The Story Forge Vol. 3, No. 14 | October 2019 Welcome to the updated NSN e-newsletter - The Story Forge! This newsletter is intended for those storytellers and story-lovers who originally forged the storytelling community and those who continue to forge the community. We hope you enjoy the adjustments that have been made. NSN wants this newsletter to be for the storytelling community, BY the storytelling community! Please let us know if you have items that would be of interest to our readers.
Hi ! The calendar at the NSN office says it's October (which should mean crisp autumn mornings, trees changing colors, and cozy sweaters) but Mother Nature seems to have other ideas! Since Mother Nature can't seem to decide between hot and cool, we're giving you a little of both as well - some hot news and cool happenings! Happy reading!
Did you miss an edition of The Story Forge? You can read previous editions of the newsletter here.
In the first version of the October edition of The Story Forge, the link for Artem's interview was not working. We apologize for the inconvenience. We have fixed the link in this version of the newsletter.
At the National Storytelling Network, our mission is to advance all forms of storytelling within the community through promotion, advocacy, and education.
New Interview Series…STORY NOW! The theme of our 2019 annual conference was Story Now!
Now! From the boardroom to the classroom, and the page to the stage, personal stories and folktales are catalysts for change in every aspect of our lives.
Now! We are witnessing the power of stories to tear down the walls that divide us, build bridges between people and cultures, and connect us, human-to-human.
In this interview series, we’ll talk to storytellers who exemplify this Story Now! movement.
Each month we’ll sit down with an NSN member or member organization, from around the globe, and go behind the scenes to explore how they are personally harnessing the power of storytelling to tear down walls, to be a catalyst for change and connect us human-to-human. Through one-on-one, in-depth conversations, we’ll discover the type of storytelling they do, how they do it, who their audience is and, most importantly, they’ll give examples of the real world, tangible results they get.
Artem Mushin-Makedonskiy Moscow, Russia Kathy: What led you to storytelling? Why did you choose to go into business storytelling, in particular? Was it something you always wanted to do? If so, can you share why?
Artem: I wasn’t aiming to be a storyteller – it feels more like my fate pushed me into it.
Let me tell you how it all started. I finished my bachelor’s degree in psychology and was working at AON – global consulting company. Our main focus was employee engagement and engaging leadership. 80% of the job was tedious analytics but I put up with it all for those 20% – live soft skills trainings. I saw several Russian trainers in action and each time I grew more certain – that’s what I want to do for a living. I was studying for my trainer’s diploma for 9-months and finally my time had come – my first training, a huge manufacturing company -- a group of 15 HR specialists -- “Engaging Leadership” as a topic. My dream came true – at least that’s what I was thinking the evening before the training.
My main goal was to convince those people that a leader plays a major role in the lives of his or her employees. And that was the first thing I did – after greeting the group I said: “The leader plays a major role in the lives of the employees”. The applause didn’t follow. It was dead silent and then a man in his 40-s said: “Who sent us this 20 year old? That’s all they’ve got?”
I would love to tell you that it went better, but it didn’t. They didn’t stand up for activities, didn’t pay attention to the theory or my instructions. Somehow I managed to make it through until the first break but I was already helpless and exhausted. I had no idea how I was going to carry on...
Read more of Artem's interview on the NSN website by clicking the button below!
NSN CONFERENCE NEWS
National Storytelling Conference 2020 Call for Proposals Coming Soon! The NSN staff and Conference Program Committee are working hard to prepare for the 2020 National Storytelling Conference. If you haven't already, please be sure to mark your calendars for July 23-26, 2020, and save the dates so you can attend and make the most of the conference!
Stay up to date with the latest announcements for the 2020 National Storytelling Conference through email announcements, social networks, and on the conference webpage.
The Call for Proposals for the 2020 Conference will be released soon. Whether you're a first time speaker/performer or a seasoned professional, we would love for you to consider submitting a proposal for the 2020 Conference. NSN is striving to provide a quality event FOR storytellers and story-lovers BY storytellers and story-lovers and we can't do it without YOU!
FROM THE BOARD
HELP WANTED...
Dear fellow NSN members,
My name is Drea Douglas, and since 2017, it has been my privilege and pleasure to serve on the NSN board as secretary. The position has a three-year term, and while there is an option to serve two consecutive terms, I cannot continue on the board. The reasons I can't stay on have nothing to do with the board or with NSN, but rather changes in my life that are almost all fantastic, and if you want to call me and ask about that I will talk you ear off about living my dream. But the juggling act of Life has me tossing too many plates in the air, and I need to set the NSN plate down before I break it (or break the metaphor, but it might be too late for that).
But my stepping down gives someone else the chance to do this service. I know that sounds like a whitewash: this is work. But it is work for an organization I am proud to be a part of, and oddly enough, taking this job is what led me to living my dream. I can't promise that's what will happen to you, but I can promise that you will work with good people. Take it from the woman who spent years working with people I could not describe as good: it makes a difference.
Do you need any previous experience to be the board secretary? Maybe a little. But aside from a few very small local boards for groups I've been in, I had very little experience before I started on the NSN board. If you have ever taken minutes for a meeting, you have experience that would serve you well!
The new term starts in January, 2020. I welcome questions, and I hope you are reading this and seriously considering joining the NSN board. I have attached the link for the candidate form below.
With humble thanks, Note from the NSN office: The terms of several members of NSN's hard-working Board of Directors will be coming to an end within just a few months. If you, or someone you know, would be willing to serve on the NSN Board of Directors please contact the NSN office or any of the current Board members for more information. Your willingness to serve (in any capacity) would be greatly appreciated!
PARTNER PROGRAM NEWS
NEWS FROM NSN'S SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS HEALING STORY ALLIANCE (HSA)
Teleconferences Building Community: The HSA Teleconference Series launched in 2010, provides an hour long presentations with notable storytelling experts. Nearly all Teleconferences are available free online at http://healingstory.org/ events/teleconference- recordings/.
Here are the upcoming HSA Teleconferences:
Wednesday October 16th
Wednesday November 20th
Wednesday December 11th
All teleconferences begin at 6pm PT and 9pm ET. Please check back to our website for detailed descriptions and biographies of each speaker and sign-on information.
A Novel Program at VA Hospitals Uses An Old-World Tradition To Advance Patient Care Humans are hardwired for narrative. We think in story, talk in story and connect with others through the power of story. Storytelling is at the heart of a novel program that’s expanding across VA medical facilities across the country.
The “My Life, My Story” program uses patient narratives to build a stronger connection and improve care between healthcare providers and their veteran patients. Veterans who choose to participate are interviewed ahead of their appointment by an interviewer who writes a 1,000 word story about the patient and submits it into the person’s medical record.
NORTH CENTRAL REGION Indiana Michigan October 1, 2019,6:30 pm Monthly Moth Story Slam
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