Monthly Archives: January 2016

Story

Posted on by

Alan Rickman quote

Alan Rickman Alan-Rickman died this month. He was an actor of my generation; one that provided me with much entertainment. I am sad. Then I saw this quote on the power of stories. How stories explain. How stories can educate. How stories can help reduce bias.  And I am reminded how stories are evaluative.

Dick Krueger dick-1997 did a professional development session (then called a “pre-session”) many years ago. It seems relevant now. Of course, I couldn’t find my notes (which were significant) so I did an online search, using “Dick Krueger and stories” as my search terms. I was successful! (See link.) When I went to the link, he had a whole section on story and story telling. What I remember most about that session is what he has listed under “How to Analyze the Story”. Specifically the four points he lists under problems with credibility:

  • Authenticity – Truth
  • Accuracy – Memory Problems
  • Representativeness and Sampling
  • Generalizability / Transferability

The next time you tell a story think of it in evaluative terms. And check out what Dick Krueger has to say. Continue reading →

Intentions

Posted on by

Recently, I read that 45% of individuals make New Year’s Resolutions and only 8% actually achieve success. Hmmm…not a friendly probability. Perhaps intentions about behavior are indeed more realistic. (Haven’t seen the statistics on that potential change. Mazanian (et al, 1998) pemazman does say stated intention to change is the most significant behavioral indicator.) My intention for 2016 is to provide content related to or about evaluation that provides you with something you didn’t have before you read the post (Point one). Examples follow: Continue reading →