Did you know there is a geography to story?

Of course everyone know there’s BEGINNING, MIDDLE and END. These are the parts of story. But my colleague  Paul Andrew Costello told me there’s also a beginning, middle and end to every PART of the story.

Knowing this piece of...

What does "liminal space" and what are its gifts?  

Heather Plett was our Fireside Conversation guest in THE STORY DOJO this month. What she said about her discoveries around liminal space stayed with me and caused me to think deeply. 

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When I was around 16 my mother asked me if I'd like to meet Rob. My mother was a Guidance Counselor at the High School and Rob was the son of her colleague.

Rob had just returned from being an exchange student in Japan. Now you need to know that in the 1970s there was no such thing as sushi...

I'd already been in New Zealand for more than 10 years when I complained to another storyteller friend about the incessant question: "Where are you from?"

I called it "my graciousness question." when I was feeling gracious I knew it was a question that helped people make connection, and...

But first, a small but potent memory...

I remember someone long ago who, after regarding me thoughtfully for some time, said: "If you were to have had the ordinary life, you would have had it by now!"

Still, it felt like it started ordinary enough. On this day -- February 14 -- we celebrated...

This past week, someone gave me the gift of their listening. My friend told me he was interested in my work and would listen to support me finding my next path forward.

To anchor our conversation, I dug out a map I'd made in 2022. I'd made it to get some clarity about what I believe are the...

Most of us have had to carry the expectations of others at some point during our lives. Perhaps it was the expectation of your parents for you to follow in their footsteps or take up a specific kind of work.

Maybe the teachers you experienced expected you to be an exceptional student like one of...

Yesterday was a day full of stories, here at Kufunda Village in Zimbabwe.

We started already the day before, briefing our storytellers and our young hosts about the process of Collective Story Harvest. Both groups were nervous, but excited too.

Then after our music and dance check in with the...

This is my third time in Zimbabwe. The first time was in 2006 and I was supporting a small group who wanted to replicate the customer service training program I had introduced through the Tourism Board in New Zealand.

I stayed in a compound and learned from the people working there how...

Perhaps it is the storytelling gene inside all of us that wants to proclaim that this moment in history -- our moment -- is  totally unique.  And yet the dynamics -- one might say the story elements -- are not new.

Generational struggle. Power imbalance. Gender...

If you've been keeping track of the news, things have been challenging for Britons recently. And yesterday the twist in their storyline struck at the heart of the nation, as the monarch who had seen nearly a century and held her role for 70 years passed on.

Now the country -- and the monarchy...