He also has a fascinating blog called Study Hacks: Demystifying College Success which offers some interesting techniques for all of us who have to incorporate new information in our daily work or study. I was particularly intrigued by this one: “The Story Telling Method.”

Newport writes: “The Story Telling Method has an important benefit: it takes the large volume of information you just received and organizes it within a coherent framework.” Makes a lot of sense to me and is a strategy that I’ve used for years without really thinking about it. If you’re battling information overload like most of us, check out this post and the rest of his blog for some practical tips.

I’m writing an in-depth article about the use of “story” in capturing knowledge from employees before they move on. If you’ve ever tried to write a “manual” to leave behind when you move to a new position, you are very familiar with the challenges of imparting ALL of what you know. Some say that knowledge is “social”… that we need to have conversations with others in order for it to come to the surface or to be transferred. We’ve all experienced the realization that we know much more that we thought we knew–that we can articulate knowledge in conversation that we could not have produced without the discussion.

While “story” may be an element of mentoring, coaching, and other approaches to knowledge exchange, I’m specifically interested in story as the primary technique. It may be used within a community of practice model, brown-bag lunch sessions, or exit interviews … or possibly many other scenarios. These are the types of situations I’m interested in hearing about.

A parallel interest is that features of organizational culture that encourage development and transfer of tacit knowledge (space and opportunity for conversation, valuing interpersonal communication and sharing of experiences, appreciation for individual experience and exploration) are also features that nurture creativity in the workplace. Is there recognition or acknowledgement of such a link within organizations nurturing tacit knowledge exchange? Is creativity recognized as a valuable by-product of “story as a tool for knowledge exchange”–or vice versa?

I’d be very interested in hearing from you if you have experience with this topic (on either side–as a leaving employee or as a facilitator) or if you know of organizations utilizing story for knowledge strategies with employees who are leaving.

Please contact me by email at shelley AT shourstonandassociates DOT com. Thanks for your help!

This video is called Simple Truths of Service Inspired by Johnny the Bagger by Ken Blanchard and Barbara Glanz and is one of a series of wonderful short and inspiring films.

Thank you Robert Middleton (Action Plan Marketing) for sharing this story with me.

So what do “sticky ideas” have to do with “reluctant self-marketers”—a label I use with empathy and a great deal of insider knowledge? Chip Heath, a professor of organizational behaviour at Stanford and Dan Heath, a former researcher at Harvard and now a consultant, use “story” to convey the secrets of successful and memorable communication. The Heaths write (p. 16), “As we pored over hundreds of sticky ideas, we saw, over and over, the same six principles at work.” They go on to describe the six principles with fascinating research, stories, and examples. The principles are: simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotions, and stories. The acronym for their recipe is SUCCESs. Made to Stick is one of the most useful resources I’ve found—for those of us who are reluctant self-marketers as well as for the rest of you. You can visit the website for articles, interviews and Chip and Dan Heath’s blog.

Career Kick Start for Recent or Soon-to-be Graduates Program
December 18, 2007 (Vancouver, BC)
In a five week one-on-one training program, story and communication facilitator Shelley Hourston guides recent or soon-to-be graduates through a process that highlights their strengths and expertise, significantly increasing their confidence. Participants develop a ‘portfolio’ or collection of stories demonstrating their experience and skills. They can then use these stories to communicate their strengths to potential employers. In the words of one participant: “Today’s interview was such a testament to our sessions! I used story examples to answer a lot of the questions and did not have any problems with the ‘big’ questions as I usually do.” Gift certificates for Career Kick Start for Recent Graduates are now available. [more]

Annette Simmons, author of numerous books, including The Story Factor, has a new title called Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins: How to Use Your Own Stories to Communicate with Power and Impact. In this book, Simmons provides a guide to developing personal stories to cover any scenario we are likely to encounter in our professional (and personal) lives, including: Who-I-am stories, Why-I-am-here stories, Teaching stories, Vision stories, Value-in-action stories, and I-know-what-you-are-thinking stories. Full of examples to illustrate her ideas, this book describes why story is so powerful and when and how to use stories successfully. If you are unsure of the value of story in communicating your character and expertise, this book will convince you. If you are already a believer, this book is a treasure and a lot of fun to read.

You can read more about Annette Simmons and her work at her website, Group Process Consulting.

Stanford psychologist and author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol Dweck, highlights the importance of how we interpret our stories or our experiences. I believe that by developing a reflective approach that consciously explores our stories, we can capitalize on what Dweck calls a “growth mindset.”

Dweck writes about “the nature of change” at the Mindset website:
Whether they’re aware of it or not, all people keep a running account of what’s happening to them, what it means, and what they should do. In other words, our minds are constantly monitoring and interpreting. That’s just how we stay on track. But sometimes the interpretation process goes awry. Some people put more extreme interpretations on things that happen—and then react with exaggerated feelings of anxiety, depression, or anger. Or superiority.

People with a growth mindset are also constantly monitoring what’s going on, but their internal monologue is not about judging themselves and others in this way. Certainly they’re sensitive to positive and negative information, but they’re attuned to its implications for learning and constructive action: What can I learn from this? How can I improve? How can I help my partner do this better?

You can also read an excellent article about Dweck’s work in the March/April 2007 Stanford Magazine

Christian Buckley agrees. He says:
Both hiring manager and job candidate have a story to tell. The interview is just as much about the hiring manager telling a compelling story about why the candidate should want to come to work for that company, as it is about the candidate wanting to tell a compelling story about why she should be hired. People need to do more than answer simple questions, and provide basic responses–they need to provide a narrative around their experience. They need to engage the listener, express some passion, and make it a memorable experience. Whether interviewing for a job, talking to potential investors about your company or idea, or conducting a project meeting within your company–make sure your story is compelling, and people will pay attention.

[From "Mangosteens, Adhocracy and a Working Life: An Interview with Christian Buckley" by Aneeta Sundararaj on May 3, 2006. For the full interview, visit her website, How to Tell a Great Story]

Buckley was responding to a question from Sundararaj about what he meant when he wrote: “inteviewing is storytelling” on his blog called Life is Work (which unfortunately seems to be defunct) Read more from Buckley at buckleyPLANET: Musings on collaboration technology, marketing, and the evolving world of management).

Roger Carl Schank’s work originally focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and how computers could be programmed based on what we know about how human beings learn. Since then, he has shifted his focus from AI to human intelligence.

In the following quote from pages 84-85 of his book Tell Me a Story: Narrative and Intelligence (Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1995), Shank says:

It is all well and good to say that understanding means telling good stories and to say that we respond to stories with stories, but this leaves out a key question: How do we find the stories that we wish to tell? And from this question there follows another question: How does one know that one has a story to tell? The answer to both these questions is one word: indexing. [Music to a librarian's ears!]

No matter how the story of Artificial Intelligence is told, no matter whose point of view is adopted about how the mind works or how a computer mind might work, the problem always reduces to search. A mind must be able to find what it needs to find, and it must know that it has found it. To tell a story, you must have labeled it properly, stored it away with a name that will allow it to be found, possibly many years later, when some process calls its name. If there is no way to find a story, it might as well not exist. If it cannot be found by reference to its content rather than by reference to a number or unrevealing name, for example, then it might as well not be there.

How often do you think of a story about an experience in your past in
response to a conversation or event today? Sometimes we remember things that we haven’t thought of for years. Shank’s comments highlight the importance of preparing in advance the stories that illustrate our strengths and expertise. Walking into a job interview or meeting with a potential client HOPING that you’ll hear something that will spark a memory of a perfect story is VERY optimistic … and probably not very effective. If your goal is to convey your best self, don’t rely on your indexing system! Stress has a way of wreaking havoc on human indexing systems.

So what’s the answer? Have a collection of your stories ready to draw upon! Spend time identifying your strengths, attributes, and expertise
well before you ever meet someone who might be interested. This is an exercise that will take more than an hour at a cafe. Ask your colleagues and friends for their opinions–as difficult as that might be. It’s human nature to play down our strengths and knowledge.

Once you have a list of strengths and expertise, develop a portfolio
(written to start, but you’ll need to be able to recall them at will) of
stories–experiences that illustrate your skills in action–not a
shopping list of events. These should be interesting stories that
communicate your emotion and enthusiasm as well as your strengths. They need not be long and might be only a few sentences long. My favourites are the stories that can be used to convey a range of different strenghts or positives. In fact, I’ve been told that my use of a particular story more than once in a job interview indicated an ability to perceive different aspects of a situation [yes, I got the job].

When you’re preparing for an interview or meeting, knowing as much as possible about what the interviewer or client wants is key to being
prepared with your best stories.

Good luck! Let me know how it goes.

Ancowitz offers nine excellent self-promotion tips for introverts and the first is:”You don’t need to brag to promote yourself. However, by preparing well for encounters in advance, you’ll have ready indisputable facts about your accomplishments and what you excel at and enjoy, plus you’ll feel comfortable stating them.”

Doesn’t that sound like the definition of a story? For those of us who feel uncomfortable conveying our strengths and achievements, there’s nothing like a story to capture the highlights. Stories are a delight for the listener and a painless way for the storyteller to communicate our interests and abilities.

Want a tip from this introvert though? Ancowitz is right. Preparing in advance is key. Don’t rely on your memory and dazzling communication skills to profile your strengths in stressful networking opportunities (which of course include the bus stop, the grocery store, workshops, and more formal networking events). Prepare by creating a “mental portfolio” of stories communicating your strengths and accomplishments that you can draw on when opportunity knocks.