I learned storytelling in one of the hardest environments in the world which is tribal society, at-risk, and under-governed, and really on the edges of tribal warfare.
That’s where I learned storytelling as a Green Beret, to go in and make human connections across vast trust gaps that if we got them wrong, could mean life, death, mission failure at a strategic level.
The understanding of high stakes storytelling, of purposeful storytelling, of Rooftop storytelling, stories that would give the listener, the skeptical listener slowly caressing the trigger of his AK-47 while he looked at you, enough of a sense of you and enough of a sense of himself that he would follow you up that ladder into the darkness when the village is under attack. That kind of storytelling.
I’ve heard all kinds myths surrounding story, and so as we dive deep into this month in July, and you start to arm yourself with the power of story, of narrative competence, of the integration of storytelling, active listening and interpersonal skills to form deep connections, you’ve really got to know what the myths are. Let’s just take them on head-on.
Join me by the campfire and let’s move on to Busting the Myths of Story…
