...there was a group of super heroes, all of whom wanted to change the world. In a span of a few weeks, this large cohort divided into 3 divisions and decided to tackle different issues plaguing their world. Well, something like that. The truth is, this week our class was taught how powerful storytelling can be. It can transform someone's detailed, boring, tedious, data-driven (albeit super important and informative) presentation into the most exciting thing since Glee! (maybe...) The point is, I think the video that we watched in class this week was eye opening. As a graduate student, I have had many years of sitting in lecture halls and seminars being bored out of my mind (not in this program...obviously this was undergrad :P). You would think as someone on the other side of the podium, I could come up with the idea of storytelling on my own. But I suppose it's something we are never really taught. The truth is, in research, presentations are short and to the point, and you need data to back up any claims to fame you make. The concept of starting with something tangible, that everyone can relate is so simple, but so easily taken for granted. This is a great idea, and I hope to perfect the art of storytelling throughout my career. I espeically would like to work directly with communities, and this is definitely an approach I feel I should familiarize myself with.
I personally really appreciated watching that video/lecture last week. Hopefully I will put it into practice sooner rather than later, as I try to find the story behind all the data I encounter in the world of research so that I may remember the method behind the maddness of what we do...and that is to impact real people with real problems and concerns.
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