Below you'll find the most important information from our fourth seminar - Storytelling
Storytelling
To prepare you for your Performance Speech, we provide 6 storytelling structures you can use to start thinking and writing up your speech. Below you can find the ones we discussed, plus some examples. Your task for next week is here.
Background: why tell stories?
According to Jay Heinrich, storytelling is the best way to change the mood of your audience. Whether the audience is a single person or a group of people. It taps into a person's emotion when executed well. Can you think of an example of when a story feeds into your emotion? For example, jokes seem to work better when you place yourself in the context of that joke. A romantic encounter works better when the environment boosts the atmosphere, for example, the right music, the right light, or what have you not. In other words, storytelling is embedded in Pathos. Appealing to the emotions of the audience.
Thus, when creating our story, we need to consider what we think our audience will consider to be a coherent story (what logical sequence of events works well), what part of the story will evoke an emotional response and lead to a perspectival engagement (between the storyteller, content, and emotions). Achieving this will rely on us being able to tell something which is recognizable and memorable.
The stories we tell need:
Character(s): The character of your story can be a person or a thing, but all characters (main topic) have a part to play.
Structure and Plot: The narrative of your story. How are events connected?
Action: Where is the action, and what happens in the chain of events and to the characters?
Agent: What is being managed by who?
Time and Space: When and where does the story take place?
Expectations: Do we have specific realistic or unrealistic expectations (do we know or can we guess how the story continues or ends, or not?)
Metaphors: Are there elements in the story which stand for something else?
Genre: Is it a good story or a bad story?
When creating your story, consider what your characters do:
Characters determine the framing of the situation (possible actions; setting; other agents)
Characters provide a point of view/perspective
Characters catalyse sets of features and characteristics (disciplinary-specific, subsets…)
Last week's reading generated many questions. We have clustered the questions around a number of themes: originality; knowledge transformation; school; location of knowledge; transmission of knowledge; and genres.
Please read through the questions of your peers, choose a cluster and write a response which provides an answer to the questions which are raised and follow the instructions for your essay task 01
Originality
Does ALL writing “take place in the context of prior texts”? For example, would writing any sort of fiction also be based on prior texts, as you need something to help you form your own idea for a new story? Does this mean there are no original ideas in the world and we all need some other text to write our own? (Page 12 of the text, but page 4 of the pdf) [[Marge]]
So according to the text, is it then impossible to create a piece of writing completely original and not dependent on any prior texts? (page 12, “Writing takes place…”) [[Ahti]]
In the text it is said that “writing creates shareable meaning and representations of the world” and while that is mostly true with scientific and academic texts, isn’t that generalisation of all texts? I mostly think in terms of fiction where that sentence definitely doesn’t apply because with fiction, each reader comes up with their own meanings of the text and there isn’t a universal deeper meaning or ideas. (p. 14) [[Kaidi]]
The text states that writing skills are usually taught in school and in class we have talked about how different countries have different expectations for what a good piece of writing is (we discussed this specifically in the context of academic writing but I would assume it applies to non-academic writing as well). Then is it possible for an author to be considered an amazing writer in one cultural context and a horrible writer in a different culture? (Page 16-17; School creates specialized witing…) [[Annabel]]
Knowledge Transformation
“Moving from one social domain to another requires adjusting writing, learning new skills, and transforming the knowledge one brings from previous experience”. Basically this means that they for example explain things in a simplified manner/ differently based on where they are? [[Marge]]
When Thomas Edison wanted to pique public interest in his latest project of light and power, he used his mounting fame and skill as an interviewee to gain journalistic attention. This presence then increased his standing among financiers willing to back research and development, whom he cultivated through correspondence and personal meetings. To establish his rights of property, Edison and his agents needed to establish and protect legal presence through participation in the patent and court systems by the filing of applications, complaints, and briefs, backed by many documents. - page 13 [[Ekaterina]]
Would it have been possible for Thomas Edison to go down this path and become an American inventor without good writing skills? Could he have achieved such fame?
If voice is attributed to the text by the readers and a distinctive voice signals a unique perspective (p. 13), what is the relationship or connection between the writer and the reader in terms of voice? (writer’s intentions vs reader’s opinion) [[Laura]]
The text talks about audiences quite lot. What about texts that are never meant to or will never have an audience? Do “audience expectations” etc apply in such cases as well? [[Miina]]
What benefits does peer response and collaborative writing offer? (page 17, para 2)[[Liisbet]]
School
How exactly does schooling affect the literacy and text creation of children and cause obstacles? It school not their first experience with writing? (Page 16/page 8) [[Marge]]
If “Moving from one social domain to another requires adjusting writing”, then wouldn’t it be beneficial to also teach children in school about how to communicate more effectively with one another? In another way: If we teach academic writing - how it should be set up to be clear and convincing; wouldn’t it make sense to also teach how to write casually in your own peer group? (p 16 para.3) [[Kristel]]
If students find little to no motivation and authenticity in school writing (p 18) - which as Finders notes is designed to be motivating and authentic - what’s gone wrong? Is it simply impossible to design something that is motivating or is it a matter of “Why is no one having a good time? I specifically requested it.” (Meme reference) [[Kristel]]
When “mismatches between home and school literacy cultures can become an obstacle to achievement in school”, why does such a disconnect even exist today? (Page 16, Para. 6) [[Miina]]
On page 18: "Learning to write outside of school requires new learning"; as such, and considering it was earlier also mentioned that the evaluation of writing in schools tends to be rather subjective, why is the education system nonetheless so reliant on grading students' written works and making sure they follow a specific set of rules? If those rules are not actually applicable outside of school, is it not better to give students more creative freedom and let them explore different ways of writing? [[Alisa]]
Is school writing actually helpful and useful or does that just put students into a box of the teacher’s expectation as the grading and feedback comes on the basis of the teacher’s ideas and opinions? (p. 17) [[Kaidi]]
What are some examples of meaningful writing experiences that can contribute to the development of writing skills, and how can educators provide these opportunities for their students? (p. 16) [[Elizabeth]]
Do strict rules and boundaries in school writing demotivate students, and can rhetoric be seen as a science emphasizing freedom of expression rather than following rules? (p.17 How do ideologies of schooling shape students' writing experiences and learning trajectories) [[Elizabeth]]
Is it possible to be born a skilled writer or is writing always something that is learned (either intentionally or unintentionally throughout life)? (Page 15; Development of writing skills depends on…) [[Annabel]]
Can a teacher's chosen method of teaching affect a students writing development so much that learning under one teacher could help a student become a great writer while learning under a different teacher might hinder that same students writing skills? (Pages 17-18; Ideologies of schooling shape school writing…) [[Annabel]]
Charles Bazerman mentions that students often adjust their writing to fit the teacher’s/school’s criteria of “good writing”, yet they feel like the criteria is difficult to understand and view the teachers’ preferences as peculiar or arbitrary. What causes this disconnect and how could it be mended? (page 17) [[Liisbet]]
If “students in moving from the classroom to other settings need to make a transition, and deeply entrenched classroom practices and habits can be counterproductive in the new setting”, then why aren’t more writing practices/techniques introduced and taught in school? (page 18) [[Liisbet]]
Location of Knowledge
In a hypothetical situation where an individual has stayed clear of any possible technological influences and influences from different experiences (e.g. being in complete isolation, living off grid etc.), if said person began to write and publish being influenced by only what that individual knows, how would that writing influence the world, if at all? Would it be possible to recondition that person back to modern day writing standards in their lifetime? Or would it be better to keep that person as they are, for more unique pieces of writing? (based on whole text) [[Ahti]]
On page 14, under the point "Writing creates shareable meanings and representations of the world", the author goes on to give children learning to communicate their messages as an example, even though those children rarely express that in writing. In this course, we have already established that the word 'text' does now explicitly mean 'written' - is it a similar case here? My question is: do all these qualities of writing actually apply to communication in general? [[Alisa]]
In the text it is said that “writing has to come at the right time” and that all writing, whether it’s scientific, fictional, non-fictional, etc. is temporary and won’t be read for decades. Isn’t that too broad of a statement as there are examples of texts that have been read for at least a decade and are still very influential, even decades after being written? (p. 12) [[Kaidi]]
What types of cultural artifacts persist in historical memory for the longest periods of time, scientific articles, art, or daily life occurrences, and how does rhetoric influence their longevity? (p.12 Writing fits into temporally changing) [[Sofiia]]
Transmission of Knowledge
Without writing, would it be possible to still achieve these “shareable meanings and representations of the world” using other forms of art? How would it work? (page 14) [[Ahti]]
“Technologies influence the situation, form, and production of texts.” If we ever have the capability of communicating with one another by sharing experiences/thoughts directly, without any words (such as a USB to USB connection from Brain A to Brain B), how would that affect the production of text? (p 12 para. 2) [[Kristel]]
Writers write to participate in social situations. (p. 11)
Is it always so? Can writers write for themselves (for example dairy) or is it all the same to participate in social situations in the end? [[Ekaterina]]
“Even young children first learning to write develop a sense of themselves as writers” (p. 14) – in what way and to what extent? Is it the same as the phenomenon that what you write about you accept as true? [[Laura]]
“Writing takes place in the context of prior texts” (Page 12, Para. 3). Would it be possible to write anything without this occurring? [[Miina]]
What are some specific examples of how writing has been used to bring about significant social or political change throughout history, and how have these examples influenced contemporary practices of writing and communication? (p. 14) [[Elizabeth]]
Is it possible to write a text in a neutral way by removing personal preferences, and to what extent does an author's voice reflect their self-characterization and commitments? (p.13-14 Voice can also be reflexively understood by the writer as a characterization of one’s self and one’s commitments.) [[Sofiia]]
Task 1: Would you happen to know what challenges could arise from the need to adapt writing practices and techniques to the new demands and opportunities of electronic tools and social media, and how can writers overcome these challenges? (p. 12) [[Patrick]]
Genres
The fact that many genres (including scientific articles, business documents, financial instruments, legal documents, and newspapers) have developed from letters that explicitly identify social circumstances and anticipated interactions provides strong confirmation of the social nature of genres (Bazerman, 2000). - page 15 [[Ekaterina]]
What is the significance of genres in writing for us today? Do you have any idea where else other genres might have originated?
(p. 15) Can identifying the genre you are writing in hinder the process of writing? [[Laura]]
On page 15: "learning to write requires writing in many situations across a lifetime"; would you say it is also important to learn to write in different genres specifically, or is it enough to practice one thing from different angles? [[Alisa]]
What are some potential consequences of the disconnect between students' personal writing practices and their classroom writing practices, and how can they be addressed? (p. 18) [[Elizabeth]]
Your task 01: Essay
Please read through the questions of your peers, choose a cluster and write a response which provides an answer to the questions which are raised and follow the instructions for your essay.
Our suggestion is to take a broad stance on these questions, taking into consideration the cluster theme itself (say, School).
Your answers should be grounded and provide a clear position you take on the topic based on the article (Bazerman) and your own knowledge and ideas. Make sure you clearly indicate when something is grounded in your own observations and experience and when something is clearly grounded from other sources.
Deadline: Thursday, 30 March
email: djuddah.leijen@ut.ee and francesca.arnavas@ut.ee
Your task 02: draft Speech
To prepare for your speech, we'd like for you to start thinking about and practising your speech so we can give you feedback on your story. As such, please prepare the following:
Write or sketch the story you want to tell. Who or what is your character? What does the storyline look like, the plot and events? What is the action, and what technique do you want to use? If you are not sure, provide some variations or consider different stories you think might work. You can upload your sketch in the course File Drop Folder
Record, using your phone camera or laptop camera or anything you can work with your first attempt to tell your story. If you are handy with App tools such as Instagram or TikTok, you are welcome to use this as well as a means to tell a story.
There are some really good examples of persons out there who make use of these platforms to tell great 1-minute stories. Some examples are below.
Drop your video in the same File Drop Folder. Make sure both files are clearly labelled so we know who you are.
Find at least one example of a speech (short or long) - or movie - which clearly highlights some of the storytelling techniques; please include the link to the speech and your observation of the techniques used in your Task 01 file.
Deadline: Thursday, 30 March
Upload in File Drop Folder and email: djuddah.leijen@ut.ee and francesca.arnavas@ut.ee
