Table of Contents
Front Matter
Foreword
Chapter One: Introduction
Why Work with Stories?
Why I Wrote This Book
This Book and You
The Structure of the Book
Notes on the Book
Part One: Fundamentals of Story Work
Chapter Two: What Is a Story?
The Ant and the Dove
Stories of Definition
A Working Definition
The Best Stories for Story Work
Stories and Half-stories
Chapter Three: What Are Stories For?
Stories Are Maps of Experience
Stories Are Sounding Devices
Stories Are Elements of Play
Stories Are Packages of Meaning
Chapter Four: How Do Stories Work?
Stories in Conversation
Stories and Personalities
Stories in Use
Stories in Stories
Stories in Society
Chapter Five: Stories in Communities and Organizations
Functions of Story Sharing in Communities and Organizations
Local Story Sharing Cultures
Why Local Story Sharing Matters
Assessing Story Sharing
Part Two: A Guide to Participatory Narrative Inquiry
Chapter Six: Introducing Participatory Narrative Inquiry
PNI Definitions
PNI Elements
PNI Phases
PNI Principles
Chapter Seven: Project Planning
A Project to Plan a Project
Project Stories
The Setting of Your Project
Making Sense of Your Project Plans
PNI Planning Questions
Your Project Synopsis
Chapter Eight: Story Collection
Methods of Story Collection
Choosing Story Collection Methods
Asking People to Tell Stories
Asking Questions About Stories
Facilitating Peer Interviews
Facilitating Group Story Sessions
Chapter Nine: Group Exercises for Story Collection
Why Use Group Exercises to Collect Stories?
Twice-told Stories
Timelines
Landscapes
Build Your Own Story Collection Exercise
About Those Sticky Notes
Chapter Ten: Narrative Catalysis
Narrative Catalysis in a Nutshell
The Catalysis Process
Principles of Catalysis
Our Example Project
Describing Catalysis
The First Four Steps in General
The First Four Steps on Paper
The First Four Steps with a Spreadsheet
The First Four Steps with Analytical Software
Producing Statistical Results
Accumulating Observations
Interpreting and Exploring Observations
Clustering Interpretations
Preparing Your Report
Excerpts from a Catalysis Report
Using Catalysis in Sensemaking
Chapter Eleven: Narrative Sensemaking
An Introduction to Sensemaking
Adding Narrative to Sensemaking
Four Essential Elements of Effective Narrative Sensemaking
Facilitating the Four Elements
Facilitating Contact
Facilitating Churning
Facilitating Convergence
Facilitating Change
Finding Your Own Sensemaking Style
Planning Your Sensemaking Session
Wrapping Up Sensemaking
Chapter Twelve: Group Exercises for Narrative Sensemaking
Why Use Sensemaking Exercises?
Why Not Use Sensemaking Exercises?
Twice-told Stories
Timelines
Landscapes
Story Elements
Composite Stories
Getting Help Facilitating Sensemaking Exercises
Combining Exercises
Merging Story Collection and Sensemaking
Build Your Own Sensemaking Exercise
Chapter Thirteen: Narrative Intervention
Ideas for Intervention
Interventions for Listening to Stories That Need to Be Told
Interventions for Getting Stories to Where They Need to Go
Interventions for Helping People Work with Stories
Combining Interventions
The Intervention Interviews
Chapter Fourteen: Narrative Return
Why Support the Return Phase?
How Return Happens
Ideas for Supporting Return
Ideas for Supporting Ongoing Story Sharing
Ideas for Supporting In-person Story Sharing
Ideas for Supporting Mediated Story Sharing
Part Three: Appendices
Appendix A: Example Models and Templates for Group Exercises
Timelines
Landscapes
Story Elements
Composite Stories
Appendix B: Further Reading: Your PNI Bookshelf
Story Fundamentals
Working with Stories in Groups
Grounding Your Understandings in Stories
Appendix C: Bibliography
Appendix D: Acknowledgements and Biography
End Matter
Glossary
Index