Talking Stick - September/October 2013 - 30

Although we
naturally think
of the stories
relayed in books
and movies, they
are also part of
our everyday
lives. Families,
organizations,
and groups
share stories that
communicate their
values, culture,
and collective
experiences.

Storytellers, on the other hand, are
not bound by research tradition. They
focus on the story and the audience,
and they make decisions that best serve
those two key elements. Storytellers
engage the audience step-by-step
through a cohesive narrative that
creates a shared experience. The hero
wins, the seeker finds the truth, or the
humor of the situation makes us laugh
out loud. And at the end of the story,
the audience is left with a common
experience that can be discussed,
remembered, and shared. At the 2013
ACUHO-I Annual Conference, keynote
speaker John Medina, author of Brain
Rules: Brain Development for Parents,
Teachers, and Business Leaders, shared a
story about a NASA study which found
that pilots’ job functions increased by
34 percent after they had a 26-minute
nap. Delegates joked with each other
repeatedly about 26-minute naps over
the next few days. The power and lure
of stories is part of being human; it
bonds us, and it influences us, yet
most of us have not linked the power
of storytelling with how we present and
share assessment data.

The Power of Stories
A story is an account of events, real or
imaginary, often told for the purpose of
entertainment. Although we naturally
think of the stories relayed in books
and movies, they are also part
of our everyday lives. Families,
organizations, and groups share
stories that communicate their
values, culture, and collective
experiences. In housing and
residence life, for example, we
love stories of student success,
justice, hard work, dedication, service,
and humor, and these stories make us
clap, cheer, and sometimes shed a tear.
Many stories are controlled by a
structure of causally linked events. We
intuitively understand the structure
and notice when items do not link
coherently in the narrative. We are
accustomed to a structure with
transitions and connections, where one
thing leads plausibly to the next and
plot twists connect back to the main
30

Talking STiCk

plot. In this kind of story, all the pieces
are eventually connected into a single
whole.
The power of stories comes
primarily from three elements: the
emotional content, themes conveying
larger truths, and powerful images.
Good stories tap into emotions, eliciting
fear, joy, sadness, horror, compassion,
and more. We attend to and remember
things that have powerful emotional
markers, so tears, laughter, and
stomach-clenching fear hold our
attention and remain in our memories
much longer than dull and logical facts.
Good stories also connect to larger
truths or values, either reinforcing
them or contradicting them, e.g., evil
is overcome, determination and hard
work pay off, and love conquers all.
The power of stories also comes from
the fact that they show rather than tell.
Imagine if a story baldly stated “The
hero wins, and you should all feel
happy about it.” The statement has no
power. Instead, good stories provide
the details that dramatize the victory,
allowing us to experience it and to
share the hero’s joy. Whether on screen
or on paper, good stories paint pictures
that we not only see and feel but also
remember more easily.

Foundational Elements
Stories usually have a foundational
element, something that unites the
narrative into a cohesive plot. Powerful
stories are often based on a quest: the
search for an object, person, or some
kind of enlightenment. This is a central
theme in much science fiction and
many travel stories and action movies.
In housing and residence life, we too
have quests, which we communicate in
our strategic plans, mission statements,
program or departmental goals and
objectives, and student learning
outcomes. If they are compelling,
they can provide a foundation for our
assessment stories.
Another foundational element is
an inciting incident or hook that grabs
the reader’s attention. In “Hamlet,”
for example, the inciting incident is
the death of Hamlet’s father, and the
Talking Stick - September/October 2013

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