Organization, People, Knowledge, and Technology for Learning

OLIVIER SERRAT

Principal Knowledge Sharing and Services Specialist Knowledge Sharing and Services Center Regional and Sustainable Development Department Asian Development Bank

THE WHY Storytelling in the workplace is the use of stories or narratives OF BUSINESS as a communication tool to value, share, and capitalize NARRATIVE on the knowledge of individuals.
STORYTELLING Enables articulation of emotional aspects and facts, and allows expression of tacit knowledge Helps celebrate accomplishments to achieve a heightened sense of personal identity and self-continuity Increases the potential for meaningful knowledge sharing Augments the likelihood that learning will take place and be passed on

THE HOW STORYTELLING OF BUSINESS Makes abstract concepts meaningful NARRATIVE Helps connect people and ideas

Inspires imagination and motivates action Allows different perspectives to emerge Creates sense, coherence, and meaning Develops valuable descriptions of situations in which knowledge is applied and solutions are found Examines organizational values and culture Communicates complex messages simply Operates effectively in networks Inspires change

Organization, People, Knowledge, and Technology for Learning

THE WHEN STORYTELLING IS USED TO OF BUSINESS Identify and exchange learning episodes NARRATIVE Explore values and inspire people toward the possibility of change
Enrich quantitative information with qualitative evidence Make out connections and create common purpose Improve the effectiveness of strategic decisions

Instrumental, transmissive, and narrative reminiscence might be considered a gain in performance without practice.
Olivier Serrat

THE TARGETING OF ENGAGING TALES

If Your Objective is To Spark Action Communicate who you are Transmit values Foster collaboration Tame the grapevine Share knowledge Lead people into the future You Will Need a Story That Describes how a successful change was implemented in the past, but allows listeners to imagine how it might work in their situation Provides audience-engaging drama and reveals some strength or vulnerability from your past Feels familiar to the audience and will prompt discussion about the issues raised by the values being promoted Movingly recounts a situation that listeners have also experienced and that prompts them to share their own stories about the topic Highlights, often through the use of gentle humor, some aspect of a rumor that reveals it to be untrue or unlikely Focuses on mistakes made and shows in some detail how they were corrected, with an explanation of why the solution worked Evokes the future you want to create without providing excessive detail that will only turn out to be wrong
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Organization, People, Knowledge, and Technology for Learning

THE TACTICS GOOD STORIES OF ENGAGING TALES Use a variety of narrative patterns for different aims

Include personal and human elements of experience Present the point of view of the person involved Recount both successful and failed interventions Offer a solution to problems Play to what is already in peoples minds Target people with decision-making authority Achieve a balance between words from persons and statements from organizations

A STORYTELLING TEMPLATE
Item Title Storyteller Listener Landscape Dwelling Place Characters Challenge Action The Turning Point Resolution Visual Hook Content The title of the story The name of the reminiscing party The name of the narrative practitioner The scene in time and space The location where the action took place The roles and descriptive attributes of the cast The opportunity or problem that triggered the action The sequence of events before, during, and after the turning point The moment when the change took place The message, moral, or lesson learned The mnemonic that triggered the story

Organization, People, Knowledge, and Technology for Learning

ARTIFACTS OBJECTS AND DISPLAYS THAT SPEAK Prompt a very physical experience

Connect pictures with stories Trigger reminiscing to surface memories

DIFFERENT WAYS JUMPSTART STORY TO ENGAGE Initiates an event

Connects a storyteller to other participants to build connections through a shared experience HALF-A-STORY Looks forward from the present Responds to possibly difficult challenges Uses an unfinished story to shape possible paths and logs opportunities and risks along the way FUTURE STORY Engenders a common vision Supports teams hampered by defensive routines or experiencing stuck patterns Enables the psychological shifts necessary for change Sparks collective action Creates a benchmark to look back on when the future arrives Alternatively, looks back from the future as if it had already happened STORY-IN-A-WORD Elicits personal stories from triggers Enriches understanding of experience STORY COMPETITION Makes varied experiences available to the public

Organization, People, Knowledge, and Technology for Learning

NOOKS FOR TALES CREATE A SPACE IN WHICH

There is an entente between you and I Factors that constrain or block engagement are acknowledged Ideas can be expressed freely A rhythm is established in response to the sharing of experience Reminiscences are honest, with no recrimination Conversations can continue Emerging assets are put to use

You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.
James Allen

ADB STORIES

Organization, People, Knowledge, and Technology for Learning

ADB STORIES

Organization, People, Knowledge, and Technology for Learning

ADB STORIES

Organization, People, Knowledge, and Technology for Learning

FURTHER READING Steven Denning. 2004. Telling Tales. Harvard Business Review.
May. pp. 122129. Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. 2004. Story Guide: Building Bridges Using Narrative Techniques. Available: www.deza.admin.ch/ressources/resource_en_155620.pdf ADB. 2009. Storytelling. Manila. Available: www.adb.org/publications/storytelling ADB. 2010. Building Narrative Capacity in ADB. Manila. Available: www.adb.org/publications/building-narrative-capacity-adb ADB. 2010. ADB: Reflections and Beyond. Manila. Available: www.adb.org/publications/adb-reflections-and-beyond ADB. 2011. ADB Sustainable Development Timeline. Manila. Available: www.adb.org/publications/adb-sustainable-developmenttimeline ADB. 2011. On Second Thought. Manila. Available: www.adb.org/publications/second-thought ADB. 2012. Audio, Video, and Podcasts. Manila. Available: www.adb.org/site/knowledge-management/multimedia ADB. 2012. Interactive Stories of Sustainable Development. Manila. Available: www.adb.org/publications/interactive-storiessustainable-development ADB. 2012. Knowledge as Culture. Manila. Available: www.adb.org/publications/knowledge-culture ADB. 2012. The Long Reach of Short Tales. Manila. Available: www.adb.org/features/ahead-curve-long-reach-shorttales?ref=site/knowledge-management/features

Organization, People, Knowledge, and Technology for Learning

ABOUT THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

ADBs vision is an Asia and Pacific region free of poverty. Its mission is to help its developing member countries reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their people. Despite the regions many successes, it remains home to two-thirds of the worlds poor: 1.8 billion people who live on less than $2 a day, with 903 million struggling on less than $1.25 a day. ADB is committed to reducing poverty through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Based in Manila, ADB is owned by 67 members, including 48 from the region. Its main instruments for helping its developing member countries are policy dialogue, loans, equity investments, guarantees, grants, and technical assistance.

For more information, contact Knowledge Sharing and Services Center Asian Development Bank 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550 Metro Manila, Philippines Tel +63 2 632 6710 Fax +63 2 632 5264 knowledge@adb.org www.adb.org/knowledge-management/

Knowledge Primers serve as quick introductions to knowledge management and learning applications in development work. In an attractive package, they are suitable for interactive presentations and self-learning for action. They are offered as resources to ADB staff. They may also appeal to the development community and people having interest in knowledge and learning.

2012 by Asian Development Bank. All rights reserved.

June 2012