Story Telling
Most people respond more readily to the personal stories told by their colleagues and friends than they do to detailed reports and pages of statistics. Dramatic events and experiences, wrapped up in a realistic and recognisable context, are usually more memorable than dry and logical arguments. They hold our attention better.
What's more, when we get involved in telling our own stories and people ask for more details we tend to find that we can draw out memories which we had forgotten about.
The use of stories - or narrative techniques - is therefore one of the most important ways of capturing people's tacit knowledge.
- They can help us to find out what went wrong (or right) in a particular situation
- They can tell us more about the culture and lifestyle of a vanishing community
- They may reveal the benefits which people have gained from an organisation or event
- They may draw out the hidden factors which have contributed to improved performance in an organisation
- They enable us to delve into people's ideas for the future
- They are personal, practical, rooted in our experience of the real world.
These techniques can be used to create valuable case studies to share with others, or to conduct research in situations where conventional consultation and interview techniques would be ineffective.
IDEAction has built up lots of good experience in using semi-structured interview techniques to capture people's personal experiences and ideas, then analysing and reporting on the findings.
One project resulted in a detailed report on the benefits of membership of an international organisation, backed up by powerful quotes from individuals, together with suggestions for improvements for the future (see this testimonial). Another gathered ideas on future research requirements for a government department from a range of stakeholder organisations. A third enabled a major public agency to capture insightful lessons and suggestions from senior executives before their departure. The technique has also been used on two projects to gather case studies.
Walking Stories, the website set up by Andrew Llanwarne, applies the principles of sharing knowledge through the use of individual stories - in this case to exchange experience of walks in different locations around the world.
To find out how these techniques could help you to gather hidden knowledge in your organisation, contact Andrew Llanwarne.
See also this example of the impact a story can have on public opinion and in the world of politics.
