Some recurring themes…

As I’m reading through your discussion posts and other work from the last couple of weeks, I’m struck by a few patterns that I think are worth highlighting as we move forward with research and writing.

Thinking back to the TED talks from a couple of weeks ago, I think Eber’s talk really drives home a couple of key points:

First, storytelling is effective for audience understanding and recall—so many of you noted that you remembered the crux of her stories, even if the supporting data didn’t stick with you in the same way. But let’s consider that the reason it sticks with you is because you were, to some degree, convinced of the legitimacy of the point that she was making, and that convincing happened in large measure because of the evidence that she provided along with the story. In other words, she made the point well enough that it stuck with you, and it stuck with you in the story form because that’s the easiest way for our brains to process and recall. 

That’s not just something we do with TED talks. It’s the whole premise of every fable you’ve ever heard about the importance of telling the truth, even about the little things (because otherwise people won’t believe you about the big things); about the importance of perseverance (slow and steady wins the race); even a lot of seemingly weirdo urban myths (there’s an element of truth to a lot of those). It is why every culture on every continent at every moment in human history has transmitted important lessons through stories.

Secondly, one of the other key reasons why Eber’s talk works and sticks with you is because she is practicing what she preaches—in other words, she’s using a tactic to demonstrate the value of that tactic, and you don’t fully grasp that until the latter part of her talk. That’s a very similar approach to what we see Graff and Birkenstein doing in TSIS​. They can convince us that these moves matter by showing AND telling. 

As you’ve been reading and responding to one another’s Unit 1 blog posts and to Cheng’s book as we proceed with that, I see many of you highlighting these human elements in your observations about what made an impact on you and why (often because we can personally connect with it in some way), about the fresh insights you’re gaining (many of which center on the porosity of work, how much we carry our whole selves into work and into other organizations AND carry our work values/relationships/ideas with us into the rest of our lives).

This is something I really try to prioritize in my teaching work–remembering that none of us stops being fully (and complicatedly) human just because we step into a role in a course (as a student OR as a teacher). As I watch you respond to one another with interest and excitement, I can see that happening, and I love to see it. I see you connecting with one another’s ideas, sharing your own experiences, thinking about what we’re learning here as you work in the other dimensions of your life, and in the process (I hope) building your own knowledge.

Those human connections matter a great deal to our organizational culture here in our little community AND to our learning. Keep ’em coming!

And on that note, I hope you’ll comment here with something about how your week is going. What are you looking forward to? What are you navigating? What’s occupying your time?

I’ll go first: my 19-year old son, who is working in Pittsburgh this summer (where he goes to college) is coming home next week for a visit and to celebrate his little brother’s 16th birthday. That means a LOT of cooking and baking over the next week, as they’re both dreaming up every special treat they’d like to enjoy. (And then somewhere in there it means a 16-year old getting his driver’s permit and me sprouting a few more gray hairs.)