What is Storytelling?
In the olden days, we sat around the fire and told stories. As the darkness fell and the night drew in, we told about the day that had passed, the people we had seen, the words that had been spoken, the places we had visited. We told about other days, people and places. We understood the world and our place in it, through our stories. And then we told about our dreams and our memories; our passions and desires; we came alive through our stories!
Storytelling is an age-old tradition originating in all cultures and in many different settings; it takes place around the fire, or over the washing of clothes in the river or by the well while watering the animals; it takes place on the bus, train, on the telephone, by email and during dinner parties.
It is the way people have connected and shared their lives with each other since the beginning of time.
Throughout the generations, communities have passed down their stories from parent to child, preserving their history and culture, recording their experience, illustrating their values, creating continuity.
All illustrations belong to Janet L. Whitehead -
Musings and Mud Coaching Studio
We live in a world where there is a huge reliance on technology and where there is a vast amount of knowledge on every subject readily available to huge populations of people. In spite of this, or perhaps as a result of this, Storytelling as an art form is in the midst of a revival world-wide. People are craving the simplicity of traditional storytelling.
‘Information simply leaves us feeling incompetent and lost. We don’t need more information. We need to know what it means. We need a story that explains what it means and makes us feel like we fit in there somewhere’
(Annette Simmons, ‘The Story Factor’, 2006).
Storytelling, the oldest and most powerful tool of influence, is a critical skill to identify and develop in all organizations; to motivate, inspire and achieve outstanding results!
