This video is 45 minutes and 18 seconds, so set aside time for the quotable pearls or gems, such as: “The story becomes so pervasive that the teller and the listeners are immersed in it together.” It’s a co-created reality, a sense of community.

I chose a few things to paraphrase to pique your interest:

With a really good story, we gain information, knowledge, wisdom, and we expand our boundaries. In the story, there are things that transform us, and as storytellers we hope to change people. The listeners must be willing to change. If that’s the case, the story is more able to help that transformation to take place.

Memories, if you can get your story to evoke memories in the listeners, then they begin to connect at a deeply personal level. They begin to replace what you’re describing with their own personal experiences, and they see themselves in them.

The power of storytelling transforms.

Are we transforming our learners through effective stories?

I attended ComiCon this past July, and the power of telling great stories has taken over all the back burners in my brain. Great storytelling must insert itself into our e-learning design and development projects. We engage learners by ensuring they are engrossed in a story that supports performance improvement and measurable outcomes.

This past Saturday, I went to a local film festival that showcased “shorts”. I came away awed by the film makers’ creative stories. Humbled. Energized. Amazed. Excited. Inspired. Their visual stories have embedded themselves in my brain cells, and I can “bring up and recall” their images over and over. The lessons the short films portrayed are also embedded in my brain, encouraging me to put them into practical application.

And, if video film makers with small budgets can do that, why not e-learning instructional designers and developers?

We have the tools, everyone! But, are we writing powerful and great stories?

My challenge to myself, and my goal for the next 12 months, is to study great storytelling. Whether I design and develop online learning for the Web, for “serious games”, for virtual worlds, or for mobile devices doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I write a great story so that it embeds itself in my learners’ brains, stimulates their thinking, and encourages them to put into practice what they learned through the story.

The Butterfly Circus

This particular short film continues to impact me deep down inside. All of the shorts we viewed at the film festival were awesome, but “The Butterfly Circus” is truly amazing. As you watch this 20-minute short film, remember the film makers are a husband and wife team on a very limited budget. Joshua and Rebecca Weigel’s powerful story is supported by beautiful cinematography as well. Without further ado, enjoy “The Butterfly Circus” by clicking the link below:

The Butterfly Circus

What are your thoughts? Please type a Comment to this post. I’d enjoy reading your musings!

(P.S. I’ll write my ComiCon post soon. The digital camera with all of the photos had to be sent to the shop for repairs. Thank goodness the images survived!)