Storytelling

It has been said that there is no more powerful source for passing on what we know than the stories we share with one another. John C. Thomas of IBM’s Knowledge Management initiative, offers three features of stories that help to make them such powerful avenues for learning in reflective communities. First, says Thomas, learning stories are concrete – they deal with people, things, and events, rather than abstract concepts. Second, they are temporal – they consist of events unfolding in time. And third, learning stories are purposeful – they usually deal with active characters with real goals they are trying to achieve, obstacles or conflicts they encounter, and (sometimes) solutions or resolutions. Using this framework to tell your stories will help you to make their lessons available to the whole community.

Reflections
1. How do your own experiences relate to the community’s field of inquiry and triggering questions?
2. What stories of these experiences would most help others begin to know what you know and know how to do?
3. Why have you chosen this story? Is there a moral to the story?
4. Are there lessons learned? If so, what are they?

Actions
Read the information at Storytelling. Then, prepare to share stories of your domain-related experiences. It will help greatly if your stories are concrete, temporal, and purposeful, and related to your community’s domain and triggering questions. Then share your stories with the community, using either conversations or documents posted in NewWorkSpaces. Be sure to document each member’s lessons learned.

Tools and Resources
Storytelling