Using storytelling to share knowledge
Storytelling can be broadly defined as orally communicating ideas, beliefs, personal experiences and lessons. It has been used as one of the most prevailing forms of communication throughout history and has great potential as a teaching and learning tool. Storytelling is one of the best ways to make the leap from information to knowledge, and it is an effective way to capture and transfer tacit knowledge. When used effectively, it offers numerous advantages over more traditional communication techniques.
Storytelling helps to:
Storytelling helps to:
- Make communication more human – they use everyday language and elicit an emotional response.
- Nurture a sense of community and help to build relationships.
- Are enjoyed and shared by people because they enliven and entertain.
Advantages of storytelling
The benefits of stories are that they:
Communicate. When listeners hear the story, they recreate it in their mind and it becomes part of their own idea.
Communicate ideas holistically, conveying a rich yet clear message – they are an excellent way to communicate complicated ideas in an easy-to-understand form.
Enable people to convey tacit knowledge that might otherwise be difficult to articulate. Provide the context as well as the knowledge itself, which increases the likelihood of accurate and meaningful knowledge transfer. They are an excellent vehicle for learning because they generate interest, which abstract principles and impersonal procedures rarely do.
Are memorable – their messages remain and are passed on.
Provide a living example of how to do something and why it works, so people are more open to the message.
Lead to direct action – they help close the gap between knowing how to do something and actually doing it.
Capture tacit knowledge. Tacit knowledge can be multilayered and multidimensional, making it difficult to articulate. Stories allow people to express and share tacit knowledge in rich and meaningful ways.
Embody and transfer knowledge. A simple story can convey a complex idea, not only by transmitting information as a message, but by actively involving the listener in creating the idea. Furthermore, as a story is told and retold, it changes, so the knowledge embodied in it is constantly being developed and built upon. Inspire innovation. The use of storytelling in innovation and knowledge creation can encourage people to move away from linear thinking towards a more multidimensional view. This helps them to see new connections between things and to marry scientific logic with a more creative or intuitive approach.
Build community. Stories bring people together and foster a sense of community. Storytelling
is non-hierarchical. It unlocks feelings and emotions as well as thought processes, and hence it helps to build relationships and trust.
Enhance technology. People often find it difficult to communicate about technology. Users sometimes have trouble articulating their needs and expectations, while experts sometimes have difficulty ‘talking in plain English’. When there is a gap in language and understanding, storytelling can provide a bridge, by communicating the real essence of what each party is trying to get across.
Support individual growth. Storytelling is a skill that draws on a number of other important skills, mostly relating to interpersonal communication. The development of these skills is a crucial component of most knowledge management programmes.
Communicate. When listeners hear the story, they recreate it in their mind and it becomes part of their own idea.
Communicate ideas holistically, conveying a rich yet clear message – they are an excellent way to communicate complicated ideas in an easy-to-understand form.
Enable people to convey tacit knowledge that might otherwise be difficult to articulate. Provide the context as well as the knowledge itself, which increases the likelihood of accurate and meaningful knowledge transfer. They are an excellent vehicle for learning because they generate interest, which abstract principles and impersonal procedures rarely do.
Are memorable – their messages remain and are passed on.
Provide a living example of how to do something and why it works, so people are more open to the message.
Lead to direct action – they help close the gap between knowing how to do something and actually doing it.
Capture tacit knowledge. Tacit knowledge can be multilayered and multidimensional, making it difficult to articulate. Stories allow people to express and share tacit knowledge in rich and meaningful ways.
Embody and transfer knowledge. A simple story can convey a complex idea, not only by transmitting information as a message, but by actively involving the listener in creating the idea. Furthermore, as a story is told and retold, it changes, so the knowledge embodied in it is constantly being developed and built upon. Inspire innovation. The use of storytelling in innovation and knowledge creation can encourage people to move away from linear thinking towards a more multidimensional view. This helps them to see new connections between things and to marry scientific logic with a more creative or intuitive approach.
Build community. Stories bring people together and foster a sense of community. Storytelling
is non-hierarchical. It unlocks feelings and emotions as well as thought processes, and hence it helps to build relationships and trust.
Enhance technology. People often find it difficult to communicate about technology. Users sometimes have trouble articulating their needs and expectations, while experts sometimes have difficulty ‘talking in plain English’. When there is a gap in language and understanding, storytelling can provide a bridge, by communicating the real essence of what each party is trying to get across.
Support individual growth. Storytelling is a skill that draws on a number of other important skills, mostly relating to interpersonal communication. The development of these skills is a crucial component of most knowledge management programmes.
Potential uses of stories
- Team or community-building exercises
- Breaking down barriers between multidisciplinary or multicultural teams
- Workshop warm-ups
- Trip debriefs
- Personal project reviews
- Monitoring systems
How to create a story
In any medium, a good story has:
- Characters
- A challenge to be faced
- Action
- A turning point when change happens
- A resolution