Reflection – Storytelling

Challenge    As someone who prefers to be neither seen nor heard, taking on a job role that requires lots of face  time with customers proved to be a bit of a personal challenge for me. As a result, I’ve learned to  become more vocal when necessary, but I try to keep my comments to a minimum and only say what  needs to be said.    Eventually my role evolved into co-teaching monthly technology classes. I was tasked with teaching  troubleshooting techniques and helping customers, mostly campus-based techs, become familiar with  support software that they may not be familiar with. As a former campus tech, I understand that  support staff is often tasked with more duties than one person can easily manage. That’s why it’s  important to find ways to “work smarter, not harder.”    For me, the challenge was to improve engagement with customers by utilizing methods of focusing  attention and resources.    Selection    I selected Storytelling because I often present my opinion from multiple angles in the hopes that one of  those angles will resonate with the listener. I may not be able to change their view of a particular  subject, but they may walk away with a better understanding of mine. Perhaps I’m a storyteller by  nature and am only now realizing it.    Application    Each monthly class is divided into multiple sections, or chapters. After a lunch break, I take the stage and  introduce troubleshooting and support techniques while a presentation is projected on a screen behind  me. I use slides with minimal content and try to avoid filling them with large amounts of text or graphics.  Before I signed on as a co-teacher, the other teacher of this class used to email the entire presentation  to attendees prior to each class. I found this approach counterproductive because attendees often  printed out the slides and spent much of the session with their heads aimed downward while looking at  the printed pages instead of focusing on the live instruction. I suggested to my co-teacher that switching  to providing attendees a summary of the topics in a guide book format, prior to each session, might  increase engagement. As a result, at the beginning of each class, attendees were told that they’d be  receiving the guide, so there was less need for them to take detailed notes or photos of the  presentation. They were free to focus on what we were presenting.    Insight    There’s a utility for macOS named Apple Remote Desktop. My task was to not only introduce attendees  to this software, but to help them see how helpful and inexpensive it is. I would begin my presentation  by empathizing with attendees by informing them that I was once a campus-based tech, so I understood  many of the problems that they encounter on a daily basis. I would tell them that the campus where I  worked, prior to my current job, was sprawling with multiple buildings and long hallways. I’d jokingly  refer to my office as a “cloffice” (closet/office) and, as I rattled off a list of problems that I encountered, I  would hear chuckles and see head nods from those who could relate to the struggles. Next, I would

introduce Apple Remote Desktop and begin to read off some of its many features. As I mentioned each  feature I would provide a relatable story about how attendees could find it useful. Whether they’re  trying to remotely troubleshoot, push out new software, or observe students as they work in other parts  of the campus, attendees seemed excited to learn that all of these things, and more, could be done from  the comfort of their office.    By making the material relatable, I noticed more questions being asked and a higher level of  engagement. Attendees saw the value in the product and felt comfortable with sharing their own  stories. As we applied these methods to other aspects of the class my co-teacher and I saw a steady,  gradual increase in our post-class survey scores.    Approach    Before I took on the co-teaching role, I would stand in the back of the classroom and observe as my  coworkers discussed various aspects of the technology that attendees are expected to support. I  watched as attendees yawned, checked their email, or even played games on their laptop because they  didn’t find appeal in the subject matter. Was it because the topics weren’t interesting, I wondered? Or  was it because of the delivery?    When I was brought on to teach I challenged myself to present some of the same material, but from a  different, more relatable perspective. My goal was to capture the audience’s attention prior to  presenting the subject to ensure that they have all of the necessary information to determine whether  each utility and feature provides added value to their workflow.    Storytelling is a great tool for sharing information, but it’s only one tool and doesn’t need to be used  exclusively. Recently, on a separate project, I found visualization to be highly effective due to my team’s  need to work remotely. Based on this new discovery, I would like to improve my use of visualization, but  rely less on storytelling as my main tool for sharing information. If used properly, visualization can also  be the “attention grabber” that opens doors for storytelling and collaboration.


Reflection – Storytelling Challenge As someone who prefers to be neither seen nor heard , taking on a job role that requires lots of face time with customers proved to be a bit of a personal challenge for me . As a result , I ’ve learned to become more vocal when necessary , but I try to keep my comments to a minimum and only say what needs to be said . Eventually my role evolved into co - teaching monthly technology classes . I was tasked with teaching troubleshooting techniques and helping customers , mostly campus - based techs , become familiar with support software that they may not be familiar with . As a former campus tech , I understand that support staff is often tasked with more duties than one person can easily manage . That ’s why it ’s important to find ways to “ work smarter , not harder . ” For me , the challenge was to improve engagement with customers by utilizing methods of focusing attention and resources . Selection I selected Storytelling because I often present my opinion from multiple angles in the hopes that one of those angles will resonate with the listener . I may not be able to change their view of a particular subject , but they may walk away with a better understanding of mine . Perhaps I ’m a storyteller by nature and am only now realizing it . Application Each monthly class is divided into multiple sections , or chapters . After a lunch break , I take the stage and introduce troubleshooting and support techniques while a presentation is projected on a screen behind me . I use slides with minimal content and try to avoid filling them with large amounts of text or graphics . Before I signed on as a co - teacher , the other teacher of this class used to email the entire presentation to attendees prior to each class . I found this approach counterproductive because attendees often printed out the slides and spent much of the session with their heads aimed downward while looking at the printed pages instead of focusing on the live instruction . I suggested to my co - teacher that switching to providing attendees a summary of the topics in a guide book format , prior to each session , might increase engagement . As a result , at the beginning of each class , attendees were told that they ’d be receiving the guide , so there was less need for them to take detailed notes or photos of the presentation . They were free to focus on what we were presenting . Insight There ’s a utility for macOS named Apple Remote Desktop . My task was to not only introduce attendees to this software , but to help them see how helpful and inexpensive it is . I would begin my presentation by empathizing with attendees by informing them that I was once a campus - based tech , so I understood many of the problems that they encounter on a daily basis . I would tell them that the campus where I worked , prior to my current job , was sprawling with multiple buildings and long hallways . I ’d jokingly refer to my office as a “ cloffice ” ( closet / office ) and , as I rattled off a list of problems that I encountered , I would hear chuckles and see head nods from those who could relate to the struggles . Next , I would introduce Apple Remote Desktop and begin to read off some of its many features . As I mentioned each feature I would provide a relatable story about how attendees could find it useful . Whether they ’re trying to remotely troubleshoot , push out new software , or observe students as they work in other parts of the campus , attendees seemed excited to learn that all of these things , and more , could be done from the comfort of their office . By making the material relatable , I noticed more questions being asked and a higher level of engagement . Attendees saw the value in the product and felt comfortable with sharing their own stories . As we applied these methods to other aspects of the class my co - teacher and I saw a steady , gradual increase in our post - class survey scores . Approach Before I took on the co - teaching role , I would stand in the back of the classroom and observe as my coworkers discussed various aspects of the technology that attendees are expected to support . I watched as attendees yawned , checked their email , or even played games on their laptop because they did n’t find appeal in the subject matter . Was it because the topics were n’t interesting , I wondered ? Or was it because of the delivery ? When I was brought on to teach I challenged myself to present some of the same material , but from a different , more relatable perspective . My goal was to capture the audience ’s attention prior to presenting the subject to ensure that they have all of the necessary information to determine whether each utility and feature provides added value to their workflow . Storytelling is a great tool for sharing information , but it ’s only one tool and does n’t need to be used exclusively . Recently , on a separate project , I found visualization to be highly effective due to my team ’s need to work remotely . Based on this new discovery , I would like to improve my use of visualization , but rely less on storytelling as my main tool for sharing information . If used properly , visualization can also be the “ attention grabber ” that opens doors for storytelling and collaboration .