Slides for a talk in the Spring of 2017

1. A Short Story About Story
Giovanni Rodriguez
Spring 2017
SF State
The Silicon Valley Story Lab

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Pre-read … from a colleague

3. I was a shy science/math kid who really struggled speaking in public. It was painful.
The Silicon Valley Story Lab
My story

4. I was a shy science/math kid who really struggled speaking in public. It was painful.
With the help of a few great teachers I discovered I had a gift for communicating with
the written word.
The Silicon Valley Story Lab
My story

5. I was a shy science/math kid who really struggled speaking in public. It was painful.
With the help of a few great teachers I discovered I had a gift for communicating with
the written word.
Ultimately, this gave me the confidence to work with some of the greatest
organizations, and help them communicate across a wide range of media -- online
and offline.
The Silicon Valley Story Lab
My story

6. I was a shy science/math kid who really struggled speaking in public. It was painful.
With the help of a few great teachers I discovered I had a gift for communicating with
the written word.
Ultimately, this gave me the confidence to work with some of the greatest
organizations, and help them communicate across a wide range of media -- online
and offline.
Along the way, I learned a few things about “story,” humanity’s greatest social tool.
The Silicon Valley Story Lab
My story

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One: why story?

8. Story is the most effective and time-honored way to depict a
personal journey, and in a way that motivates others to follow.
The Silicon Valley Story Lab
One: why story?

9. Story is the most effective and time-honored way to depict a
personal journey, and in a way that motivates others to follow.
It’s how we’ve been wired to come together since the
beginning of time.
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One: why story?

10. On “coming together”: it’s about enlisting, educating, and
empowering people to become better members of the tribe
(what today we call community).
The Silicon Valley Story Lab
One: why story?

11. On “coming together”: it’s about enlisting, educating, and
empowering people to become better members of the tribe
(what today we call community).
How: by helping to create collective tribal stories (what today
we call narrative).
The Silicon Valley Story Lab
One: why story?

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Two: but story lost something over time
“The talking stick”

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Two: but story lost something over time
All stories used to be
conversational -- with “call
and response” -- because
all events used to be live.
“The talking stick”

14. Three: stories can be “space-binding”
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15. Three: stories can be “space-binding”
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Harold Innis: through modern
media, stories increasingly
help people come together
over large geographical
distances.

16. Four: stories can also be time-binding
The Silicon Valley Story Lab

17. Four: stories can also be time-binding
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Throughout time, stories have
helped people come together
over great temporal distances
(think of art, history, religion,
and “The Great Conversation”).

18. Five: story can exist in any media and format
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As long as it has purpose,
conflict, and resolution (more
about that in a bit), story can
be as short as a slogan or a
‘bumper ad’, or as long a
serialized novel/TV show.
Five: story can exist in any media and format

20. Six: stories do not need to be linear
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21. Six: stories do not need to be linear
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Even if it does have purpose,
conflict, and resolution, the
hero’s journey can have fits,
starts, and pivots.

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story structure

23. Seven: purpose
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24. Seven: purpose
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All stories begin when the
hero sets out in pursuit of
something he or she wants.

25. Eight: conflict
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Inevitably, the hero
encounters obstacles. The
bigger the obstacles, the
better the story.
Eight: conflict

27. Nine: resolution
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The story ends, in the
interim, when the conflict is
resolved.
Nine: resolution

29. Ten: transformation
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But there can be no resolution
without transformation. And
transformation is about
accepting one’s “gift,” which
comes naturally and through
instruction.
Ten: transformation

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Eleven: story can be taught -- narrative is the modern
talking stick

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Eleven: story can be taught -- narrative is the modern
talking stick

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Eleven: story can be taught -- narrative is the modern
talking stick

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Eleven: story can be taught -- narrative is the modern
talking stick

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What’s your story? Three questions:
Eleven: story can be taught -- narrative is the modern
talking stick

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What’s your story? Three questions:
1. What do you want to do with your life? (purpose)
Eleven: story can be taught -- narrative is the modern
talking stick

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What’s your story? Three questions:
1. What do you want to do with your life? (purpose)
2. What’s standing in your way? (conflict)
Eleven: story can be taught -- narrative is the modern
talking stick

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What’s your story? Three questions:
1. What do you want to do with your life? (purpose)
2. What’s standing in your way? (conflict)
3. How can we help you? (resolution/transformation)
Eleven: story can be taught -- narrative is the modern
talking stick

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question

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what happened to story?

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About that pre-read ...

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teasing out “the gift”

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final thoughts

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thank you