Applied Storytelling vs. Performance/Traditional Storytelling

Katharine

I’ve been periodically running excerpts from the first part of storyteller Eric James Wolf’s interview with me, along with the second part of the Q&A (both published over the summer). In this excerpt, he asked me how applied storytelling is different then performance storytelling or traditional storytelling. My response:

          I think storyteller Sean Buvala’s definition of storytelling provides
         a good starting point for
         answering this question.He writes:

“Storytelling is the intentional sharing of a narrative in words and actions for the benefit of both the listener and the teller.”… ‘intentional’ means that not everything we do is storytelling. Storytelling is a planned activity and process. ‘Narrative’ means what is being talked about has a beginning, middle, and end. ‘Sharing’ means that there is an audience in front of the teller which can be one person or thousands. ‘Benefit’ means both the listener and the teller leave the sharing of story as a changed person.”

So, in my mind, many types of storytelling that DO NOT fall into that definition can be classified as “applied storytelling.” (I should note that Sean would not agree; he feels that if a communication does not fall into his definition, it’s not storytelling. For example, he does not consider digital storytelling to be storytelling.) Storytelling that is missing one or more elements from Sean’s definition is still storytelling in my book, but it’s applied storytelling. Examples of applied storytelling include: organizational storytelling/business narrative, journaling/memoir writing, blogging, social media, digital/multimedia, transmedia storytelling, journalistic storytelling, visual storytelling, fictional storytelling, storytelling for movies and TV, comic-book storytelling, and more, including my personal crusade, storytelling in the job search. Not every bit of communication in these venues is storytelling, but storytelling is possible within these venues.
I once proposed that all storytelling can be broken down into just three purposes: storytelling for identity construction, storytelling for change, and storytelling for sense-making/learning. Even performance storytelling can fit into this rubric in that the audience changes from an un-entertained state to an entertained (or enlightened, moved, etc.,) state.
Storytelling for identity construction can range from storytelling in social media to storytelling to establish a brand identity for products and services. Storytelling for identity construction is also what I advise job-seekers to do to make themselves stand out memorably to employers.
Storytelling for change is often the impetus behind business narrative — using story to help workers cope with and buy into organizational change.
Storytelling for sensemaking is what we automatically turn to when we seek to make sense of unexpected, tragic, or confusing events. Similarly, storytelling is effective for learning because stories are so good at illustrating concepts and making them memorable (Annette Simmons notes that “Story helps the brain remember.”)