IBM Research: Knowledge Socialization: Ideas: Quotes: Value of Stories

In an article in the email newsletter Online Learning News (Lakewood Publications) from 6/1/99, an interview with Lisa Neal, a research engineer using Lotus LearningSpace technology, includes pros and cons of the new learning technology. Note this excerpt (emphasis ours):

LearningSpace pluses for Neal include convenient access for students, regardless of time zones or work hours; and discussions and group projects.

Cons? The effort to develop the class -- and those missing classroom intangibles. "There are some things that are easier to do in a classroom than in text, audio, or video," Neal says, "such as tell stories to the students to illustrate the points being made in class."

How could tools that support distance learning be enhanced to better support storytelling?

Here's an interesting excerpt from the "infotech" email newsletter (by Janette Toral on July 15, 1998; to subscribe, mail "subscribe infotech" to majordomo@lists.iphil.net):

Picture this scenario. You are attending a business conference, and at a break in the program, you happen to get involved in a casual conversation with the CIO of the ABC Company. Not too coincidentally, you've been investigating the ABC Company as a possible place to work. The conversation is going well, and a good chemistry is building. And then, out of the blue, the CIO says, "Tell me, what was your major contribution to your company during the past year?"

Are you ready with an answer? ... Serious career managers will always have a repertoire of stories that they can draw on extemporaneously. ... Where do these stories come from? They come from your project, or team, reports, from your performance appraisals, and from your knowledge of the work you have done. You should write them up when they happen; don't rely on your memory. Keep them in your personal career file, and review them periodically. Over time, talking about them will become second nature. And if it isn't obvious, think of the value these stories will have when you're faced with a "real" interview.