神马文学网Storytelling
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Storytelling
What is storytelling?
Storytelling is quite simply the use of stories in organisations as a communication tool to share knowledge. Traditionally, organisational communications have had a tendency to be somewhat dry and lacking in inspiration. Storytelling uses a range of techniques to engage, involve and inspire people, using language that is more authentic (everyday language as opposed to ‘textbook buzzword speak’) and a narrative form that people find interesting and fun.
Storytelling has of course existed for thousands of years as a means of exchanging information and generating understanding. Similarly, it has always existed in organisations – otherwise known as ‘the grapevine’. However, as a deliberate tool for sharing knowledge it is quite recent but growing very rapidly, to the extent that it is becoming a favoured technique among an increasing number of management consultants.
What are the benefits?
When used effectively, storytelling offers numerous advantages over more traditional organisational communication techniques:
Stories communicate ideas holistically, conveying a rich yet clear message, and so they are an excellent way of communicating complicated ideas and concepts in an easy-to-understand form.Stories therefore allow people to convey tacit knowledge that might otherwise be difficult to articulate; in addition, because stories are told with feeling, they can allow people to communicate more than they realise they know. Storytelling provides the context in which knowledge arises as well as the knowledge itself, and hence can increase the likelihood of accurate and meaningful knowledge transfer.
Stories are an excellent vehicle for learning, as true learning requires interest, which abstract principles and impersonal procedures rarely provide. Stories are memorable - their messages tend to ‘stick’ and they get passed on. Stories can provide a ‘living, breathing’ example of how to do something and why it works rather than telling people what to do, hence people are more open to their lessons. Stories therefore often lead to direct action - they can help to close the ‘knowing-doing gap’ (the difference between knowing how to do something and actually doing it). Storytelling can help to make organisational communication more ‘human’ – not only do they use natural day-to-day language, but they also elicit an emotional response as well as thoughts and actions. Stories can nurture a sense of community and help to build relationships. People enjoy sharing stories – stories enliven and entertain.
What can stories be used for?
Stories can be used for all manner of purposes in an organisation. Different purposes will tend to require different kinds of stories. Steve Denning (see SteveDenning.com in ‘Resources and references’ below) outlines 8 possible purposes for using storytelling in organisations:
Storytelling to ignite organisational change – Experience has shown that storytelling can be highly effective as a change agent, even in change-resistant organisations. Telling an appropriate story can stimulate people to think actively about the implications of change and to projecting themselves into visions of the future, enabling them to better understand what it will be like to be doing things in a different way, rather than being given vague, abstract concepts about it.
Storytelling for communications – In contrast to the conventional approach which views communications as the sending of a message from a communicator to a recipient, storytelling is based on a more interactive view of communication. Because the listener imaginatively recreates the story in his or her own mind, the story is not perceived as coming from outside, but rather as something that is part of the listener‘s own identity. The idea becomes the listener‘s own.
Storytelling to capture tacit knowledge – Tacit knowledge can be a multi-layered and multi-dimensional thing and as such it is often difficult to articulate (for example, have you ever tried to explain to someone who can’t swim how to swim, without actually showing them?). Stories can provide a way of allowing people to express and share tacit knowledge in rich and meaningful ways, rather then being forced to articulate it in more ‘structured’ ways that can detract from its value.
Storytelling to embody and transfer knowledge – Similarly, a simple story can communicate a complex multi-dimensioned idea, not simply by transmitting information as a message, but by actively involving the listeners in co-creating that idea. Furthermore, as a story is told and retold, it changes, and so the knowledge embodied in it is constantly being developed and built upon.
Use of stories for innovation – The use of storytelling in innovation and knowledge creation can encourage people to move away from linear thinking towards a more multi-dimensional view, to see new connections between things, and also to marry scientific logic with a more creative or intuitive approach.
Storytelling to build community – There is something about stories that brings people together and fosters a sense of community. Storytelling is non-hierarchical, it unlocks feelings and emotions as well as thought processes, and hence it helps to build relationships and trust.
Storytelling to enhance technology – People often find it difficult to communicate about technology. Users can have trouble articulating their needs and expectations, while experts can have difficulty ‘talking in plain English’. Wherever there is a gap in language and understanding, storytelling can provide a bridge, by communicating the real essence of what each party is trying to get across.
Storytelling for individual growth – Storytelling is a skill, and one that draws on a number of other key skills, mostly relating to interpersonal communication. The development of these skills is an important component of most knowledge management programmes.
Similarly, Larry Todd Wilson and colleague (see ‘Resources and references’ below) identify four types of ‘triggers’ that indicate situations in which storytelling could be particularly beneficial:
New or unexpected situations – Are you working in an unfamiliar situation and could benefit from the stories and lessons learned of others who have already ‘been there’? Do you need to communicate the latest news on an issue? Have you discovered a better way of doing something? Or experienced an unexpected outcome to something you did as per usual?
Situations that require feelings as well as thoughts – Do you need to facilitate acceptance of a new person into a group and also show them ‘how things are done around here’? Do you need to remove barriers to action and motivate people? Do you need to persuade someone of something?
Complex situations – Are you dealing with a situation that involves many aspects or variables? Do you need to help others to bridge a gap between theory and practice?
Situations in which you need to help people understand ‘why’ – Do you need to capture lessons learned, and to help people understand why something did or didn’t work out as planned?
What makes a ‘good’ story?
Larry Prusak (see Storytelling: passport to the 21st century in ‘Resources and references’ below) defines 4 attributes of a good story:
Endurance – Good stories endure. They may change a little – or even a lot, but the key lessons remain the same. They also need to be succinct enough for people to remember. Salience – Good stories are relevant to their audience, they have a point, and they have emotional impact. Sensemaking – Good stories explain something, make sense of something. Perhaps they show you how to behave in particular situation, how to resolve a problem, or why something happened the way it did. They have a prescriptive normative value: do x and y will occur. Comfort level - To be effective, stories must make sense within the context of the listener’s experience – they need to ring true.
Other tips (from Steve Denning - see ‘Resources and references’ below) include:
Fact versus fiction - Storytelling can be counter-productive when the story told is not true. A story can be factually accurate while being authentically untrue and many corporate communications take this form, particularly those that are told more as a public relations exercise than as a means to promote genuine learning. Oral versus written stories - In the written word there is a distance between the speaker and the spoken, and so in an organisational context, it can lack some authenticity. Practitioners have found that oral storytelling has a greater impact than putting stories into booklets or videos or online. This doesn’t mean that written stories can’t achieve good effects, but that they work in different kinds of ways. The ‘happy ending’ – Steve Denning (see ‘Resources and references’ below) reports having had no success in telling a story along the lines of: "Let me tell you about an organisation that didn’t implement knowledge management and it went bankrupt." In other words, focus on the positive. The ‘hero’ – A story needs to be told from the perspective of a single protagonist, someone who everyone in the organisation can instantly understand, empathise with, resonate with their dilemma, and understand what they were going through. The ‘plot’ - A story needs to have a certain strangeness or incongruity – something that is remarkable and therefore grabs attention. (‘That’s remarkable that you could get an answer to a question like that in such a short time frame’). But it is nevertheless plausible (email exists, the web exists). A beginning, a middle and an end - A story needs to embody whatever it is you are seeking to get across as fully as possible. Don’t leave loose ends. Timing - A story should be as recent as possible – older stories can work, but the fresher the better. ‘This happened last week’ conveys a sense of urgency.
Are there any other points I should be aware of?
Storytelling is not a panacea - it doesn’t always work. Storytelling can only be as good as the underlying idea being conveyed. If that idea is unsound, storytelling may well reveal its inadequacy. Even when the underlying idea is good, there are times when storytelling is inappropriate or ineffective. For example: routine situations in which nothing new, unexpected or different happened; or situations that require objectivity in reporting. Storytelling does not replace analytical thinking. It supplements it by helping to give it context and meaning. Abstract analysis is often easier to understand when seen through the lens of a well-chosen story. Try to avoid telling a story for the first time at a high-profile, high-risk occasion. Test the story in advance on a variety of similar audiences, so that you know exactly the effect that the story will have. When using the knowledge contained in the stories of others to support your own decisions, consider how you will balance that anecdotal knowledge with evidence-based knowledge: how will you assess and integrate the knowledge from stories? We are all storytellers and spend much of our lives telling stories whether we realise it or not. However we can all get better at storytelling, particularly at using stories to achieve specific effects. Understanding how and why storytelling works and learning what kinds of stories work in different situations, and what kinds of effects different kinds of stories have, can enable us to be more adept storytellers in an organisational context.
Resources and references
Books
Collison, Chris and Parcell, Geoff. (2001) Learning to fly: practical lessons from one of the world’s leading knowledge companies. Oxford: Capstone
Does not cover storytelling as such, but rather provides an example of storytelling in action, as every chapter begins with a story. (This book as a whole is well worth a read – refreshing low on theory and jargon, and high on sound, practical advice based on proven results).
Denning, Stephen. (2000) The Springboard: How Storytelling Ignites Action in Knowledge-era Organizations. Butterworth-Heinemann
Articles
Carter, P. A tale of the unexpected: The journey of a white paper. Knowledge Management, 2001, 20 November
Describes how the Department of Trade and Industry used storytelling to capture and evaluate the processes involved in the formation of its ‘Opportunity for All’ white paper, with the ultimate aim of providing future project teams with a survival kit to help them avoid some of the more common mistakes and pitfalls.
Denning, Stephen. The Springboard: How Storytelling Ignites Action in Knowledge-era Organizations. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 2001, Vol 14, No 6, pp609-614
Fröhlich, Peter and Karandikar, Harsh. Driving organisational change: Using story to transform work processes at ABB. Knowledge Management, 2002, 18 March
Describes the work undertaken at ABB in using goal-oriented stories derived from the firm’s experts and recorded in a ‘storybase’, for driving organisational process improvement; reveals some of the key lessons the company has learned.
Hannabuss, Stuart. Narrative knowledge: eliciting organisational knowledge from storytelling. Aslib Proceedings: new information perspectives, 2000, Vol 52, No 10, pp402-413
Examines the unique role of narrative, in the form of storytelling, in eliciting tacit knowledge in the sensemaking of organisations.
Lelic, Simon. Fuel your imagination: KM and the art of storytelling Knowledge Management, 2001, 20 November
Representatives from SINTEF, Nasa, the World Bank and IBM discuss how storytelling techniques can be used to ignite change and encourage collaboration in an organisational setting.
Logan, Enda, Boyd, Andy and Vigers, Brad. A pipeline for collaboration: Leveraging knowledge through storytelling at SIEP. Knowledge Management, 2001, 20 November
Explains how the use of storytelling has helped Shell to overcome the barriers it has encountered in managing its technical and business knowledge, and to circulate employee expertise to the places it is most needed.
Post, Todd. The ASK story: An insider’s perspective on storytelling at NASA. Knowledge Management, 2001, 20 November
Describes the work being undertaken at NASA’s ASK Magazine, a tool to help agency’s project managers keep up with demands for faster, better and cheaper results, and reveals the role storytelling is playing as a tool for converting tacit to explicit knowledge.
Reilly, Michael, Matarazzo, Trisha and Ives, William. Once Upon a Corporate Time. The role of stories in organisational learning. Knowledge Management, 1998, 1 December
Explores the use of stories in the workplace and the power of stories for learning.
Snowden, David. Narrative patterns: The perils and possibilities of using story in organisations. Knowledge Management, 2001, 29 June
Offers an overview of the narrative techniques being researched and developed within the Institute of Knowledge Management, and reflects on the perils and possibilities of using storytelling within an organisational setting.
Thomas, John. Narrative Technology and the New Millennium. Knowledge Management, 1999, 1 June
Outlines the various narrative approaches being developed by IBM to communicate stories across a corporate-wide globally dispersed population.
Ward, Victoria and Sbarcea, Kim. The power of voice: Why storytelling is knowledge management. Knowledge Management, 2001, 20 November
Examines the role of narrative as part of the fabric of both the official and unofficial stories that exist within an organisation, describing three very different types of character that are useful symbols for the typical narratives of individuals in their relationships with the organisation.
Weaver Kahan, Seth. Are you sitting comfortably? Using the power of storytelling to build communities. Knowledge Management, 2001, 10 October
The author details his own story in an attempt to demonstrate the power of the technique, and to explore the greater contribution knowledge management might make beyond the world of business.
Websites
SteveDenning.com
Steve Denning is widely regarded as one of the main ‘gurus’ of storytelling. His website has a collection of materials on knowledge sharing and storytelling, and also includes a facility where you can also e-mail Steve direct with questions and comments.
Storytelling: passport to the 21st century
A website in which four leading thinkers on knowledge management explore storytelling. An extremely content-rich site, almost like an online book.
What is storytelling?
Storytelling is quite simply the use of stories in organisations as a communication tool to share knowledge. Traditionally, organisational communications have had a tendency to be somewhat dry and lacking in inspiration. Storytelling uses a range of techniques to engage, involve and inspire people, using language that is more authentic (everyday language as opposed to ‘textbook buzzword speak’) and a narrative form that people find interesting and fun.
Storytelling has of course existed for thousands of years as a means of exchanging information and generating understanding. Similarly, it has always existed in organisations – otherwise known as ‘the grapevine’. However, as a deliberate tool for sharing knowledge it is quite recent but growing very rapidly, to the extent that it is becoming a favoured technique among an increasing number of management consultants.
What are the benefits?
When used effectively, storytelling offers numerous advantages over more traditional organisational communication techniques:
Stories communicate ideas holistically, conveying a rich yet clear message, and so they are an excellent way of communicating complicated ideas and concepts in an easy-to-understand form.Stories therefore allow people to convey tacit knowledge that might otherwise be difficult to articulate; in addition, because stories are told with feeling, they can allow people to communicate more than they realise they know. Storytelling provides the context in which knowledge arises as well as the knowledge itself, and hence can increase the likelihood of accurate and meaningful knowledge transfer.
Stories are an excellent vehicle for learning, as true learning requires interest, which abstract principles and impersonal procedures rarely provide. Stories are memorable - their messages tend to ‘stick’ and they get passed on. Stories can provide a ‘living, breathing’ example of how to do something and why it works rather than telling people what to do, hence people are more open to their lessons. Stories therefore often lead to direct action - they can help to close the ‘knowing-doing gap’ (the difference between knowing how to do something and actually doing it). Storytelling can help to make organisational communication more ‘human’ – not only do they use natural day-to-day language, but they also elicit an emotional response as well as thoughts and actions. Stories can nurture a sense of community and help to build relationships. People enjoy sharing stories – stories enliven and entertain.
What can stories be used for?
Stories can be used for all manner of purposes in an organisation. Different purposes will tend to require different kinds of stories. Steve Denning (see SteveDenning.com in ‘Resources and references’ below) outlines 8 possible purposes for using storytelling in organisations:
Storytelling to ignite organisational change – Experience has shown that storytelling can be highly effective as a change agent, even in change-resistant organisations. Telling an appropriate story can stimulate people to think actively about the implications of change and to projecting themselves into visions of the future, enabling them to better understand what it will be like to be doing things in a different way, rather than being given vague, abstract concepts about it.
Storytelling for communications – In contrast to the conventional approach which views communications as the sending of a message from a communicator to a recipient, storytelling is based on a more interactive view of communication. Because the listener imaginatively recreates the story in his or her own mind, the story is not perceived as coming from outside, but rather as something that is part of the listener‘s own identity. The idea becomes the listener‘s own.
Storytelling to capture tacit knowledge – Tacit knowledge can be a multi-layered and multi-dimensional thing and as such it is often difficult to articulate (for example, have you ever tried to explain to someone who can’t swim how to swim, without actually showing them?). Stories can provide a way of allowing people to express and share tacit knowledge in rich and meaningful ways, rather then being forced to articulate it in more ‘structured’ ways that can detract from its value.
Storytelling to embody and transfer knowledge – Similarly, a simple story can communicate a complex multi-dimensioned idea, not simply by transmitting information as a message, but by actively involving the listeners in co-creating that idea. Furthermore, as a story is told and retold, it changes, and so the knowledge embodied in it is constantly being developed and built upon.
Use of stories for innovation – The use of storytelling in innovation and knowledge creation can encourage people to move away from linear thinking towards a more multi-dimensional view, to see new connections between things, and also to marry scientific logic with a more creative or intuitive approach.
Storytelling to build community – There is something about stories that brings people together and fosters a sense of community. Storytelling is non-hierarchical, it unlocks feelings and emotions as well as thought processes, and hence it helps to build relationships and trust.
Storytelling to enhance technology – People often find it difficult to communicate about technology. Users can have trouble articulating their needs and expectations, while experts can have difficulty ‘talking in plain English’. Wherever there is a gap in language and understanding, storytelling can provide a bridge, by communicating the real essence of what each party is trying to get across.
Storytelling for individual growth – Storytelling is a skill, and one that draws on a number of other key skills, mostly relating to interpersonal communication. The development of these skills is an important component of most knowledge management programmes.
Similarly, Larry Todd Wilson and colleague (see ‘Resources and references’ below) identify four types of ‘triggers’ that indicate situations in which storytelling could be particularly beneficial:
New or unexpected situations – Are you working in an unfamiliar situation and could benefit from the stories and lessons learned of others who have already ‘been there’? Do you need to communicate the latest news on an issue? Have you discovered a better way of doing something? Or experienced an unexpected outcome to something you did as per usual?
Situations that require feelings as well as thoughts – Do you need to facilitate acceptance of a new person into a group and also show them ‘how things are done around here’? Do you need to remove barriers to action and motivate people? Do you need to persuade someone of something?
Complex situations – Are you dealing with a situation that involves many aspects or variables? Do you need to help others to bridge a gap between theory and practice?
Situations in which you need to help people understand ‘why’ – Do you need to capture lessons learned, and to help people understand why something did or didn’t work out as planned?
What makes a ‘good’ story?
Larry Prusak (see Storytelling: passport to the 21st century in ‘Resources and references’ below) defines 4 attributes of a good story:
Endurance – Good stories endure. They may change a little – or even a lot, but the key lessons remain the same. They also need to be succinct enough for people to remember. Salience – Good stories are relevant to their audience, they have a point, and they have emotional impact. Sensemaking – Good stories explain something, make sense of something. Perhaps they show you how to behave in particular situation, how to resolve a problem, or why something happened the way it did. They have a prescriptive normative value: do x and y will occur. Comfort level - To be effective, stories must make sense within the context of the listener’s experience – they need to ring true.
Other tips (from Steve Denning - see ‘Resources and references’ below) include:
Fact versus fiction - Storytelling can be counter-productive when the story told is not true. A story can be factually accurate while being authentically untrue and many corporate communications take this form, particularly those that are told more as a public relations exercise than as a means to promote genuine learning. Oral versus written stories - In the written word there is a distance between the speaker and the spoken, and so in an organisational context, it can lack some authenticity. Practitioners have found that oral storytelling has a greater impact than putting stories into booklets or videos or online. This doesn’t mean that written stories can’t achieve good effects, but that they work in different kinds of ways. The ‘happy ending’ – Steve Denning (see ‘Resources and references’ below) reports having had no success in telling a story along the lines of: "Let me tell you about an organisation that didn’t implement knowledge management and it went bankrupt." In other words, focus on the positive. The ‘hero’ – A story needs to be told from the perspective of a single protagonist, someone who everyone in the organisation can instantly understand, empathise with, resonate with their dilemma, and understand what they were going through. The ‘plot’ - A story needs to have a certain strangeness or incongruity – something that is remarkable and therefore grabs attention. (‘That’s remarkable that you could get an answer to a question like that in such a short time frame’). But it is nevertheless plausible (email exists, the web exists). A beginning, a middle and an end - A story needs to embody whatever it is you are seeking to get across as fully as possible. Don’t leave loose ends. Timing - A story should be as recent as possible – older stories can work, but the fresher the better. ‘This happened last week’ conveys a sense of urgency.
Are there any other points I should be aware of?
Storytelling is not a panacea - it doesn’t always work. Storytelling can only be as good as the underlying idea being conveyed. If that idea is unsound, storytelling may well reveal its inadequacy. Even when the underlying idea is good, there are times when storytelling is inappropriate or ineffective. For example: routine situations in which nothing new, unexpected or different happened; or situations that require objectivity in reporting. Storytelling does not replace analytical thinking. It supplements it by helping to give it context and meaning. Abstract analysis is often easier to understand when seen through the lens of a well-chosen story. Try to avoid telling a story for the first time at a high-profile, high-risk occasion. Test the story in advance on a variety of similar audiences, so that you know exactly the effect that the story will have. When using the knowledge contained in the stories of others to support your own decisions, consider how you will balance that anecdotal knowledge with evidence-based knowledge: how will you assess and integrate the knowledge from stories? We are all storytellers and spend much of our lives telling stories whether we realise it or not. However we can all get better at storytelling, particularly at using stories to achieve specific effects. Understanding how and why storytelling works and learning what kinds of stories work in different situations, and what kinds of effects different kinds of stories have, can enable us to be more adept storytellers in an organisational context.
Resources and references
Books
Collison, Chris and Parcell, Geoff. (2001) Learning to fly: practical lessons from one of the world’s leading knowledge companies. Oxford: Capstone
Does not cover storytelling as such, but rather provides an example of storytelling in action, as every chapter begins with a story. (This book as a whole is well worth a read – refreshing low on theory and jargon, and high on sound, practical advice based on proven results).
Denning, Stephen. (2000) The Springboard: How Storytelling Ignites Action in Knowledge-era Organizations. Butterworth-Heinemann
Articles
Carter, P. A tale of the unexpected: The journey of a white paper. Knowledge Management, 2001, 20 November
Describes how the Department of Trade and Industry used storytelling to capture and evaluate the processes involved in the formation of its ‘Opportunity for All’ white paper, with the ultimate aim of providing future project teams with a survival kit to help them avoid some of the more common mistakes and pitfalls.
Denning, Stephen. The Springboard: How Storytelling Ignites Action in Knowledge-era Organizations. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 2001, Vol 14, No 6, pp609-614
Fröhlich, Peter and Karandikar, Harsh. Driving organisational change: Using story to transform work processes at ABB. Knowledge Management, 2002, 18 March
Describes the work undertaken at ABB in using goal-oriented stories derived from the firm’s experts and recorded in a ‘storybase’, for driving organisational process improvement; reveals some of the key lessons the company has learned.
Hannabuss, Stuart. Narrative knowledge: eliciting organisational knowledge from storytelling. Aslib Proceedings: new information perspectives, 2000, Vol 52, No 10, pp402-413
Examines the unique role of narrative, in the form of storytelling, in eliciting tacit knowledge in the sensemaking of organisations.
Lelic, Simon. Fuel your imagination: KM and the art of storytelling Knowledge Management, 2001, 20 November
Representatives from SINTEF, Nasa, the World Bank and IBM discuss how storytelling techniques can be used to ignite change and encourage collaboration in an organisational setting.
Logan, Enda, Boyd, Andy and Vigers, Brad. A pipeline for collaboration: Leveraging knowledge through storytelling at SIEP. Knowledge Management, 2001, 20 November
Explains how the use of storytelling has helped Shell to overcome the barriers it has encountered in managing its technical and business knowledge, and to circulate employee expertise to the places it is most needed.
Post, Todd. The ASK story: An insider’s perspective on storytelling at NASA. Knowledge Management, 2001, 20 November
Describes the work being undertaken at NASA’s ASK Magazine, a tool to help agency’s project managers keep up with demands for faster, better and cheaper results, and reveals the role storytelling is playing as a tool for converting tacit to explicit knowledge.
Reilly, Michael, Matarazzo, Trisha and Ives, William. Once Upon a Corporate Time. The role of stories in organisational learning. Knowledge Management, 1998, 1 December
Explores the use of stories in the workplace and the power of stories for learning.
Snowden, David. Narrative patterns: The perils and possibilities of using story in organisations. Knowledge Management, 2001, 29 June
Offers an overview of the narrative techniques being researched and developed within the Institute of Knowledge Management, and reflects on the perils and possibilities of using storytelling within an organisational setting.
Thomas, John. Narrative Technology and the New Millennium. Knowledge Management, 1999, 1 June
Outlines the various narrative approaches being developed by IBM to communicate stories across a corporate-wide globally dispersed population.
Ward, Victoria and Sbarcea, Kim. The power of voice: Why storytelling is knowledge management. Knowledge Management, 2001, 20 November
Examines the role of narrative as part of the fabric of both the official and unofficial stories that exist within an organisation, describing three very different types of character that are useful symbols for the typical narratives of individuals in their relationships with the organisation.
Weaver Kahan, Seth. Are you sitting comfortably? Using the power of storytelling to build communities. Knowledge Management, 2001, 10 October
The author details his own story in an attempt to demonstrate the power of the technique, and to explore the greater contribution knowledge management might make beyond the world of business.
Websites
SteveDenning.com
Steve Denning is widely regarded as one of the main ‘gurus’ of storytelling. His website has a collection of materials on knowledge sharing and storytelling, and also includes a facility where you can also e-mail Steve direct with questions and comments.
Storytelling: passport to the 21st century
A website in which four leading thinkers on knowledge management explore storytelling. An extremely content-rich site, almost like an online book.