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From NetSpeed Leader Volume 33, May 2007
I'm sometimes amazed when I get feedback after a training workshop or webinar: "Just give me the information—don't tell me stories." I have to agree that information can be communicated more quickly in short bullet points without elaboration or juicy stories. But there's some good research by Roger Schank and others that demonstrates that you won't actually remember much information when it is communicated in that way.
Think of the most recent training session you attended. What do you recall? If you're like most people, it's the funny story the trainer told at the end or an emotional recounting of an event at work. Stories stick.
Now you may greet this news with elation or a long groan. But if you want to deliver "sticky training", you have to tell good, relevant stories to anchor the content.
Want to give me a reason to listen and learn? Tell me a story about what happened to the guy who didn't!
Want to help me recall and apply that four-step coaching model? Tell me a real example about a time when the coach followed those four steps. Then tell me what happened as a result.
Want me to learn about teamwork? Let me work in a team on a task. Then ask us all to create a story about what happened and what we learned.
Storytelling helps us make meaning of our experiences, organize the crucial learning, recall those experiences, and remember the key concepts. If you'd like to learn more about organizational and personal storytelling, and you're planning to attend the 2007 American Society of Training and Development International Conference in Atlanta, Georgia (June 3 -- 6), then please join me in my concurrent session, "Storytelling Strategies for Learning Transfer", Wednesday, June 6, Session W207, 10:30 to 11:45 a.m., Room B405.
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