Jan 18th Reading

Squirrel, Inc. begins with a female squirrel named Diana speaking to the bartender about the difficulty of getting her ideas heard by the bosses at Squirrel, Inc. Through their conversation the bartender gets her to see the power of storytelling as it relates to getting new ideas across. He argues that we are all intuitively able to tell stories, and that stories are something everyone can relate to, no matter their age. So he coaches her on how to best get her story across, giving her tips on how to improve and shape her story for maximum impact. Some of his suggestions include: identifying an incident where the change was successfully implemented, specify where and when this incident happened, extrapolating the idea if necessary, stripping it of unnecessary detail, giving it an authentically happy ending, and linking the story to the idea of change with phrases like "what if..". Now that Diana knows how to tell a story, she must learn the best way to implement it. She must relive the story to keep it fresh as it is told, focus on perfecting a few stories to be told over and over that will work with a broad variety of audiences, and constantly practice the story so that it comes off in a conversational manner that will be easier for the audience to enjoy. There are seven types of organizational storytelling. Stories to: ignite action, share knowledge, get people working together, neutralize bad news, communicate who you are, lead people into the future, and transmit values. Whyse uses the traditional narrative arc: a beginning middle and end with an inciting incident, crisis or climax, and denouement. Storytelling can also be used to build trust and reveal who you are. Finally, Hester tells a story to get individuals to work together. To do so: bring the group together physically, establish an open agenda, start with a moving story, create a process of sharing meaningful stories among the members of the group, and have an action plan ready.

Neuro Web Design is also concerned with the way stories and pictures can speak to a wide variety of audiences and the subconscious. A story conveys information but also allows us to feel what the characters feel. We process information as stories and turn stories into mental pictures. The internet and social media are also tools to communicate. There are 3 steps in Mass Interpersonal Persuasion: Discovery, Superficial involvement where you try out the service, and true commitment when you get active and loyal in a site. Made to Stick presents an urban legend that is instantly memorable along with another passage that decidedly isn't. This book is all about finding ways to make information stick, like the malnutrition of movie popcorn. There are six principles to "sticky" ideas: simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotions, and stories. Stories can become more personal, such as when they use an inspirational figure. The book highlights the case of Jared from the Subway commercials. He acts as an inspiration for people who want to lose weight.

There are examples of storytelling all over the internet. Facebook is probably the greatest example of storytelling bringing millions of people together. Every profile tells a story about its creator, every picture and every post illustrate something to someone. The stories on facebook link millions of users in a collective conversation. These same kinds of stories can be found on message boards where a different type of conversation is being had, but conversation nonetheless. The internet was created because of a frustration over the difficulty of communication, and now it is the ultimate tool to communicate in this new technological world.


The readings all made compelling arguments about the power and influence of storytelling. Squirrel Inc. broke storytelling down into a series of mechanical steps that I think may rob the inherent creativity of storytelling from a reader who follows it exactly. There are many ways to get a story across but not necessarily a fool proof formula that will fit all situations. Made to Stick had very interesting examples of how to get ideas to stick, such as filling a table with greasy food to finally get the point across to consumers about the popcorn they were happily gobbling up.