{"id":34448,"date":"2018-04-12T22:40:10","date_gmt":"2018-04-13T02:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=34448"},"modified":"2018-04-12T22:40:10","modified_gmt":"2018-04-13T02:40:10","slug":"review-of-the-art-of-storytelling-by-professor-hannah-b-harvey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=34448","title":{"rendered":"Review of The Art of Storytelling, by Professor Hannah B. Harvey"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Art of Storytelling<\/p>\n

From Parents to Professionals<\/p>\n

(The Great Courses)<\/em><\/p>\n

by Professor Hannah B. Harvey<\/p>\n

The Teaching Company, 2013. 24 lectures on 12 CDs.
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

This is another one a friend recommended to me, but I didn\u2019t actually put on hold until I heard him recommend it to someone else. I\u2019d long thought I\u2019d like to listen to one of the Library\u2019s \u201cGreat Courses,\u201d but wasn\u2019t sure where to start. So when I heard this one highly recommended, I decided to start there.<\/p>\n

One of the best things about listening to these lectures was that I began noticing, more than ever, how many stories fill my days. Shortly after I began listening to the course, a friend told me and a few other people the story of her daughter\u2019s difficult pregnancy. She had us on the edge of our seats and rejoicing with her in the outcome \u2013 and I realized she\u2019d done everything right in connecting with her audience and making us feel the emotions along with her. But I wouldn\u2019t have even noticed it was storytelling if I hadn\u2019t been listening to this course.<\/p>\n

Now, this material is pretty obviously applicable to my job. After all, I conduct storytimes regularly! Though I do feel strongly about reading books in those storytimes, so I\u2019m not going to switch over to the same form of storytelling she\u2019s talking about \u2013 but so many of the ideas and techniques are applicable.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s also applicable to something I\u2019m doing lately \u2013 going to classrooms and talking about the Newbery Medal and what it\u2019s like to be on the committee. Listening to that is helping me to focus on connecting with the audience and telling it as a story \u2013 not just as a list of facts about the medal. I was even on a county podcast, and the interviewer asked me *why* I would want to do this, and I floundered for a bit \u2013 and then thought of a story to tell that explains it – about that moment of thinking a book is so good, I wish I could tell the whole world about it. Being on the Newbery committee, I really get to do that!<\/p>\n

But back to this lecture series, the subtitle says \u201cFrom Parents to Professionals\u201d \u2013 the lecturer very much believes this is applicable in board rooms and living rooms both \u2013 and I have to agree with her. What\u2019s more, the more I think about it, now that I\u2019m aware of storytelling principles, the more opportunities I am going to find to use storytelling to communicate more effectively.<\/p>\n

thegreatcourses.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Nonfiction\/art_of_storytelling.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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