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
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Five-minute talks are harder to give and follow than 45-minute talks because they lack gradual build-up.
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Audience engagement is crucial in rapid storytelling sessions to keep pace with the quick transitions.
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Collaborative storytelling using alternating positive and negative frames ('fortunately'/'unfortunately') drives creativity and connection.
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Volunteering participants to form a storytelling line enhances group dynamic and accountability.
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Clear structure and rhythm (using keywords) help the audience stay synchronized during complex narrative exercises.
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Building stories in short bursts with twists keeps the audience mentally active and entertained.
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The session's success depends on both speaker preparation and audience readiness to think quickly.
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Conducting warm-up vocal exercises (saying 'fortunately' and 'unfortunately') improves timing and comfort.
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Ambiguity in narrative handoffs encourages creative linking between unrelated story segments.
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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."
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