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HOW TO FIND THE STORY
by Richard A. Krueger
- Develop a shopping list
Know what you're looking for but keep other good stories for possible future use
- Enlist the help of others
Getting help from others multiplies your ability to obtain stories
- Getting people to remember-What you can do to avoid the blank look?
If you want to hear stories, do one or more of the following:
- Let people be comfortable and relax
- Food and beverages help
- Avoid times when people feel pressure or are anxious
- Take your time-There will be many "dead ends"
- Have several "provocative" questions
- Use cues to stimulate memory, such as timelines, photographs, objects, etc.
- Let people listen to stories of others
- Show interest in their stories-smile & eye contact
- Tell a story to prime the pump
- Hanging around - Walking around
Think about where stories are often told. Go there, ask questions and listen.
- Water coolers
- Vending machines
- Coffee shops
- Smoke breaks
- Barber shops
- Taverns
- Listen at meal times
Stories go well with food
- Listen at staff meetings
- Set a designated time at staff meetings to share brief stories.
- Ask for the story and also the message of the story
- Expect that staff will vary-some will be very skillful and others will need encouragement
- Use small focus groups
- Ask a few questions to a handful of people
- Develop 3-5 questions that are sequenced
- Invite colleagues, customers, decision-makers, influentials, etc to join you to share experiences
- Serve food or snacks
- Set aside about 45 - 60 minutes
- Ask people to be ready to do something when they first hear the story
- Record in a diaries or journals
- Make a phone call and leave a message
- Send a note or email message
- Listen for the "point" of the story
- There can be multiple points.
- What was originally intended by the teller?
- Do those who listen hear a different point?
- Capture the story
- Memory
- Take notes
- Tape recorders-audio & video
Back to STORYTELLING
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