can be penned. I think that the future of creative occupations will be in the ability to not only have literacy for words, but also visual literacy. Does anyone else see this happening?

Jennifer said...

In response to Amber's question... I think that the more stories you listen to, the more that you can relate to other people and to the world. It may improve your life more so than if you had not heard the story, but you also need to create your own story and experience things for yourself.

Anonymous said...

Lucie, I think that a lot of today's jobs don't use story, but future jobs will.

roser said...

I don't think it's a sin to spice up stories with funny stuff and such...I think I would rather listen to that, personally.

emilyh said...

Lucie, I think that we use our imagination less although it is still there as we get older. As we grow up we realize the hard line between make-belief and and reality. We realize the somethings that we always thought and believed in are fake. This encourages me to not use my imagination as much because I don't want to be dissapointed. I guess maybe we don't lose it in quantity, we just don't use it as much.

MattN said...

Ben- I do see what is going on as well. I think it is just overall easier for people to comprehend things if they can some how relate them to their own life which usually is through story.

Mikenn@R said...

I think that what Alyssa said about first impressions can leave you mis-lead about a person's story is really on. It's so important that we don't judge a person based on that alone because there are so many reasons things could be that way.

mollyd said...

I think in life you can’t understand everyone’s stories. Sometimes stories are based on life experiences. Those who share similar stories and experiences are more likely to understand each other.

lisal said...

Sometimes stories can work against us because our imaginations can make us twist the truth. So often we would rather live in a perfect story then in the real world so we use stories as an escape from reality.

matthewg said...

lucie- I don't think that there's any one career that can't implement story in some way. As I'm writing this, I'm thinking of my dad's job. It's very left brained, but I've seen him do many "out of the box" things that nobody else could have though of. It's not ever impossible to use your right brain with a left brained job.

CatherineD said...

Amber- I think that everyone else's stories do make an impact on you. Although when it is a event that you experience it makes a much bigger impact. For example, experiencing 9/11 will impact you but not as much as when your in one of the twin towers when it happens.

JSelzer said...

ben wilkoff- That's a great way to put it. The best storytellers can also be the best liars, using their stories to mask the truth, the facts. I think a balance between the two- story and facts- is the best way to teach, advertise, and relate to the people around you.

KelsieL said...

Amber- That is a great question! I think it is hard for everyone to understand everyone else's stories, but if we could it would make everyone more accepting. It's just like taking a walk in someone else's shoes. Looking at life from someone else's point of view gives us a greater appreciation of that person.

Jennifer said...

I agree with Rose. For stories to leave an impression I think that they have to be spiced up a little bit so that they are more interesting and more relatable.

MattN said...

Does anyone else notice that as all of these people are discussing the topic of story, they are telling stories from their own life in order to better help explain their own STORIES so the other people can relate it to their own life.

Unknown said...

I think that one of the key points of Pink's book is that if we don't know how to use these senses to the greatest effect, we will be unable to compete.

I think for the work force as it is right now, if we aren't using these skills, we are falling behind others that will. Pink does not see them as optional, but rather as the only way forward.

lisal said...

I think another way story can work against is through gossip. We thrive on stories and too often except lies as the truth.

kennaw said...

Amber- I think by knowing someone else's feelings isn't going to make your life better- if that's what you were asking. I think knowing someone else's feelings can change your perspective and judgment of them. It can make you become friends with them and that specific friend could make your life better, but just knowing someones story won't make your life happier. It seems that life would only become better if that story effected how you feel and makes you change how you look at life. And makes you change your ways like the hurricane katrina and all those cities that were destroyed. The people that died and lost family members. That story makes you feel sad and bad for those people and it makes you thankful for what you have. I know I stopped complaining about what I didn't have for a while and I think that improved my life for the better. So, it also might depend on what the story is.

evand said...

Jselzer that is an excellent point.

Unknown said...

Emily, you're right, as we get older we move away from make believe stories and more towards reality. I think the challenge is to keep looking for the real-life stories - why things happen, how it relates to our lives. I'm always fascinated by the stories of current events and the history or the people behind them.

JSelzer said...

How kind of you, evand, to recognize my efforts.

matthewg said...

How important is story compared to the other senses like design talked about by Daniel Pink?

Anonymous said...

I think you can turn stories into bad lies, and I don't think all story is good.

mollyd said...

Matt- That is a good point, they are using stories to explain the importance of story and how much we really use it in our lives.

MattN said...

Matthew G brings up a great point about how all of thes senses intertwine with each other and affect each other in our lives.

Jennifer said...

Matt makes a good point about the inner circle using stories to make a point. Stories tend to be the things that prove points. We develop opinions based on experiences and our own stories, and we have to then use those stories to share our opinions with others.

evand said...

We should try to listen to other people's stories and try to learn from them. That is how we gain real useful knowledge. We fall so that we may learn how to get up.

mollyd said...

Matt G- I think story is a sense that we use more throughout our whole life as compared to design. Design is more of a sense used in business. Story is used in every aspect of life

KelsieL said...

Mikenna- I liked your comment :) I agree that first impressions can be misleading. I remember always seeing you at church with your sister and I thought you guys were twins. But then I get to know you and find out not only do you not have a twin but you dirtbike and you know all these people like Bubba Stewart, Ricky Charmichael, and Kevin Windham! So first impressions aren't really always right.

CatherineD said...

Matthew~ I don't think you can say one sense is more important than the others. I believe that all the senses are interconnected and you can't seperate them.

Mikenn@R said...

Mattn- how do you think that all of these senses interwine? Are they just appealing to the right side of our brains or is there an appeal to the left side as well?

emilyh said...

MattG., I think that the six senses are all supposed to be used and exercised equally. However, I think that of the six senses we use in society right now, the one that we use the most is Story. I feel we use this a lot more, but that doesn't mean that it is superior.

kennaw said...

This is pretty random but I just thought of it. Stories create memories. Things that you remember and were important to you, you re-tell to people and friends all the time. Whether it's funny or sad, a memory eventually becomes a story. Doesn't it?

JSelzer said...

Lisa brings up a good point about gossip. When we gossip, we usually want to get across a fact to someone about another person, something like "they're mean." To get this fact across, we tell, or even create stories, to explain how "they're mean."

If that makes sense...

Anonymous said...

Answering Matthew’s question, I think that story is important in our lives, but i don't think it will help us in our careers.

matthewg said...

What if you walked into school, and in science class, your teacher handed you a story instead of a sheet of useless facts. Would you pay better attention? Would you learn more from the story than the notes of facts you take in class?

Jennifer said...

In response to Matt’s question, I think that stories help us to understand the situation more and help us to connect what is going on. Personally it helps me understand the class better if I can relate to it more, and stories help with that.

Unknown said...

One of the questions that I have about story is in terms of time. Storytelling and story listening takes time.

Do we have enough time to hear everyone's story? Are all stories important enough to hear? What is the appropriate time to abbreviate stories into bullet points?

roser said...

you design your story in a way by writing the chapters of it through life experiences

Jennifer said...

Amber- why won't story help us in our careers? Is life all about careers? Also, it depends on what career you go into.

matthewg said...

Amberg-

How do you not think story will affect our careers? You can implement it into any career, if you're creative enough. Remember Daniel Pink's examples? Using story in a job could make you very successful.

lisal said...

I can relate much more to story then design. Story is everywhere. It can be found in school, work, and almost all of our personal experiances.

jeffreys said...

Caryn, I kind of agree. When I think about the senses I can easily realate them to the world, but when I'm in math or biology, I'm thinking about numbers or bacteria.

mollyd said...

Kenna- That is true stories do create memories and that is what we share with others. No one goes around telling people facts and the new information they found out today.

Jennifer said...

Actually Amber, I also agree with Matthew. You can bring story into any career.

Unknown said...

Kennaw-

I really like your idea of memory. Stories do create memories and memories lead to telling stories. I believe that this conversation is all about create life-long learners. If we remember things better through stories, why shouldn't we teach the most important concepts in school with stories?

You will be sharing the stories of high school for the rest of your lives, so why shouldn't they be memories of learning?

Unknown said...

Mollyd - I agree with you about story being important in every aspect of our life. Life is definitely more fun if you keep looking for the stories in life. I hope you all keep looking at the world with curious minds!

roser said...

ben wilkoff- i think the more stories we hear the more benefical to our own stories, which could impact them, and potentailly add another chapter to our story

kennaw said...

Also, isn't gossip another form of story? When you tell someone, "so and so did this and so and so did that." That's another form of story so memories and gossiping. I think everyone tells at least one story a day so in other words story is important to life.

Mikenn@R said...

Kelsiel- your my favorite. when i first met you i thought you were shy and quiet but then i got to know you and now I know you as a person with a lot of energy and an opinion about eveything. This just prooves the point that impressions are mis leading and that doesn't always have to do with a person's story.

emilyh said...

Amber, I disagree, I think that there are stories in every job, we just don't realize it. Even in all business jobs, you have to communicate with people and one of the most idealic ways to do that is through story. Also just by putting a group of people together will probably create several stories.

Miguel Guhlin (@mGuhlin) said...

Lisal:

Gossip is sometimes fiction, but it's great to have stories that are based on truth. I perceive gossip as hurtful.

Miguel

MattN said...

Kenna~ Your totally right, even though we don't think about we use stories everyday like you said in gossip.

Patrick D said...

Matthew G-
I think that story is one of the most important of the six senses because at least for me, I can see other people’s story and if I see someone with a bad story, I always feel the need to help them. I think that story intertwines greatly with empathy because if someone has a good story, you can feel what they are feeling. I also think story is a good strategy in advertising, for example, Mr. Pink’s wine experience and the story on the back. He bought it because of the story. I also do the same thing as him when choosing things.

Anonymous said...

Well Matthew, unless you are a writer or a film producer I don't think story will improve your career, but I do think it can help your day to day life and make you a better person.

Miguel Guhlin (@mGuhlin) said...

Folks, thanks so much for the opportunity to share a few. My battery is about to die.

I'll post a reflection on your comments on my blog later tonight.


Best wishes,

Miguel Guhlin
Around the Corner-MGuhlin.net
http://mguhlin.net

Karl Fisch said...

Thanks Miguel.

MattN said...

Thanks Miguel

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lisal said...
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lisal said...

One thing I love about books is all the room they leave for imagination. In a way, as you read a book, you are adding your personal preferences to make the story complete.

JSelzer said...

Lets talk about story in the workplace. I think most people use story while learning the tricks of the trade for their career. Good doctors not only know the facts about medicine and diagnosis, but have learned through stories and experiences the best way to cheer up a patient, what not to say to the chief of staff, etc.

Unknown said...

rrapp - great thought - that other people's stories can add a chapter to our own story! I'm sure there are stories that we might not want to add to our own, but think of all the great stories out there that would add to our personal stories. (Maybe even the bad stories add to our story, but in a way that it's a "what not to do" type of chapter.)

Unknown said...

Rrapp-

I love how you have extended the metaphor to include the story of our lives. I don't think that anyone will dispute that the power of story is real in our lives. The collective story of our society or of a company is important.

Pink talks about the creating of culture at a company is about creating the story of all of the members of the company. Do you think that you should actually write down your stories. What is the benefit of being reflective about our own stories (individual or collective)?

roser said...

most people do judge and have no idea how someones life story went and still goes...until they tell you their story is when you can decide how to interpret and react to it

matthewg said...

Amberg-

I wouldn't object to being a writer or film producer. That would be awesome, but I can see how you could use story as an electrical engineer, or any other job. Just look at the wine example in the book.

Mikenn@R said...

Kenna- i think that your point about gossip is so true. but I think that in the case of gossip that we ourselves take a story into our own hands and we change pieces of it as time goes on for whtever reason.

KelsieL said...

Kenna I totally agree. I never thought of gossip like that but the first thing a lot of us probably did was talk to our friends and tell them a story. This Saturday night we will probably come home and our parents will ask us how winter formal was and they will want a story out of us. We live through story. Story is how we share our lives with other people

Anonymous said...

That is true Matthew, but I still don't think story can work for everyone.

KelsieL said...

Thanks Mikenna!!

roser said...

ben wilkoff- i really believe story should be handed down b/c if you write them down, i don't think they have that important element to emotion by the teller. That emotion is why people like story.

kennaw said...

Mikenna~ YOU'RE SO RIGHT!!! So since people change and twist things to make the story more interesting for you to tell and others to listen too, isn't that how rumors are started? So aren't rumors another form of story?

mollyd said...

Lisa- Books really do let your imagination fly. That is why I think people should read books before watching the movie of it, because once you watch the movie you have a set picture in your mind. If you wait, you can paint your own pictures and imagine what you want.

JSelzer said...

WHOAAA TOO MANY COMMENTS

matthewg said...

Story can't work for everyone? What kind of profession are you looking into that you can't use story in? I'm sure that I could think of at least one way you could use story in it.

evand said...

Story is a very essential key to being able to properly communicate.

MattN said...

Amber~ even if you don't notice it, you use story so much in your own life so how can you say stories don't work for everyone. I challenge you to not use story at any point in your day for the rest of today. I can almost guarentee it that you won't be able to.

Unknown said...

Are we going back to an oral tradition that had been abandoned long ago in favor of a paper-based historical account?

roser said...

amber- i actually think that everyone can relate and tell stories, b/c essentially life is a story, so story does relate to everyone, that is why it is so important

CatherineD said...

Those pictures are so intense. The pictures make me want to know more.

JSelzer said...

matthewg- I agree. Story can be used in every profession, in some way or other.

Jennifer said...

I agree with both of the Matt's. Story is incorporated in every part of life and it is practically impossible not to use or think about stories.

matthewg said...

If you were a lawyer making a case, would you be more successful if you just spouted the facts at the jury, or if you gave them a play-by-play story of what happened with all the facts in it?

Mikenn@R said...

I think that stories change lives. News stories that many people see and watch everyday affect the world. For example, Heath Ledger just died, people have distorted that and made up their own solution for his death cause. But his death effected a lot of people. His family, friends, fans, and people that don't even know him are recognizing the end of his story. I have a question, do you think story dies after you die or does it carry on?

Unknown said...

Mattn - I agree, we should all be more aware of how we use story every day!

MattN said...

Ben~I think your thinking is definitaly correct we are going back to paper based everything even though our society as a whole is advancing.

jeffreys said...

About judging people on past experiences, when I was trying out for the golf team, two guys that I played with told me that I looked almost exactly like someone from their school who they hate and they thought that I was him at first, but even as they figured out that I waasn't him, they still didn't seem like they were warming up to me.

Anonymous said...

You can find stories in any career, but what I'm saying is that it is not going to help everyone make their business grow. It worked for the wine people, but it could not work all the time.

kennaw said...

Another random thought~ parents tend to give advice and give you lessons on a certain situation when you need help.They even tell you things when you don't need help. My mom personally has many stories and has learned a lot of lessons from her experiences in her life. To help me and give advice on things she tells me a story and how she handled it or how she didn't handle it well. So, stories are also told to teach lessons and help give advice. Stories have meaning in them too.

Unknown said...

Thank you everyone for such an engaging conversation. I really feel like the world's future is in good hands because of all of you.

Karl Fisch said...

Ben - the bell rang, we're done for this period. Gotta go to the next one. Thanks - feedback to karlfisch@gmail.com

emilyh said...

Molly, I agree with you entirely about books and movies. I think that the movie industry is not creative enough to think of thier own ideas so they have to use book ideas. It seems like 90% of all the movies that are coming out were books. THis greatly annoys me because it destroys my character image if I see a movie and then i can't remember my old vision of the book.

Unknown said...

Thank you all for letting me join your class today! What amazing experience it was! You have definitely added a new chapter to my own personal story and I appreciate all your great thoughts and how respectful you were in your discussion. I love that everyone had an opportunity to contribute to the discussion and that with the blog we can all be typing away at once and we don't have to raise our hands and wait to be called upon! Keep up the great thinking and I hope I can visit with you again in the future!

hollyb said...

I think story is a very important part of everyday life. Without story the world wouldn't be interesting, it would just be a hold bunch of facts. Stories though aren't always personal. When employees from Xcel are telling stories to the costumer, how do you know if they're personal stories? They could be some phony-baloney thing just to get the costumer to buy the product or the story could be totally blown out of proportion.

I believe that stories are every where. When we tell our friend, "I went to the mall last night." isn't that a story? Stories can be in a book, word of mouth or in pictures. I love the point that Kenna makes about rumors. That in it self is a story that is blown out of proportion.

I think that everyone in the blog had really good points and ideas.