Update: May 12 2012: Hmm, files are missing. Sorry!

UPDATE: Here are my sketchnotes from the first day. Click on each one to view the full-sized version. Want to share this post with others? Short URL: https://sachachua.com/blog/p/21866 . (Follow me on Twitter: @sachac)

New: Added three more sketchnotes:

That Resonates With Me! How to Change the World, One Story at a Time, Nancy Duarte

Shift Your Story Arc: Creating the Trajectory of Your Life, Julie Ann Turner

Screw Your Career Path, Live Your Story! Jason Seiden

Previously posted:

Why You Need to Tell a Bigger Story, Get Storied

Spend Shift: How the Post-Crisis Values Revolution is Changing the Way We Buy, Sell, and Live, John Gerzema

Just Enough to Make a Story: Creating a Narrative from an Anecdote, Sean Buvala

Social Movements as Participatory Storytelling, Andy Goodman and Lily McCombs

Want to share this post with others? Short URL: https://sachachua.com/blog/p/21866 . (Follow me on Twitter: @sachac)

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I normally gloss over marketing e-mails, particularly the ones that ask me to promote something to the readers of “sacha chua :: tech evangelist, storyteller, geek”. It was a good thing Anthony Marques reached out to me again about the Reinvention Summit, which turned out to be a virtual summit on storytelling with some pretty good speakers. The sessions will run from Nov 11 (today!) to Nov 22, and the basic Explorer's Pass is currently $33.33 – which you can get down to $8.33 if my math is right, using this $25 coupon code: REINVENTION. – the REINVENTION coupon doesn't seem to apply, but oh well! Not a bad price for attending sessions by Nancy Duarte, Steve Denning, and other storytelling gurus.

Of the 32 sessions planned, here are a few I'm particularly interested in:

Just Enough to Make A Story: Creating a Narrative from an Anecdote
Sean Buvala, Thu, November 11, 4pm – 5pm

In most business and nonprofit settings, there is plenty of anecdotal content for just about any point you would like to illustrate. However, these single-reference-point remnants of story need to be filled out and supported in order to make their biggest impact. In this workshop, you will learn some methods for helping you create impactful stories from these story-starters.

That Resonates with Me! How to Change the World One Presentation at a Time
Nancy Duarte, Thursday, November 18, 2pm – 3pm

If you say “I have an idea for something”, what you really mean is “I want to change the world in some way.” You might not be able to change the entire world, but what is “the world” anyway? It is simply all of the ideas of all our ancestors. Look around you. Your clothes, language, furniture, house, city, and nation all began as visions in other minds.

Humans love to create. And creating starts with an idea that can change the world.

“The only reason to give a speech is to change the world.” – John F. Kennedy

Presentations are the lingua franca of business and those who master communicating with them rise faster than their peers, reach more customers than their competitors, and turn causes into a groundswell.

Pioneering presentation innovator Nancy Duarte, CEO of Duarte Design, will demonstrate how to apply the methods in her book resonate: Presenting Visual Stories That Transform Audiences, to build meaningful connections with audiences that compel them to action. Her groundbreaking work details a new way of structuring a presentation and connecting with an audience – helping the presenter create a human connection.

Changing the world starts with transforming an audience and an audience will only change if you resonate with them.

In this session, you will learn to:

• Leverage the hidden story structures inherent in great communication
• Connect with your audience empathetically
• Create captivating content
• Craft ideas that get repeated
• Inspire enthusiasm and support for your vision

This session is for leaders who are tasked with communicating clearly and persuading through verbal communications.

Telling Taller Tales
Andrew Melville, Monday, November 15, 5pm – 6pm

I run through a model of three different levels of story; interesting, through memorable to compelling. I build on journalistic and script writing story principles to discuss people’s Intention behind storytelling, and look at observation, juxtaposition and transformation as components of powerful storytelling. I talk about experiences working with the Maori tribes of New Zealand, and their oral traditions, and metaphors from nature. Telling Taller Tales talks about building authentic and honest stories in the workplace, melding a brand story connecting marketing messages, vision and values and corridor conversations.

Why Great Storytelling Initiatives Fail, and What Can Be Done About It
Steve Denning, Friday, November 19, 4pm – 5pm

Why do great leadership storytelling initiatives tend to fail? These world-class initiatives in established organizations seem to flourish for a while, with strong top management support and demonstrated results; but then something happens, and the initiative is sidelined or downsized or undermined in some indirect fashion, Why do managers act in this way? Why don’t they recognize that storytelling is central to leadership and key to their organizations future? What can be done to sustain storytelling initiatives? Steve Denning draws on the findings from his new book, The Leader’s Guide to Radical Management, and shows what kind of changes are needed to have storytelling take its rightful place as a key management and leadership tool in 21st Century organizations. Come learn seven principles to enable storytelling in organizations.

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Even if Anthony didn't offer me a free press pass and discount coupon for sharing (code: REINVENTION), I'd probably pay for it anyway – it looks like it will be worth it. I might not have come across it without his nudging, though, so thanks, Anthony! =)

I'll post sketchnotes for the sessions I do manage to make it to. Check it out!

http://www.reinventionsummit.com

My parents are both storytellers.

My dad makes everyday life seem epic, with sound effects and humour. He embellishes tales to make them more dramatic. He tells stories in conversation, and is often the center of attention in a large crowd.

My mom keeps the stories of generations, revealing unexpected connections with grandparents or great-grandparents. She tries to stick as close to the truth as she can remember. She tells stories in intimate conversation and through her writing. I look forward to our weekly Skype conversations because of the mix of stories she shares: some about the past, some about recent adventures.

I’m really lucky that my parents both love telling stories.  Growing up, I saw how the stories they told inspired and energized and connected people. Good stories don’t have to have morals, points, or storybook villains threatening to destroy the universe. Sometimes a slice of life can make an unexpected connection.

I want to learn how to tell stories like that. My sister Kathy tells stories like my dad does, and I tell stories like my mom. I want to get better at saving and telling stories, particularly the difficult ones, and writing is my way of remembering.

Of the three phrases in my e-mail signature and business card, storyteller draws the most smiles. People visibly relax. They ask me questions. They talk to me in a way they might not talk to an IT specialist or a consultant. Geek gets grins from people in the know, but storyteller is the one that crosses boundaries.

I added storyteller to my self-descriptors when I noticed technology evangelist needed a lot of explanation. The idea was simple: you can’t get people to explore social media by just showing it to them. You have to show them real people using it to create real value, and stories are a great way to do that. I collected examples from different industries and business units, and I used anecdotes to help people understand.

I was reading Solitude: A Return to the Self (a psychoanalytic exploration of introversion and creativity, drawing on historical examples), and I came across an interesting distinction between dramatists and patterns: people who retell stories and relieve experiences, and people who focus on patterns and regularities.

I stopped, reflected on it, and recognized more of myself in the patterner than the dramatist. At the family table, my father and my sister were always the ones telling stories with accents and sound effects. I spent more of my time thinking and reading, drawing connections among the dozens of books I read on a topic, teasing out common topics and threads.

I didn’t fully recognize that part of myself until I had the words to describe it.

I am more of a pattern-maker than a storyteller. Yes, I sprinkle anecdotes through talks to make them more alive, and I share stories through my blog. But the real value I find myself creating at work is in documenting and improving the way people do things. I build Drupal systems, and more than that, I build people’s ability to build Drupal systems. I use social software, and I train people how to do so. I facilitate workshops, and I improve the way we organize and facilitate those engagements.

What does this mean in terms of playing to my strengths? I’ll write about more processes and look for more ways to improve them. I’ll organize what I create so that it’s easy for people to learn and contribute. I’ll work on being able to see and being able to communicate. I’ll learn about lots of different kinds of patterns, so that I can bring them together.

I’ll still work on storytelling skills. Stories are essential for leadership and connection. I’ll keep blogging, and I’ll keep using lots of examples in talks.

But it’s nice to have a name for what I do.

Here’s a link to the book:

Solitude: A Return to the Self Anthony Storr

(Disclosure: The link above is an Amazon affiliate link. That said, I recommend checking out your local library. I got this book from the Toronto Public Library, yay!)

Most of it is about Freud and Jung, and various writers and poets who’ve had solitary lives (mostly troubled solitary lives). The key message is probably that being alone isn’t as bad as people think it is. =) And you might pick up something completely different, like I did…

I help people learn about social media and Web 2.0 through stories.

Bullet points and screencasts aren’t enough, but stories about how real people use these tools to reach out and connect can help inspire others to learn about and try those tools themselves.

But I don’t just tell stories. I make them, and that’s my favourite, favourite way to teach.

Take this week, for example. I was coaching a client on how she and others could make the most of LinkedIn. She called me up to ask me some questions. She started the conversation by asking, “How are you?”

“Fantastic!” I replied, as I almost always do.

“I know! You’re living an awesome life.”

That made me laugh. And then she told me that she’d been reading about my gardening, and that she’s looking forward to hearing more about it. Turns out that she’s also growing a garden, and has rather ambitiously planted fifteen tomato plants.

Fifteen! That’ll be quite a harvest. =)

We had a great laugh about that… and now she has a story about finding common ground that she might not have come across in ordinary conversation.

You can give a hundred presentations on social media and Web 2.0 without getting through, or you can make stories and cultivate the kind of environment and culture where other people will make stories. Focus on being part of other people’s stories, and make magic happen! =)

Coming soon:
Imagining stories
Helping people create even more stories for others

wordcamptoronto on Twitter
#wpto08, #wcto08, which one?
Joseph Thornley
search.twitter.com
sociology + technology
RSS changed it from pastime to productivity tool
Magazine analogy – doesn’t make sense to keep physically checking newstand
Asked audience who has developed plugins, nice interaction
Check out category enhancements
wpdiso? profile plugin
live-conference.ca
phug.ca

Matt Mullenweg
If it takes you more than five minutes [to upgrade], you’re doing it wrong, as the lolcats would say (good idea for another presentation: bring in lolcats picture)
2 Wikipedias a month posted on wordpres.com
5 billion spam comments caught, 99.925% accuracy
camp vs conference, open source vs closed source
kudos to Davao WordCamp for being awesomest, mentioned karaoke sound system, pool, lumpia, super-passionate people, awesome shirt
Release cycles, time-based, 2 months dev 1 month cool-down, 1 month testing – reminds me of what Mark Shuttleworth said re cadence
Top 10 WordPress plugins
Looking into better multimodal support

Other notes
Wordpress help desk
Role scoper
Flashpress
Wordpress developer’s toolbox, Drupal version also
Flutter
Comicpress
Theme test drive
Wordpress e-commerce
Contact manager

Conversations
Himy – misses Emacs Planner PIM bliki
Brian Anderson, Mireille Massue, Elena Yunusov – storytelling
Mireille -SecondLife, presentations, storytelling, visual thinking – introduced by Tania Samsonova
Stuart Dykstra – SecondLife, virtual culture

Angelina Gan asked me if my storytelling approach is based on Peter Orton’s (wonderful!) presentation on using storytelling in business, so I thought I’d share how I started telling stories and what my favorite resources are.

I don’t know exactly why I started telling stories instead of listing bullet points. Maybe it was because of the never-ending march of bullet-ridden presentations. Maybe it was because I kept skimming through business books that were all numbers or pithy sayings without anecdotes to make those statements come alive. Maybe it was because I watched terrific presentations highlighted on the Presentation Zen blog. Maybe it was because of the books I read about telling success stories to deepen your relationships with people, influencing change through story-telling, and telling effective stories. Whatever it was, I started collecting stories and sharing my own.

I’d taken up writing flash fiction (really short stories, typically 55 words long) in 2005, and that turned out to be surprisingly useful. Reading other people’s flash fiction stories taught me that you could tell a story with conflict and character development in a paragraph or two, and that it was fun keeping an eye out for story material. I had originally gotten interested in flash fiction because it felt like a code optimization challenge, and because the stories were short enough for me to write during lunch or a subway ride, on pieces of paper or even on my cellphone. I never felt particularly literary (and in fact had gotten Ds in my English classes in university for lack of effort), but finding and telling stories (or in this case, making them up!) turned out to be a lot of fun.

So when I came across the business applications of storytelling–from social networking to influencing technology adoption–and I saw how it dovetailed with my passions, I jumped right into it. I started collecting stories. For example, I started my master’s research by collecting stories about how people used Dogear (an enterprise social bookmarking system by IBM) so that I could figure out how people were using it in their work and how they could use it even more effectively. I collected stories to help me not only convince people to try out new tools but also give them models to follow and people they could relate to. I also told stories about what I was doing and how I was doing it, and that helped me get to know a lot of people as well. Besides, I love “catching other people doing well”–telling other people’s success stories, especially when they don’t realize they’re doing well.

The results? People act on what I share. They make my stories their own. Not only that, people also tell me that they enjoy my presentations and that my enthusiasm is contagious. Giving presentations – telling stories, having conversations – has become a lot more fun.

How do I find stories? I keep an eye out for things that happen in real life, like this conversation I had with J-. There’s a seed of a story in there, and by telling part of the story, I make it easier to remember later on. I also enjoy reading people’s blogs, because they tell stories from their experiences as well. I read a lot – it certainly helps to have a public library within walking distance. Whenever I come across a particularly good story in any of these sources, I write it down, I bookmark it, I add it to my notes. When I work on presentations, I’ve got a general idea of relevant stories that I’ve come across, and then I use my notes to look up the details.

For example, I was preparing a presentation about University Relations and the Net generation. I didn’t want it to be a boring list of bullet points or advice. I could’ve rehashed the presentation I gave at the Technical Leadership Exchange, but I wanted to make the most of my opportunity to speak with a group that could really make the most of Web 2.0. I remembered that some months ago, I had come across a terrific internal blog post about how a demonstration of IBM’s internal social tools got an audience of university students really interested. I had bookmarked it as a story about Web 2.0 and recruiting, knowing that it would be useful someday. Well, that someday had come! I checked my bookmarks, went back to the blog post, refreshed my memory, and added it to my presentation. I’m sure that the story will make my point more effectively than a list of bullet points.

How can you get started with storytelling? Keep an eye out for story material. Develop a system for filing those stories so that you can find them again when you need them. Tell stories. I’ve linked to some of my favorite books in this post – check them out for more tips. Storytelling is effective and fun. Enjoy!

“Know the differences between Technology, Features, Benefits, and Value,” Jeremiah Owyang
 advises in his blog post about effectively talking to executives and clients about social media. He goes on to provide concrete examples of all four approaches, and suggests how to establish trust and respond to indicators of interest or disinterest. Good stuff.

I’m an emerging technologies evangelist focusing on social computing in the enterprise. Some people come to me with a technology focus. They want to use a blog or a wiki, but their objectives aren’t clear, and they don’t know where to start. Sometimes they start on their own, but they quickly lose interest in it when people don’t reply to their posts or update their wiki. Part of my role as a technology evangelist is to get them from focusing on the technology to focusing on at least the benefits as soon as possible. In order to do that, I need to know who they are and what matters to them. What are they looking for? What words do they use to describe what they do? Listening is a huge part of evangelism. (This makes me want to find another term, actually, as “evangelist” brings up images of people who just talk at other people.)

When I talk about benefits or value, I talk about WIIFM: “What’s in it for me.” It’s a good idea to lead with personal benefits, and let the social benefits follow. Blogs, social bookmarks, wikis… All of these things should pay off for you on a personal level, because the social benefits might not kick in for a while. When I talk to people who are new to blogging, for example, I emphasize how it’s useful as a professional notebook for recording lessons learned and questions to explore. I talk about how the practice I get in thinking about what I think makes it easier for me to talk to other people. I talk about how my blog helps me remember what I’m passionate and excited about. When the personal benefits are established, then I can talk about the social benefits: the unexpected connections, the deeper conversations, the online and offline interactions. But personal benefits have to come first. Otherwise, it becomes a chore and you won’t be able to appreciate the social benefits.

Kids are a great way to show some of those benefits, because kids pick up the technologies that have good WIIFM value. Here’s an example: At a recent kick-off meeting, one of the clients mentioned that he saw his daughter using del.icio.us to coordinate a school project with some of her classmates. Using del.icio.us, they could quickly put together and share relevant sites. And hey, if his daughter could do that, maybe people in his company could, too.

The caveat is that it’s also easy to get locked into thinking of social media as just for the kids, or just for our personal lives. That’s why it’s also important to tell stories about older people using social media. (My mom shares business tips on her blog!) It’s important to tell stories about the business benefits of social media. (I got my job because of my blog, my bookmarks, and my other social stuff!) We need to tell those stories so that we can help people see what’s in it for them and what’s in it for their company.

So how do you talk to people about social media?

• Listen well. You need to pick up and use their vocabulary. You need to watch how they react. People give you plenty of cues; you just have to listen.
• Focus on people and value, not the technology. The technical details come later, when you’re talking to IT for implementation.
• Tell stories whenever possible. They make your benefit and value statements concrete.

(xpost: The Orange Chair (team blog), personal blog, personal internal blog; thanks to Stefano Pogliani for the link)