865 - Do Stories Evolve Over Time?

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - February 9, 2015.
#865 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
56,821 Readers - www.masie.com - twitter: emasie - The MASIE Center.
Host: Learning Strategies LAB - March in Saratoga Springs!

1. Do Stories Evolve Over Time?
2. BYOD Access for Mobile Devices.
3. Learning Innovations LAB - April 20 - 22.

1. Do Stories Evolve Over Time? As we tell and retell our stories, especially if we are presenters, speakers or in the media, do we refine, hone and perhaps evolve or enhance our stories over time?

My question stems from the in-process news story about the storytelling of news anchor Brian Williams. TRENDS readers from the United States may have been following the crisis that flowed from flaws that are popping up in the stories that NBC Anchor Brian Williams told about his experiences in a battle that he was covering in Iraq many years ago. Apart from the truths or exaggerations in this specific incident - and we clearly want to have deep trust in the words of journalists - it does trigger a personal reflection on my part about what happens with stories that we tell over time.

I will admit that as I have shared stories in a keynote speech, they get better with each retelling. I figure out what to highlight, what to leave out and even the best sequence of the telling. This is a natural improvement. But, sometimes I may take elements from several stories and combine them into one better story. It is may be a speaker’s natural desire to be powerful or impactful - but am I bending the truth?

One example is a story that I have told about introducing my mother - who was a senior citizen - to the internet in the 1990’s in front of many of her fellow grandmothers in an apartment in Miami, Florida.

I love telling the story and referencing a woman on the end of the couch with red hair - who I “think” had the name of Ida - and telling it with gusto. I have told that story perhaps over 300 hundred times over several decades. And, it is true.

But, I am not sure if the name of the woman at the end of the coach was Ida - or Irene or Edith - and there may have been 4 or 6 other grandmothers. And, to be totally honest, I added a bigger, deeper Jewish accent to Ida’s comments to me. As I told the story, Ida became the best way of deeply telling the story to large groups. Stories sometimes naturally evolve with the retelling.

I have been thinking about the ways in which we deal with this “story evolution” reality as professional storytellers:

* Accuracy on Organizational Context: Let’s make sure that we are accurate on the name or type of organization that we are referring to in a story. If combining several, be direct to say, “Here is a story that reflects what several companies in the freight logistics area are undertaking.”
* Own Your Possible Memory Gaps: I really don’t know if her name was exactly “Ida”. But, I might say, “I believe that my mother’s friend name was called Ida.”
* Write it Down or Video It: As we tell stories, which will evolve, try to have a version of the original one - in video or text - to hold the details.
* Stories vs. Case Studies: Try to differentiate a Case Study, which is about a specific incident with a specific company at a specific moment in history, from a story that may be a more personal recounting of a set of memories. I use the word “Story” intentionally to differentiate it from a “Case Study”.
* Keep the Story on Them, Not You: One of the challenges of the celebrity nature of journalists and even public speakers is that we use too many “I” statements. Keep the stories about other people rather than always bringing it back to you.

There is much to learn about the evolving nature of Storytelling, particularly in the age of everywhere video. I would love to hear from Learning TRENDS readers about their views of how stories evolve over time. Send me a note to emasie@masie.com

2. BYOD Access for Mobile Devices: We have been tracking the enormous rise in the use of personal phones or tablets by employees as they do their work defined computing, searching and collaborating. More and more employees are in the BYOD - Bring Your Own Device - mode as they conduct business work throughout the day.

BYOD Access will be requested and in many ways required as all generations increase their desire to have technology access at their fingertips (and perhaps soon on their watches). BYOD Access will evolve to include Biometric Validation, GPS Location Validation or other extensions of selective access to the corporate firewall.

Learning and Development colleagues, along with other Human Resource professionals, will need to better communicate the nature of BYOD Access and include it in onboarding, orientation and other job readiness learning activities. Our IT colleagues will also need to mix the need for security and threat prevention while at the same time dealing with a more mobile and agile computing workforce.

3. Learning Innovations LAB - April 20 to 22. We are pleased to announce the next edition of my Learning Innovations LAB & Retreat, a 2 1/2 day deep dive into new technologies and learning designs.  We offered this for the first time in January and the LAB sold out. Therefore, I will be hosting a Learning Innovations LAB & Retreat from April 20 to 22 at The MASIE Center LAB in Saratoga Springs, NY. We will explore these technologies and topics:

- Learning Personalization.
- Mobile Learning Models – Mobility & Performance.
- Video: Fast, Targeted, User-Created, Open, Digital Studios.
- Wearables: From Glasses to Bands to Watches.
- Performance Support Technologies.
- ReDesigning Webinars.
- MOOCs: Massive and Open Content Models.
- Small Tech vs. Big Tech - Solutions in the BYOD Era.
- Collaborative & Social Learning Technology.
- Curation: Harvesting & Sorting Content.
and more..

Details on content and registration are available at http://www.masie.com

Yours in learning,

Elliott Masie
Chair, The Learning CONSORTIUM

MASIE Center Seminars, Events and Services:
- Membership in The Learning CONSORTIUM
- Learning Strategies LAB - With Doug Lynch and Elliott Masie - March 25 to 27 Saratoga Springs.
- Learning Innovations LAB & Retreat - April 20 to 22 Saratoga Springs.
- Learning 2015 - Nov 1 to 4 - Orlando, Florida.
Upcoming:
- Gamification and Learning Summit.
- MOOCs and Corporate Learning LAB.

Info and Registration: http://www.masie.com - twitter: emasie