Helping along the narrative aesthetic

Jack Ricchiuto was writing about narrative the other day:

We need to start reviving the narrative aesthetic where stories are more fields of countless possibilities than linear in nature, where the possibilities of meaning are more infinite than finite. We need to stop calling sound bites stories, which they’re not. We need to call stories the narratives that evoke a sense of wonderment more than conclusion.

Stories are dear to my heart and storytelling is a practice that seems more and more about who I am.   I think one way to help people become story tellers is to practice inquisitive listening with them.   When I run AI interviews for example, I often invite people to practice being Elders.   I invite them to tell a story the way an Elder tells it, with a lesson buried in it.   And start from the beginning and give over the sense of what it was like to be there.   For listeners, I invite them to practice being students and learners, listening to the storyteller as if that person was telling you something of great wisdom and importance.

When we enter into this kind of relationship, we create a storyfield that deepens our inquiry, our learning and our relationships.