Our latest Storyteller.net free podcast is now available. The podcast features excerpts from Storyteller.net director Sean Buvala’s keynote presentation to the Avondale School District’s Staff Gathering. Some 700 people enjoyed Sean’s stories and commentary. The September 2007 podcast includes the stories "The Emperor and the Dragons," "Catching Fire," "The Story that Does Not End," "Crow can Taste Good." There’s a "coaching moment" on how to get people to turn off their cell phones, too. Sponsored by Storytellingproducts.com. This pod cast features storytellers Sean Buvala and Buck P. Creacy.
Listen in when you click here now. You can find the podcast at Itunes. You can find our previous podcasts at this link here.
The CDs and books mentioned in the podcast can be found by clicking these links:
Eleven Nature Tales by Pleasant Despain
Three Minute Tales by Margaret Read MacDonald.
Heart Stories From the Wrong Side of Town by Buck P. Creacy
Seven Ravens: Unvarnished Tales from the Brothers Grimm by K. Sean Buvala
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
New Project: Storytelling and Gaming
3 Brothers and 1 Golden Axe:
Real Storytelling in Virtual Worlds
Welcome to our newest interactive workshop from Master Storyteller K. Sean Buvala
Increase the immersive feel of your gaming world and tap into essential human needs and desires with the power of real storytelling!
Learn what real (not the ethereal read a book to kiddies!) storytelling can teach you about virtual worlds.Learn more at: www.seantells.com/gaming.shtml
Learn: What is the basic structure of storytelling? It's got nothing to do with reading books.
Experience: What are the dark sides of fairy tales? Why are stories so cleaned up from the original versions? Sean will take you through the "unvarnished versions" of some popular tales.
Learn: What are "tale types" and what do they teach about human nature? Tap into these cross-cultural realities and bring new breath to your gaming world!
Explore: What is the "Geometry of Storytelling?" Why good storytelling allows every audience to have a unique experience every time.
Learn: What is the role of numbers in storytelling? 3 brothers, 7 Ravens, 12 tasks? Learn which numbers have significance and what they can tell you about the story and storyline.
Explore: How can the concept of "many voices/one story" help designers? Immerse yourself in quests and game experiences by playing a game of "shifting looks."
Ready to get started? Assemble your designer team and contact Sean for more information. Workshop can be presented in one (good!) or two (best!) workday format
About Your Presenter:
K. Sean Buvala, a 21 year veteran and master storyteller, is the director of storyteller.net, now celebrating their 10th anniversary online! Working throughout the U.S., he is storytelling, training and presenting to and for corporations, schools, churches and private coaching clients. Sean recently received a 2007 Oracle Award from the National Storytelling Network. He is an approved Roster Artist with the Arizona Commission on the Arts. Sean specializes in the folktales of Ireland and the Brothers Grimm, working with adults and teens. He has a variety of CD's released, ranging from stories for children to a specialty product for teenage guys to unvarnished world folktales.
Sean is an "avid casual" gamer with a long history back to the Compuserve days of "Islands of Kesmai." (Here is a picture of his original character: "A"). He currently plays in a variety of gaming world as his travel schedule allows. He's worked as an independent-contractor GM and customer service rep for an old-school gaming company, consulted and taught IT with the
Real Storytelling in Virtual Worlds
Welcome to our newest interactive workshop from Master Storyteller K. Sean Buvala
Increase the immersive feel of your gaming world and tap into essential human needs and desires with the power of real storytelling!
Learn what real (not the ethereal read a book to kiddies!) storytelling can teach you about virtual worlds.Learn more at: www.seantells.com/gaming.shtml
Learn: What is the basic structure of storytelling? It's got nothing to do with reading books.
Experience: What are the dark sides of fairy tales? Why are stories so cleaned up from the original versions? Sean will take you through the "unvarnished versions" of some popular tales.
Learn: What are "tale types" and what do they teach about human nature? Tap into these cross-cultural realities and bring new breath to your gaming world!
Explore: What is the "Geometry of Storytelling?" Why good storytelling allows every audience to have a unique experience every time.
Learn: What is the role of numbers in storytelling? 3 brothers, 7 Ravens, 12 tasks? Learn which numbers have significance and what they can tell you about the story and storyline.
Explore: How can the concept of "many voices/one story" help designers? Immerse yourself in quests and game experiences by playing a game of "shifting looks."
Ready to get started? Assemble your designer team and contact Sean for more information. Workshop can be presented in one (good!) or two (best!) workday format
About Your Presenter:
K. Sean Buvala, a 21 year veteran and master storyteller, is the director of storyteller.net, now celebrating their 10th anniversary online! Working throughout the U.S., he is storytelling, training and presenting to and for corporations, schools, churches and private coaching clients. Sean recently received a 2007 Oracle Award from the National Storytelling Network. He is an approved Roster Artist with the Arizona Commission on the Arts. Sean specializes in the folktales of Ireland and the Brothers Grimm, working with adults and teens. He has a variety of CD's released, ranging from stories for children to a specialty product for teenage guys to unvarnished world folktales.
Sean is an "avid casual" gamer with a long history back to the Compuserve days of "Islands of Kesmai." (Here is a picture of his original character: "A"). He currently plays in a variety of gaming world as his travel schedule allows. He's worked as an independent-contractor GM and customer service rep for an old-school gaming company, consulted and taught IT with the
Monday, May 14, 2007
Business Storytelling: Are You Ready for Five Minutes of Fame?
Here is my latest challenge for you.
Let's pretend that the Woman who runs the World's Largest Afternoon Talk (WLATS) show wants to talk about your business on Her show. You Know Who I mean. She is going to randomly pick an employee from your organization to speak.
Let's pretend that YOU have been chosen to represent your company on Her WLATS show. You will have only 5-10 minutes on the show to share your experience and to convince people that they should be calling your company for their needs. Like it or not, 10 minutes on that show can translate into bazillions of contacts. So, you have 5-10 minutes to grab the attention of the audience.
What would you say? If you said you'd talk about your financial security, how nice your buildings are and your 24 hour service, then you lose. All of your competitors say they have those, even if they don't.
You've got 5-10 minutes. What story, the one that touches the heart and imagination of the audience, will you tell? Stop now and choose one. If you have taken my training work, you have your Intentionality Journal to help you. My training courses give you tools that work.
Side note for some of you: This is *not* an exercise in the "elevator speech" process. "Elevator speeches" are dead. Relationships are alive. Stories build relationships.
1.Choose your story.
2.Choose your point.
3. Choose where the story will start.
4. Choose the other episodes that help you get your point across.
5. Choose the ending. Maybe you go back to the opening sentence to close?
6. Find someone and tell them your story. Open your mouth and tell the story. The only way to learn is to do it.
This exercise is for everyone in your company. It is for the Executive Team. It is for the new cashier who was just hired this week.
"Hah Ha, Very funny. WLATS is going to randomly pick an employee? Oh, that will never happen." you say. Do you want to bet? It is already happening every day. Potential customers, guests and potential employees randomly meet your staff every day. Are all of your current staff ready to tell a story or two?
Executive People: Will you model your 5-10 minute talk-show story for the rest of your company within the next seven days?
Let's pretend that the Woman who runs the World's Largest Afternoon Talk (WLATS) show wants to talk about your business on Her show. You Know Who I mean. She is going to randomly pick an employee from your organization to speak.
Let's pretend that YOU have been chosen to represent your company on Her WLATS show. You will have only 5-10 minutes on the show to share your experience and to convince people that they should be calling your company for their needs. Like it or not, 10 minutes on that show can translate into bazillions of contacts. So, you have 5-10 minutes to grab the attention of the audience.
What would you say? If you said you'd talk about your financial security, how nice your buildings are and your 24 hour service, then you lose. All of your competitors say they have those, even if they don't.
You've got 5-10 minutes. What story, the one that touches the heart and imagination of the audience, will you tell? Stop now and choose one. If you have taken my training work, you have your Intentionality Journal to help you. My training courses give you tools that work.
Side note for some of you: This is *not* an exercise in the "elevator speech" process. "Elevator speeches" are dead. Relationships are alive. Stories build relationships.
1.Choose your story.
2.Choose your point.
3. Choose where the story will start.
4. Choose the other episodes that help you get your point across.
5. Choose the ending. Maybe you go back to the opening sentence to close?
6. Find someone and tell them your story. Open your mouth and tell the story. The only way to learn is to do it.
This exercise is for everyone in your company. It is for the Executive Team. It is for the new cashier who was just hired this week.
"Hah Ha, Very funny. WLATS is going to randomly pick an employee? Oh, that will never happen." you say. Do you want to bet? It is already happening every day. Potential customers, guests and potential employees randomly meet your staff every day. Are all of your current staff ready to tell a story or two?
Executive People: Will you model your 5-10 minute talk-show story for the rest of your company within the next seven days?
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Of Thank You Notes, Colored Pencils and Corporate Storytelling
Chapter One of this Generic Story: The Thank You Note
The latest thank-you note I got was from a 7th grade boy. It was written with one of those pencils where the lead changes color every few strokes. It's like a box of crayons exploded all over the letters. Every kid thinks they are the first person to ever write a note with those kind of pencils. Adults couldn't have possibly ever had something so cool as this. In his cascading colors note, he told me that he and his friends thought my stories I told in his school were "exciting." I, of course, thought this note was a classroom assignment. You know, something like: write the Storyteller and say "thank you." Turns out, this was a spontaneous action on this kid's part. He wrote a note, put it in an envelope, got a stamp and sent it. Getting these notes, from adults and kids, is one of the things I really like about being a professional storyteller.
When's the last time your (teenagers or students) experienced anything that made them hand write a note...for which they were not getting graded? When was the last time the teens in your life had something that wasn't electric grab their attention so thoroughly? That is the power of live storytelling and that is what I do.
Chapter Two of this Generic Story: Corporate Secrets
I'd like to share with you a little reality. Your customers aren't paying attention to your advertising and sales slogging anymore.
They've heard it all before. Numbers no longer slake their thirsts. If you are using the "we're number one" bit, that doesn't impress them. Your "100's of locations" map doesn't matter.
You've burned out their patience and their "Broca's" region is turned off. Your old "hard skills" have worn down to fracturing thinness. Yawn.
I know, you want to hold on to your slick presentation folders, your staff full of degrees, your nice office building. Your professional self-image. Yikes.
So, what are they, your customers, paying attention to? They want you to "surprise Broca." Go ahead and Google that. They're paying attention to and they are thirsting for, the one thing or two that sets you apart. This thing that will scream past their boredom, grab hold of their right-brains and poke them squarely in their mind's eye.
They want your stories. YOUR stories. What makes YOU in YOUR organization exist? You know, if you were really honest about it, your company is not that much different
than your competitors. Go on, no one's looking. Be honest. Let go of your "corporate mythology" of how your Goliath-ness is David proof.
What is different? Your stories? Do you have the most compelling reasons, narratives, records of what keeps your current customers with you? What's the story?
Put my money where my mouth is? What's my story? There are lots of storytellers out there. Principals at schools get packages from storytellers all the time. What makes Sean different? Here's one of many things: I capture the attention of Junior High kids so deeply and so that they run to their textbooks and computers when I am done to learn more about the literature and world folktales that I've been teaching and storytelling. When I work with teens, they write me thank you letters afterwards. Yes, handwritten letters. It's amazing. 13 year olds (even guys) writing, even when they don't have to. That's what sets me apart: stories about how teens are motivated to read, research and write when I am done in the classroom.
Hold on to your slick handouts and your Powerpoints. Facts are okay and needed. What your customers are going to remember are your stories that frame and focus your number and your facts.
Relationships sell. Relationships are built on our stories. They who tell the best story get the sales. They who tell the best story get the most conversion and buy in. This is a hard skill. "Connecting" is no longer an optional skill in business.
And after all my blathering above, what you're going to remember is the story about the multi-colored-lead pencils. Why? Because you probably had some when you were a kid or you've bought them for your own kids. Connecting.
The latest thank-you note I got was from a 7th grade boy. It was written with one of those pencils where the lead changes color every few strokes. It's like a box of crayons exploded all over the letters. Every kid thinks they are the first person to ever write a note with those kind of pencils. Adults couldn't have possibly ever had something so cool as this. In his cascading colors note, he told me that he and his friends thought my stories I told in his school were "exciting." I, of course, thought this note was a classroom assignment. You know, something like: write the Storyteller and say "thank you." Turns out, this was a spontaneous action on this kid's part. He wrote a note, put it in an envelope, got a stamp and sent it. Getting these notes, from adults and kids, is one of the things I really like about being a professional storyteller.
When's the last time your (teenagers or students) experienced anything that made them hand write a note...for which they were not getting graded? When was the last time the teens in your life had something that wasn't electric grab their attention so thoroughly? That is the power of live storytelling and that is what I do.
Chapter Two of this Generic Story: Corporate Secrets
I'd like to share with you a little reality. Your customers aren't paying attention to your advertising and sales slogging anymore.
They've heard it all before. Numbers no longer slake their thirsts. If you are using the "we're number one" bit, that doesn't impress them. Your "100's of locations" map doesn't matter.
You've burned out their patience and their "Broca's" region is turned off. Your old "hard skills" have worn down to fracturing thinness. Yawn.
I know, you want to hold on to your slick presentation folders, your staff full of degrees, your nice office building. Your professional self-image. Yikes.
So, what are they, your customers, paying attention to? They want you to "surprise Broca." Go ahead and Google that. They're paying attention to and they are thirsting for, the one thing or two that sets you apart. This thing that will scream past their boredom, grab hold of their right-brains and poke them squarely in their mind's eye.
They want your stories. YOUR stories. What makes YOU in YOUR organization exist? You know, if you were really honest about it, your company is not that much different
than your competitors. Go on, no one's looking. Be honest. Let go of your "corporate mythology" of how your Goliath-ness is David proof.
What is different? Your stories? Do you have the most compelling reasons, narratives, records of what keeps your current customers with you? What's the story?
Put my money where my mouth is? What's my story? There are lots of storytellers out there. Principals at schools get packages from storytellers all the time. What makes Sean different? Here's one of many things: I capture the attention of Junior High kids so deeply and so that they run to their textbooks and computers when I am done to learn more about the literature and world folktales that I've been teaching and storytelling. When I work with teens, they write me thank you letters afterwards. Yes, handwritten letters. It's amazing. 13 year olds (even guys) writing, even when they don't have to. That's what sets me apart: stories about how teens are motivated to read, research and write when I am done in the classroom.
Hold on to your slick handouts and your Powerpoints. Facts are okay and needed. What your customers are going to remember are your stories that frame and focus your number and your facts.
Relationships sell. Relationships are built on our stories. They who tell the best story get the sales. They who tell the best story get the most conversion and buy in. This is a hard skill. "Connecting" is no longer an optional skill in business.
And after all my blathering above, what you're going to remember is the story about the multi-colored-lead pencils. Why? Because you probably had some when you were a kid or you've bought them for your own kids. Connecting.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
April 2007 Podcast is Here!
I’ve posted our latest podcast from Storyteller.net and Seantells.com. The link is below or you can find it on Itunes. You can also find it on my Myspace page.
We did something a little different with this podcast. I recently spent a day as guest artist in a 7th grade classroom. That’s with young people about 12 and 13 years old. I recorded large portions of the day. I’ve narrowed those recordings down to a 35 minute podcast. There are four stories in there and a coaching moment. Even the coaching moment comes from the day with the kids.
You’ll hear this again on the podcast, but I wanted to talk a bit about this here. As you know, those of you who have taken my storytelling training or coaching, that although you as a teller and your stories may remain consistent, when you change your audience you change your style. So for this group, I was speaking specifically to a small group (25 or so kids) in a small room. It was a close and intimate environment as oppsed to a big stage or an entire school assembly. The kids had also just finished a week of Arizona's mandatory testing, so they, and the teachers in the school, were pretty exhausted. We like to describe these mandatory tests as "no child left untested." We had a casual, informal day together.The risk anyone takes when they put forth recordings of themselves is that the listeners will think, “Oh, that is the way they always tell.” That’s simply not true of any storyteller anywhere. Well, at least the ones who understand their craft.
As you listen to this piece, keep the above paragraph in mind. Like all tellers, I have a variety of styles to choose from (and have chosen from) when my audience is 2 or 2000, aged 12 or 72, big stage or small classroom.
And, before you write me (ha ha!) about the Hades and Demeter comment, please know that I know it’s Persephone that brings the Spring, not her mother.
Our podcasts are sponsored by StorytellingProducts.com. Please stop by and support our work by purchasing a CD or Book from there. Thanks.
I hope you enjoy this month’s podcast. Click here to get it now.
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