Telling Stories

Telling Stories

Recently, I attended a presentation for work where I learned about a new eLearning development tool called Articulate Storyline.  The presentation made me think about how telling stories is something we are raised with from infancy in the “verbal news of the day.”  And, if we are very lucky, our parents read to us.  We hear tales of great adventures, mystery, or fantasy and our imagination opens up. We think of possibilities and explore outcomes. We learn.

As we get older, stories remain part of our lives.  I remember loving to sit in a quiet corner when my parents had their friends over to play bridge.  I loved listening to the pattern of conversation, as they shared stories about their friends, their work, their families, and about people I’d never heard of. It was through those stories that I learned some things about the world – how it worked, what was valued and what wasn’t, and how people behaved and communicated.

As I watched the story of this software tool unfold, I found myself thinking about how I tell stories. My tool isn’t this one, and my stories don’t necessarily serve the same purpose or convey the same messages. But my stories do preserve memories and capture moments. My stories are told with photographs, words, and observations.  They capture what is important about my life and the life of my family. And they are rich in context, telling the story of how our lives work, what we value and how we communicate.

Ultimately, my stories will become the stories of my children. They will cement their memories, illustrate our values, and become part of the tapestry of their lives. For this I am grateful and for this reason I will continue to tell stories in my way, in my time, and with my tools.