Robert John John Garmston 
The Astonishing Power of Storytelling [PDF ebook] 
Leading, Teaching, and Transforming in a New Way

Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Author and Illustrator
PART I: WHY STORIES WORK
1. Why Tell Stories
Communication Suffocation
Leading Through Narrative
Watch A Story Being Told
How Storytelling Began
2. The Neuroscience of Narrative
Story Worth Watching
Stories Arouse Cooperative Instincts
$$$ The Million-Dollar Story
Desired-State Stories
PART II: FIND, DESIGN, AND DELIVER YOUR STORY
3. Finding Personal Stories
Story Categories
Locating Personal Story Material
Stories About Your Organization
Finding Your Personal Stories
4. Other Story Sources
Six Story Sources
Biographies
Films and Television
Histories
Literature
Stories Unique to a Particular Culture
Two Stories Worth Watching
Metaphor Stories
5. Why Are Metaphors Important?
How Metaphors Are Processed
Right Hemisphere Engagement
Four Uses of Metaphor
Teach Concepts
Generate Ideas
Empower
Go Beyond Logic
Subtexts of Metaphor
6. Desirable Story Features
Engaging Openings
Have a Beginning, Middle, and End
Use Present Tense
Use Sensory Images
Include Tensions
Embed Conflict
Create Voices
Use Memorable Closings
Seven Steps to Preparing a New Story
7. Delivering Your Story
Animation
Stand Like You Are Credible
Centering
Vocal Variety
Intentional Movement
Story Worth Watching
Use Questions to Invite the Audience In
PART III: CHANGING BEHAVIORS WITH STORY
8. Promote Change: Story Structure and Examples
Desired State
Resistance
Applying the Desired-State Map: Three Examples
1. Shouting at a Parent
2. Bear in the Cage
3. A Strong, Yet Delicate Rose
Presume Positive Intentions
9. Meet Groups Where They Are
Pacing
Indirect Suggestions
What Listeners Experience
10. Design for the Intuitive Mind
Invoking Receptivity
Beyond Waking Awareness
Story Elements for Subliminal Processes
Pacing
Misdirection
Artfully Vague Language
Tensions
Indirect Suggestions
11. How Two Stories Changed Behaviors
General Components of a Well-Formed Story
Factual Specificity
Presentation Congruity
Audience Appropriateness
Elicits Empathy
Contains Submerged Moral or Point of View
Creates Internal Representations
Bypasses Protective Filters
Parallels the Audience’s Situation
Lingers on Point of Irresolution
Marks Embedded Commands
Offers Resolutions
12. In Conclusion
Story Catalog
Organizing the Stories
Shifting Perceptions
Inviting Learning
Inspiring Action
Seeking Desired States
Guide to Story Locations
APPENDIX
Worksheet 1: Metaphor Subtexts
Worksheet 2: Anatomy of Desired-State Stories
Worksheet 3: Constructing a Desired-State Story
Poetry Referenced in the Preface
Storytelling Study Companion
References
Index

Robert J. Garmston is Emeritus Professor of Educational Administration at California State University, Sacramento. He is co-developer of Cognitive Coaching with Art Costa and co-developer of Adaptive Schools with Bruce Wellman. He has worked as an educational consultant and made presentations and conducted workshops for teachers, administrators, and staff developers on leadership, learning, and personal and organizational development in twenty-four countries on five continents. Formerly an administrator and teacher in Saudi Arabia and the United States, his work has been translated into Arabic, Dutch, Hebrew, Italian, and Spanish. Bob lives in El Dorado Hills, California, near his five children and five (bright and cute) grandchildren.