The Power of Personal Storytelling

by Maguire, Jack (Author)

• ISBN13: 9780874779301
• ISBN10: 0874779308
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-10-01
• Publisher: Tarcher

Summary

You're stuck in an endless, dull conversation. As the speaker drones on, your mind wanders, until you hear the words, "I remember once when I was.." Your ears perk up. You become engrossed. An anecdote unfolds, and suddenly, the speaker is alive and excited and you know just what he means. He has used the age-old technique of storytelling to powerfully get his point across, capturing your attention through a well-told narrative of personal experience that invited you to relate to his message on an intimate level. In The Power of Personal Storytelling, professional storyteller Jack Maguire explains how to mine your memories to communicate more effectively, enhance personal and professional relationships, and understand yourself better so that you can better understand others. Step by step, he illustrates how shaping and expressing true stories about our lives and those of the people we've known can: * connect us more vitally with others; * develop our creativity; * strengthen our humor, courage, and confidence; and * render our lives more memorable. Whether you're a teacher or a salesman, a minister or a parent, personal storytelling can help improve the key relationships in your life while investing your memories with more meaning.

Table of Contents

Introduction	xiii
PART I WHY TELL PERSONAL STORIES?	1	(34)
1. Listening: The Telling Difference	3	(10)
2. The Blessings of Personal Storytelling	13	(22)
PART II RECLAIMING YOUR STORYLOVING SELF	35	(40)
3. Your Inner Storyteller	37	(12)
4. Reading Your Own Mind	49	(9)
5. The Quest for the Past	58	(7)
6. Your Hero, Your Self	65	(10)
PART III GETTING STORY IDEAS	75	(50)
7. Lifelines and Storylines	77	(12)
8. Memory Legwork	89	(9)
9. Roving Reporter for the Family News	98	(6)
10. From Abstraction to Reality	104	(6)
11. Getting the Picture	110	(5)
12. Stories Within Stories	115	(6)
13. Making Stories Happen	121	(4)
PART IV BRINGING YOUR STORIES TO LIFE	125	(42)
14. Out Loud and Proud	127	(10)
15. Crossing the Stream	137	(9)
16. Storyboarding	146	(11)
17. Enlivening Ways and Means	157	(10)
PART V YOUR STORYTELLING POWERS IN ACTION	167	(62)
18. Embodying a Story	169	(10)
19. The Voice of Your Being	179	(11)
20. The Many Worlds of Personal Storytelling	190	(5)
21. Family Storytelling	195	(6)
22. Storytelling at Work	201	(5)
23. Storytelling in the Community	206	(9)
24. Taking the Telling Leap	215	(14)
Appendix	229	(14)
Bibliography	243	(4)
Index	247