Course Description

Instructor: Rick Stone

Over the eight weeks of the course we'll journey together into the world of story, exploring a facet of your intelligence that you may never have considered—Story Intelligence. As far as we can tell, “story” has been around as long as humans have walked this earth. Our evolution is intimately intertwined with story. In a stair-step fashion, our brains have evolved to be powerful simulation machines, attuned to using the structure of story to make sense of our world, learn, envision possibilities, and even heal old psychic and spiritual wounds. Did our brains evolve to the point that they invented stories, or did telling stories impact how our brains grew and changed?  

Each week we’ll experience different powers of story. We have identified 7 Powers of Story: To Transport, To Communicate, To Enable Learning, To Create Meaning, To Transform, To Unite, and To Envision Possibilities. We have used these simple intellectual constructs to make sense of the complicated ways stories impact every facet of our existence. The course time will be highly interactive and engaging, with ample time for exploration, experimentation, and sharing.

My intention is that this journey into the 7 Powers of Story will enhance you personally and significantly expand your capacity to understand yourself and provide you a new lens for seeing the world. Whatever your goal, we know that by mastering the art of story and becoming the author of your highest story, you’ll be better equipped to meet whatever challenges are on your horizon.

Includes Book: Story Intelligence: Master Story, Master Life

Bio:  Richard Stone is a nationally recognized speaker on the power of story and its applications in business, healthcare, and education. He got his start over 30 years ago developing story-based training programs for team building and leadership development and has been a leader in work on narrative reminiscence. He has worked with diverse organizations such as Walt Disney Imagineering, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Hewlett Packard, Eastman Chemical Company, Kraft Foods, and Novant Health. His current work at StoryWork International is focused on using the power of story to assist leaders to transform their organizations and their approach to leading, infusing their work with deeper purpose and meaning. Richard has authored The Healing Art of Storytelling, Stories: The Family Legacy, The Kingdom of Nowt, and co-wrote The Patient Survival Handbook. His new book, co-authored with Scott Livengood, entitled Story Intelligence was released March 2021. Previously he was the StoryAnalytics Master for the IDEAS Innovation Team, a former division of the Walt Disney Company. Richard also co-created the award-winning board game Pitch-A-Story and is an accomplished artist (www.richardstoneart.com). Finally, Richard is a member of the board of PCI Media, an international organization located in New York City committed to improving health, environmental, and social justice outcomes around the world using the power of story.