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John LeCarre famously said, “‘The cat sat on the mat’ is not the beginning of a story; ‘the cat sat on the dog’s mat’ is.” We need very little introduction to the art of storytelling, but the craft of story is more nuanced and is a skill we can hone. Unless you’re already fully-engaged in storytelling in one form or another, it’s rare that we get to explore these nuances in practice. Come and have some fun with Steph in this interactive session as she demonstrates little ways we can get better at the craft of story—a universal skill that you can use in everything you do. This talk covers some of the material from her forthcoming book: UX Storytelling Handbook.
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Stephanie Troeth@sniffles
Code & Creativity Chattanooga, Tennessee
February 2014
Everyday Storytelling
OMG Storytelling FTW!
Such story.Very telling.
Wow.
Born here
Lived here
Living here
Grew up here
So, about this accent…
Last spring, I was in Avignon for a conference.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alendri/4484158092/s
“Stories are like flight simulators for the brain.” !
— “Made to Stick”, Chip & Dan Heath.
Anecdotal version: !
“The airbnb apartment I am staying in had a leak in the kitchen sink.”
Boring!Fact!
I wasn’t always a good storyteller. !
I had to learn it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP3c1h8v2ZQ
The shape of stories
http://www.musik-therapie.at/PederHill/Structure&Plot.htm
Classic three-act structure
Act 1: Setting it up.
What is the context? Who is the main protagonist? What does he or she desire?
!
(Who, what, why, how, where)
Don’t bury the lead.
Act 2: Conflict & Obstacles
Crisis and escalating tension.
Things get worse!
“Drama comes from human decision.” !
— M.R. Hall
Act 3: Finale
Things get as bad as it can go. !
When the story finally resolves, tension dissipates.
!
Leave your audience in a safe place.
Design for clarity through storytelling
Three working examples so far:
✤ storytelling in UX design
✤ storytelling to get a practical method across
✤ storytelling in a presentation
Possibility ∞
Let’s try it.
Three acts:
Beginning, middle and end.
Setting it up finale obstacles
What’s driving the story?
Plot, character, or question?
circumstance issueperson
Exercise #1:
Tell your favourite fairy tale or fable.
Thinking time: 1 min Story time: 3 mins (each) Review time: 1 min (each)
Make your character(s) real.
What do they want? How do they react to something? What to do they see, smell, feel, hear, touch and think?
Exercise #2:
Tell your favourite joke.
Thinking time: 2 min Story time: 2 mins (each) Review time: 1 min (each)
Each sentence needs to either move story forward and show more of your character.
Pay attention to rhythm and pace.
Exercise #3:
Tell a story about something that happened to you.
Thinking time: 1 min Story time: 5 mins (each) Review time: 1 min (each)
Pay attention to describing feelings, and reactions.
Thank you!
!
http://bit.ly/storytechniquesforux
Stephanie Troeth@sniffles
A book on how you can use story techniques creatively in
UX research & design
Coming Soon!