Stories that Teach: A Masterclass for Educators and Professionals

Business Communication. Sharpen your communication skills.

COVID-19 update: arrangement of our courses

We are now delivering courses online and in-person. Please check the delivery format of each class before enrolling.

Please note that course materials (excluding prescribed texts) are shared electronically within 48 hours of course commencement. Printing is not available.

If you want to be a master presenter, join this inspiring course about storytelling techniques for educators and professionals. Stories have a thousand and one uses in presentations, groupwork, online courses and face-to-face training sessions. Take your storytelling to a new level by learning how to build a teaching metaphor. Hear how to use stories to trigger learning, engage a group, explain complex concepts, spice up dry content, embed important messages or respond to difficult group dynamics. Learn to use a range of story formats and decide where to place teaching metaphors in a presentation or training session. Try out a step-by-step process for creating an ‘isomorphic metaphor’ that teaches and entertains. Get tips for using AI to craft stories, without losing your authentic voice. Then learn to deliver your stories with flair, using advanced stagecraft techniques designed specifically for storytelling in training or groupwork settings. 

Aims

We want you to learn how to design and deliver compelling stories that inspire learning. Our aim is to demonstrate how teaching metaphors differ from ‘stories as entertainment’, so you can add new depth to your work as an educator or professional.

Outcomes

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• define the difference between stories and teaching metaphors
• choose appropriate placements and formats for your teaching metaphors, so they will inspire reflection and learning
• use the isomorphic teaching metaphor model to generate ideas for stories
• build an engaging, relevant plot for your teaching metaphor
• use AI to speed up the process of story development, whilst ensuring your story sounds authentic and your characters resonate with your audience 
• debrief stories to ensure your ‘teaching point’ is communicated to learners or group members
• use advanced stagecraft techniques to bring your stories to life in presentations, classes or online programs.

Content

Summary

• What is a teaching metaphor?
• Placing and formatting stories
• 6 steps for building isomorphic metaphors
• Creating a plot that teaches a process
• Complementing your storytelling voice with AI
• 5 debrief techniques every storyteller should use
• Bringing teaching metaphors to life on stage

Topic 1: What is a teaching metaphor?

Storytelling for educators and professionals is a specialised field. Whether you want to use stories to teach adult learners, prompt group discussion or help your clients solve problems, you need to master the basics of crafting teaching metaphors. In this module, you'll learn the difference between simple stories and teaching metaphors. Plus, you'll hear how to use the Isomorphic Metaphor Model to create stories that spark learning.

Topic 2: Placing and formatting stories

Where you place your teaching metaphor can be as important as what it contains. This topic explores how to use story placement and formatting strategically, to ensure that the 'teaching point' comes across clearly. You'll hear techniques for using stories to spark discussion and reflection, as well as ways to create a 'story arc' that ensures your message is remembered.

Topic 3: Six steps for building Isomorphic Metaphors

The Isomorphic Metaphor Model provides the blueprint for creating teaching metaphors that inspire learning. In this session, you'll explore each of the six steps and how apply them. Then you’ll use the Isomorphic Metaphor Model come up with an idea for a story to use in an upcoming training, teaching or groupwork session. 

Topic 4: Creating a plot that teaches a process

Teaching metaphors don't just entertain. They subtly educate by mirroring the steps of the process or concept you are teaching. Discover how to create a plot that carries a powering learning message. Then, hear how to create characters that speak to your audience and communicate that message more deeply.

Topic 5: Complementing your storytelling voice with AI

Technology is transforming the way trainers, facilitators and educators build stories. That's great news because it speeds up instructional design. It's also a problem if you want to create stories that sound authentic and don't come across as mechanical or monotonous. Learn how to use AI to complement your own natural storytelling voice, whilst helping you work faster and smarter. This session will include practical tips on structuring AI prompts to generate high-quality content that aligns with your objective of using storytelling in professional, education or groupwork contexts. 

Topic 6: Five debrief techniques every storyteller should use

In this session, you'll hear five invaluable debriefs that will ensure that the 'teaching point' of your story is remembered. These include guided discussions, reflective note-taking exercises, playback learning sessions, fishbowl activities and cartooning processes.

Topic 7: Bringing teaching metaphors to life on stage

This module is all about taking your teaching metaphor from the page to the presentation platform. You'll experiment with advanced stagecraft techniques including spatial anchoring, scene-setting, costuming and character enactment.

Intended audience

This course is for experienced presenters, trainers, educators, teachers, lecturers, facilitators, course creators, groupwork practitioners, organisational development specialists and counsellors or psychologists with an interest in group therapy. 

Prerequisites

This is an advanced level course for professionals who already deliver training or change-focused group sessions. You will get the most from it if you are experienced presenting to groups and want to use stories as triggers for learning, problem-solving or personal growth. A basic understanding of adult learning, or groupwork theory will be assumed. 

Delivery mode

Face-to-face, presenter-taught training

Delivery style

This course is delivered as an interactive workshop. You will be involved in group conversations, group story-building and mini presentations. There will be several opportunities to ask the course facilitator questions or request tips for dealing with your real life situations. You will get the most from this course if you are:

• willing to contribute to group discussions and activities
• confident communicating verbally in English
• comfortable presenting to groups
• using a computer with a working camera and microphone (if enrolling in an online session of the course).

Materials

Course materials are provided electronically.

Recommended reading

• Battino, R. and South, T.L. (2005) Ericksonian approaches: A comprehensive manual, Carmarthen, Wales, UK: Crown House Pub. 
• Berman, M. and Brown, D. (2008) The power of metaphor: Story telling & guided journeys for teachers, Trainers & Therapists. Carmarthen (Wales): Crown House. 
• Cohen, M. (2018) Metaphor: Its therapeutic use and construction: A professional guide to using metaphor in psychotherapy and counselling, Eugene, OR: Resource Publications. 
• Cron, L. (no date) 'Wired for story', accessed 17 May 2023, . 
• Denborough D. Retelling the stories of our lives, New York: WW Norton & Co; 2014
• Havens R. The wisdom of Milton H. Erickson: the complete volume, Wales: Crown House Publishing Ltd; 2007
• Edwards, C. (2012) A sprinkling of Magic: How to captivate your audience with inspiring stories and metaphors that give meaning to your message, United States: Practically Positive Pub. 
• Fairbairn, G. (2013) ‘Storytelling in professional learning’, Storytelling: Exploring the Art and Science of Narrative, pp. 33–43. doi:10.1163/9781848882355_005. 
• Gersie, A., & King, N. (2007) Storymaking in education and therapy, Jessica Kingsley. 
• Hattar, M. (2022) Council post: 'Why storytelling wins in Marketing', Forbes, accessed 17 May 2023, . 
• Lyman, F.T. (2021) Metaphor training: 100 Teaching Ideas that Transfer and Transform Learning, pp. 80–81. doi:10.4324/9781003230281-51. 
• Mar R. 'The neural bases of social cognition and story comprehension', Annual Review of Psychology 2011; 62 (January): 103–134 
• Nonprofit Communications Report (2020), ‘_Understand the science behind storytelling_’, 18(7), pp. 6–6. doi:10.1002/npcr.31510. 
• Owen, N. (2009) The magic of metaphor: Stories for teachers, trainers and thinkers. Carmarthen: Crown House Publishing. 
• Ramsden A, Hollingsworth S. (2013) 'The storyteller’s way', Gloucestershire: Hawthorn Press; 
• Törneke, N. (2020) ‘Strategies for using metaphor in psychological treatment’, Metaphor in Mental Healthcare, 10(2), pp. 214–232. doi:10.1075/msw.00004.tor. 
• Zipes, J. (1995) 'Creative storytelling: Building community, changing lives', Routledge.