From 1001 Nights to 2001 Story Resources III: Stor e Telling 2015

Scheherazade and a Quest
by

Abu'l-Hasan Khan

Ghaffari Kashani (1814–1866)

The tale of the Persian beauty Scheherazade is one all storytellers are familiar with, a woman who saved her own life by sharing 1000 stories by the end of 1001 nights.

I began writing the Stor e Telling column for Storytelling Magazine in 2002 and since then I have reviewed well over 2001 storytelling and educational websites, as well as individual folktales, fairy tales, myths and legends.

Below are the columns I wrote in 2015, each with a synopsis to help you find what you may be seeking in case your time is limited.

At the end of the blog you will also find links to all of the columns from 2002 – 2014. At the time they were posted all of the links were active. If you find a dead link please let me know and I will do my best to find the updated source.

 

I hope you find something useful and fun to add to your storytelling repertoire or classroom, business enterprises or school curriculum. As always, I appreciate any comments you wish to share. Happy surfing! 

Stor e Telling  January February 2015: Drama

There are resources on theme of drama, folktales to celebrate the ‘roar’ of March, fairy to celebrate Tell a Fairy Tale Day and more.

http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2016/01/drama-stor-e-telling-january-february.html

Stor e Telling March April May 2015: National Storytelling Conference
Celebrate with stories! Victoria Day in Canada, Go Fishing Day in the USA, and resources to help you find your way to fun at the National Storytelling Conference in Missouri. (The conference is being held there again this year so the information will still be useful.)
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2016/01/stor-e-telling-march-april-may-2015.html

Stor e Telling June July 2015: Bilingual Storytelling

Bilingual stories and resources, including downloadable books, activities and lesson plans. Also, tales to celebrate Aunt and Uncle Day in the USA, and myths, legends, Sufi, Buddhist tales and many more.
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2016/02/bilingual-storytelling-stor-e-telling.html

Stor e Telling August September 2015: Workshops

Planning to submit a workshop proposal in 2017? You will find a number of resources to help you get that coveted ‘You have been accepted” letter. Want to offer a virtual workshop? You will find Skype three tutorials also resources to guide you through learning curve. There are also links to icebreakers, always a great tool to use in workshops. There are also stories and curriculum to celebrate Elephant Appreciation Day!
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2016/09/stor-e-telling-august-september-2015.html

Stor e Telling October November December: Fairy Tales

Of course, since the theme for this issue was fairy tales you will find three public domain books filled with wonder. There are other tales to herald World Kindness Day, delicious stories about fall apples that pack a tasty crunch, and more!
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2016/12/stor-e-telling-october-november.html

If you are interested in the previous Stor e Telling columns I posted you will find them all at the links below:

From 1001 Nights to 2001 Story Resources II: Stor e Telling 2014

http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2016/01/from-1001-nights-to-2001-story.html

From 1001 Nights to 2001 Story Resources: Stor e Telling 2013
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2014/06/from-1001-nights-to-2001-story.html

Stor e Telling Columns: 2007 to 2012 with Synopses
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/12/stor-e-telling-columns-2007-to-2012.html

In addition, all of my Stor e Telling columns in Storytelling Magazine from 2002-2006 are listed on the Publication’s Page on my website. One caveat, I have not had the opportunity to recheck all of the links; that is a project for another day. You will find a point and click extravaganza of story research here: http://storybug.net/stor-e-telling.html

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and web links may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links.  At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

Karen Chace 2017 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

Stor e Telling August September 2015: Workshops

The Pearl of the Elephant
by
Edmund Dulac, 1920

I have been remiss in continuing to share my Stor  e Telling articles from 2015. Since the conference proposal season is upon us it seems timely to post these resources from the August September 2015 issue of Storytelling Magazine.

The theme for this issue of Storytelling Magazine issue was workshops and I selected some articles, tutorials and icebreakers to help make your next workshop truly work!

If you have the time or the inclination, I would love it if you would leave a comment and let me know if this information is useful for your work. I read and respond to every comment and love hearing from you!

10 Steps To Plan a Workshop – Tips to help you design your workshop, craft an agenda, select a venue, and more.

http://workshops.350.org/toolkit/planning/

A Workbook On Designing Successful Workshops – A forty-three page booklet with detailed instructions, including work pages, to plan and conduct a successful workshops.
http://www.mcgill.ca/medicinefacdev/files/medicinefacdev/DesigningWorkshopsWorkbook.pdf

Community Toolbox: Conducting a Workshop – Helpful steps and information organize and present your workshop. There are other sections that cover organizing conferences, retreats and teleconferences.

http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/structure/training-and-technical-assistance/workshops/main

How To Run a Good Workshop – Very useful tips in a short article by bestselling author and speaker Scott Berkun.
http://scottberkun.com/2013/run-a-good-workshop/

Planning A Workshop: Organizing and Running a Successful Event
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/PlanningAWorkshop.htm

Interested in using Skype to conduct your workshops? Below are three tutorials to help you quickly climb the learning ladder.

4 Things to Help Novice Users of Virtual Meeting Tools: Making Skype Meetings Run Smoothly

https://blog.piirus.ac.uk/2015/04/17/4-things-for-skype-meetings/

Skype Tutorial – Four separate, short tutorials that will help you learn how to use Skype from beginning to end.

http://www.top-windows-tutorials.com/install-skype/

And if you prefer a video tutorial, follow this link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMAeAeyh7zM

Some sites offering icebreakers and activities to add conviviality to your workshops.

40 Icebreakers for Small Groups

http://insight.typepad.co.uk/40_icebreakers_for_small_groups.pdf

100 Ways to Energize Groups: Games to Use in Workshops, Meetings and the Community
http://www.aidsalliance.org/assets/000/001/052/ene0502_Energiser_guide_eng_original.pdf?1413808298

Partners for Your Empowerment: Workshop Activities/Icebreakers – A twenty-three page booklet chockfull of exercises.
http://pyeglobal.org/workshop-activities-icebreakers/

September 22 is Elephant Appreciation Day. Here are some stories to celebrate these gentle giants.

And Elephants Did Fly - Southern Orissa, India

http://tinyurl.com/ns7s8bl

The Blind Man and the Elephant - India

http://tinyurl.com/3hf2d

The Elephant and the Dog – Bhutan

http://tinyurl.com/njh9yoy

The Elephant and the Mahout – Magadha/Ancient India

http://tinyurl.com/pjsh6t2

Elephant and Tortoise – South Africa

http://tinyurl.com/nrk9sd6

Fearing the Wind - India

http://spiritoftrees.org/fearing-the-wind

How the Elephant Got His Tusks - Africa

http://tinyurl.com/o4eq88a

The Tortoise and the Elephant - Nigeria

http://tinyurl.com/p252edy

The Tortoise Captures the Elephant - Africa

http://tinyurl.com/k7ax99r

The Elephants Nose – India

http://tinyurl.com/p6y62ly

Story-lovers.com – More elephant information than you can shake your trunk at!

http://tinyurl.com/p78s93e

Curriculum for the classroom to complement Elephant Appreciation Day.

The Blind Man and the Elephant
https://www.peacecorps.gov/educators/resources/blind-men-and-elephant/

The Elephant Sanctuary – Two units focusing on the study of elephants offering teaching and learning activities for children grades K-8 consisting of  72 pages of instruction, background information, charts and graphs, activities, etc.
http://www.elephants.com/curriculum.php

September 7 is Labor Day in the United States. In this blog post I offer you some multicultural folktales about workers around the world to add to your repertoire. You will also find crafts, curriculum resources, and some history of the holiday.

Labor Day: A Tribute to the American Worker

http://tinyurl.com/nmp5dsa

Something Extra

The link below was not part of the original Storytelling Magazine article. However, since then I have written a new blog, Putting Your Proposal Pieces Together; I think it will be a useful complement to the above resources.
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2016/05/putting-your-proposal-pieces-together.html

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links.  At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

Karen Chace 2016 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

Putting Your Proposal Pieces Together

Each year offers us new opportunities to submit proposals for storytelling, business and educational conferences. I have been fortunate to serve on numerous proposal review committees for a variety of organizations. Those experiences helped me appreciate the process, and also taught me about the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to writing a proposal.

Whenever I attend conferences I often hear, “I wonder why my proposal wasn’t accepted.” I don’t claim to be an expert, but I thought I would offer some insights based on my committee experience. Please consider the following suggestions, offered with a gentle hand, the next time you submit a proposal.

Ask Yourself

• Is it well written? If a reviewer knows nothing about your work or the subject, would they understand your process?
• Have you submitted the same proposal for many years without offering anything new?
• If the conference has a theme does your proposal complement it?
• Did you check your spelling and grammar?
• Did you avoid profession specific terminology that might confuse a reviewer? Example: A non-storyteller might not understand the definition of OLIO.
• If you presented at the same conference in the past, were you flexible to work with, both before and during the conference? 
• Did you follow through? Examples:

1. Sending your signed contract back on time.
2. Registering for the conference on time.
3. Did you respond to queries from the conference coordinator in a timely fashion? 
4. If it was a requirement of your contract did you promote the conference, and your workshop? (Organizers do notice.)

Submission Guidelines

1. Did you provide a workshop outline?
2. Did you provide a timeline breakdown for your presentation? For example: % of lecture,
3.  % for Q & A, % of participation. (Note: One and two are not the same.)
4. Is your math correct for the above? Do your percentages equal 100%?
5. Did you adhere to the word limit for your bio/outline/workshop description/resume?
6. Did you offer complete references, including their contact information?
7. Did you indicate where you have presented before if requested? Don’t state, "I have
8.  presented at conferences around the country” and assume that is sufficient.
9. Did you request equipment the organizers stated it could not provide?

Conversely

• Don't send a resume if it is not requested. Reviewers do not have the time to read more.
• Don't add quotes from other workshop participants unless requested. Again, reviewers don't have the time to read more.
• Don’t submit a four-hour proposal and state, “I can also do this as a 90-minute presentation if necessary.” Instead, send in a second, full proposal for the 90-minute time slot. Reviewers want to know what will be different in a shorter and/or longer time slot.
• Don't ask for a deadline extension.  The conference organizers are usually on a very tight timetable and the deadline is there for a reason.
• Don’t use a variety of ink colors, fonts, and font sizes on your proposal; it makes it difficult for the reviewers to read.
• Don’t offer a link to your website in place of requested information; answer the questions.

Additional words of advice from two experienced conference coordinators:

• Send your proposal in at least a week before the deadline when possible. Organizers dread receiving a flood of applications on the last day. (Shared by Karen Wollscheid)
• Send your entire proposal attached to one email. Do not send each page separately. (Shared by Linda Gorham)
  
  

Before You Submit 

• Review it again.
• Make sure all of the questions are answered.
• Check the spelling, word count, and grammar.
• Ask someone who doesn't know your work to read over your proposal. A second set of eyes is always helpful to catch spelling errors and ambiguities. 
• If you have time, let it sit for a day and then review it again before you hit the 'send' button.

Examples from Actual Proposals

Applicant: 

• ran out of room on the first page, which was handwritten. Instead of attaching a second page they wrote around the edge of the first page, in circular fashion, numerous times.
• attached a letter indicating their displeasure at not being selected the previous year.
• offered only names in the reference section stating, “You know how to reach them.”
• stated “If you don’t like this proposal, I have others” and offered only the titles of the other workshops.
• stated they deserved to be selected because “I am a long-standing member of the professional community.”
• chastised the conference organizers, on their proposal form, for not offering expensive equipment they needed for their presentation.
• submitted a poorly written, very incomplete proposal assuming their previous work and reputation would suffice. This was submitted after the deadline.

Your proposal tells reviewers a lot about you as a presenter, your professionalism, and the way your workshop might flow. If you are not paying attention to the proposal guidelines, deadlines, and other requirements, what else might fall by the wayside? Remember, there are always a number of reviewers on the committee, and they may have no knowledge of you or your work. Always assume you are making a first impression and make it a good one.

You may do everything right and still not be selected to present your work. Don’t take it personally. Some years your proposal may not be a good fit with the overall arc of the conference. Other times you may need to ask yourself, what can I do differently next year?

SOMETHING EXTRA

Remember, when you do receive that coveted acceptance letter your work has just begun. These articles will help you prepare and polish your presentation!

5 Surefire Ways To Ruin Your Presentation
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-surefire-ways-ruin-your-presentation-duane-cummings

18 Tips for Killer Presentations

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/18-tips-for-killer-presentations.html

Developing a Presentation: Design & Delivery

http://www.naepnet.org/page/NAEPSPKRResource3

Presentation Tips
https://www.washington.edu/doit/presentation-tips-0 

Presentation Tips: 20 Tips from 20 People

https://outwittrade.com/presentation-tips/

Top Tips for Effective Presentations

http://www.skillsyouneed.com/present/presentation-tips.html

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and web links may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links.  At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

Karen Chace 2016 © Updated 2023

Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to this blog post via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

Storytelling, Music and Fun, Oh My!!

I am excited and honored I am honored to be one of the performers at the 10th Annual Mohegan Storytelling and Music Festival in Crompond, NY on August 14, 2010. How can you go wrong with storytellers like Michael Parent, Carol Birch, The Storycrafters, Johnathan Kruk and more?

Let's make this a fabulous 10th Anniversary for the festival and all of the dedicated workers who make it happen.


Date: Saturday, August 14, 2010
Workshop: 10:00 am - Noon
Performances 12:30 P.M. - 10:30 P.M.
Audience: Families and Adults







Location/Directions: 99 Baron de Hirsch Rd, Crompond, NY 10517 Off Lexington Avenue, between Routes 6 and 202

Additional Information: For Workshop Registration, Volunteer Opportunities and more call Ellen Monten
914-528-5830 or Judith Heineman 312-925-0439.

For more details go to http://www.storycircleatproctors.org/hv/mohegan/ or email Judith Heineman at juhestories@aol.com  Funded by the Westchester Arts Council

The festival will go on rain or shine but why don't you pack some of your own sunshine and stories and meet us there!