Enterprise Storytelling Sessions
Summary
- Jana Sedivy (Principal, Authentic Insight): A Story about Stories (VIDEO) - Carla Pileggi (UX Architect, Design System Lead, Pitney Bowes): A Sympathy Card for a Front-End Developer (VIDEO) - Ramya Mahalingam (UX Architect, Cardinal Solutions): The Road to Being a Bridge Is Not at all Paved (VIDEO) - Audrey Crane (Partner, DesignMap): Thoughts on Vulnerability (VIDEO) - Lada Gorlenko (Director of Research, Smartsheet): Make My Day (VIDEO) - and a horror story from Adam Polansky (XD Strategist, Bottle Rocket Studios) (VIDEO)
Key Insights
-
•
Five-minute talks are harder to give and follow than 45-minute talks because they lack gradual build-up.
-
•
Audience engagement is crucial in rapid storytelling sessions to keep pace with the quick transitions.
-
•
Collaborative storytelling using alternating positive and negative frames ('fortunately'/'unfortunately') drives creativity and connection.
-
•
Volunteering participants to form a storytelling line enhances group dynamic and accountability.
-
•
Clear structure and rhythm (using keywords) help the audience stay synchronized during complex narrative exercises.
-
•
Building stories in short bursts with twists keeps the audience mentally active and entertained.
-
•
The session's success depends on both speaker preparation and audience readiness to think quickly.
-
•
Conducting warm-up vocal exercises (saying 'fortunately' and 'unfortunately') improves timing and comfort.
-
•
Ambiguity in narrative handoffs encourages creative linking between unrelated story segments.
-
•
Interactive storytelling exercises can serve as effective team-building tools in enterprise UX settings.
Notable Quotes
"It’s harder than a 45 minute talk."
"Normally you go into a talk and they build just like a story. A little bit of information, more information, more information. Here’s my point, and that’s it."
"I’m worried you aren’t up to it, frankly."
"We got to get everybody to tell stories in the whole room."
"Fortunately, that was terrible."
"Unfortunately, that was very good."
"You guys have the harder job."
"We’re going to say fortunately, and she’s going to say a sentence. Then we say unfortunately, and he’s going to say a sentence connected to that sentence."
"Watch my lips and my body language if you’re starting to lose the timing on the word."
"When the dot com bubble burst, I had a great design job. Unfortunately, it was at another dot com."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"The value of a design system looks different depending on if you’re a developer, designer, or stakeholder."
Dan DonaldDesign Systems as a Vehicle for Systemic Change
June 1, 2023
"Since March 2020, we’ve actually conducted all of our interviews remotely, which generally makes scheduling with diverse groups easier."
Lisa Spitz Nikki BrandBuilding Trust Through Equitable Research Practices
November 18, 2022
"We created an AI persona called Dreamweaver to answer real-time team capacity and project questions."
Alnie FigueroaThe Future of Design Operations: Transforming Our Craft
September 10, 2025
"Think of assistive technology in three categories: screen readers, screen magnification, and alternative navigation."
Kavana RameshMeaningful inclusion: Practicing accessibility research with confidence
September 24, 2024
"Designers need better training to work with off-the-shelf enterprise software like Sitecore, Salesforce, and SharePoint."
Alexandra SchmidtEnterprise UX Playbook
December 1, 2022
"Fluency is how deeply you can work with AI—the judgment and direction you bring, not just how often you use it."
Vanessa VarinTools are moments. Capabilities compound.
June 9, 2026
"Working with video should be as easy as working with text."
Prabhas Pokharel Mayo NissenOrder and Chaos: New Ways of Collaborating on Synthesis and Storytelling
March 10, 2022
"Sometimes it helps to have an ally who champions you and acts as a gatekeeper for design requests."
Erika Kincaid Brenna Heaps Jessica TsukimuraConnecting the Dots: How to Foster Collaboration and Build a Strong Design Review Culture
June 8, 2022
"Everyone was doing a little bit of design ops here and there, which created a lot of gray area around decision making."
Michelle ChinThe DesignOps Starter Kit
September 29, 2021
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
What factors lead experienced UX leaders like Sarah B. Nelson to leave corporate design roles for artistic paths?
What are practical ways to split accent colors for accessibility without breaking brand recognition?
How do product risk categories like feasibility, viability, desirability, and usability relate to research method choice?