Why are we so obsessed with “storytelling”?

In education, we talk about it when we’re working on language and reading comprehension.

It’s also referred to in sales and copy writing as a tool for generating more leads and customers. And of course, people writing books or films think about it all the time.

We all know storytelling is an important life skill. But do we remember HOW MUCH it can impact our ability to communicate and function?

And do we know how to support students who don’t have this skill?

I invited my colleague Jane Gebers to the De Facto Leaders podcast to discuss this topic.

If you’re helping students build skills for functional daily tasks, challenging academic work, or in social situations, you won’t want to miss this conversation.

In this first half of the interview, we talk about the “why” behind teaching narrative discourse, plus specific examples of how we’ve both used narrative structure to build our own comprehension.

Jane L. Gebers is the author of the popular resource, Books Are for Talking, Too!, first published in 1990, and now in its 4th edition as of March 2023. A practicing speech-language pathologist for over 40 years, she has worked in public school, hospital, private, and clinical settings. She has been an adjunct professor at St. Mary’s College of California and other universities where she taught Language Development, Assessment, and Intervention courses to students pursuing special education credentials. She currently holds a private practice in Northern California.

You can connect with Jane on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-l-gebers-53856119/

Email her at jane@soundingyourbest.com

Learn more about her book, Books Are For Talking, Too! here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C2SG8J58?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_RR4P3SB19A92WD6FPD3R

Learn more about her storytelling resources and speech therapy services on her website here: http://soundingyourbest.com/

In this episode, I mentioned Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives speech pathologists a framework for building language skills needed to thrive in school, social situations, and daily life. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy

I also mentioned the Art and Science of Narrative Language, my program that gives speech pathologists and educational professionals a process for evaluating and supporting narrative language. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.lpages.co/art-science-narratives-blog-297/

Show sample for 9/12/23: ENTITY INTENSITY