Talking Story

Starting new conversations in the workplace!

  • Rosa’s Books
  • ManagingWithAloha.com
  • RosaSay.com

Why Talking Story?

April 4, 2005 by Rosa Say

Today I have a work session scheduled with my webmaster, the gentleman who had initially helped me get SayLeadershipCoaching.com up and running. I’ve been looking forward to it, for much has happened since then and I’m embarrassed to say there are several updates that are long overdue.

I was getting my plans to some semblance of organized thought yesterday, and it occurred to me that with the way I just jumped into blogging (this was my very first post, with no lead in at all) I had never told all of you why I decided to call my blog Talking Story.

Talking Story is very much a nod to my native Hawaiian culture, and hence my long-standing, deeply ingrained management style — get people together and talk about what needs to be done. Perhaps that’s another reason why I’ve always liked having meetings and am so comfortable in group forums.

I wrote about “talking story” in Managing with Aloha on page 147, explaining why the phrase appears so much in my writing:

“Unfortunately, our Hawaiian ancestors did not pen a written history of our islands. Information was passed generation to generation verbally, with the ‘ÅŒlelo (the language and spoken word) and in storytelling. Today there is much effort in our Hawaiian renaissance to record what we know of our past history before the KÅ«puna (the elders) forget and can no longer tell it to us.

Still today, for us to communicate and dialogue is to “talk story.” There is so very much I personally have learned from the ‘ōlelo form of teaching, perhaps most of all that anyone who speaks has the potential to be my teacher. I only need listen as well as I can, quieting the voices in my own head.”

Talking story is a highly effective management tool: it promotes personal communication that is familiar, comfortable, intimate and complete. If I had to choose the best advice I offer you in Managing with Aloha there is no question it would be The Daily Five Minutes, concisely described as a more organized and strategic form of talking story with someone. The Daily Five Minutes is not just for the manager-to-employee relationship; it can be used with your peers, with your own boss, and in your family.

I remember walking my rounds at Hualalai Resort one day when a UPS delivery guy came up to me and said, “Hi Rosa, can we take 5?” My surprise at hearing it come from someone that was not one of our employees must have shown on my face, for the next thing he said was,

“I really need your help with a delivery challenge I’m having here, and when I mentioned it to one of the retail clerks they said ‘Rosa goes into instant good-listening mode when you tell her you need to take 5 with her.’ He told me I wasn’t being very smart to just keep this inside, letting it get to me. Will you help me?”

So back to Talking Story ” When it was first turned on, I was very pleased with how SayLeadershipCoaching.com turned out except for one thing. Something was missing, and that was the ability to talk story with my customer. One-way communication just doesn’t compute well in my brain. When I discovered the comment conversations in blogs, I knew I’d found what I needed to complement and complete my “static” website: my customers could talk back! Thus the full name for my blog, Talking Story with Say Leadership Coaching.

So what do you say? Don’t keep it inside, let’s talk story.

Filed Under: MWA Key 5: Language of Intention Tagged With: conversation, Language of Intention, talking story

Search Talking Story your way

RSS Current Articles at Managing with Aloha:

  • In favor of Wage Equity as our Core Standard
  • The Thrill of Work
  • Evolve into a manager
  • Self-Coaching Exercises in the Self-Leadership of Alaka‘i
  • Do it—Experiment!
  • Hō‘imi to Curate Your Life’s Experience
  • Kaʻana i kāu aloha: Share your Aloha

Search Talking Story by Category

Talking Story Article Archives

  • July 2016 (1)
  • April 2012 (1)
  • March 2012 (6)
  • February 2012 (6)
  • January 2012 (10)
  • December 2011 (1)
  • November 2011 (4)
  • October 2011 (17)
  • September 2011 (8)
  • August 2011 (6)
  • July 2011 (2)
  • June 2011 (2)
  • May 2011 (4)
  • April 2011 (12)
  • March 2011 (16)
  • February 2011 (16)
  • January 2011 (23)
  • December 2010 (4)
  • November 2010 (1)
  • October 2010 (1)
  • September 2010 (4)
  • August 2010 (1)
  • July 2010 (4)
  • June 2010 (13)
  • May 2010 (17)
  • April 2010 (18)
  • March 2010 (13)
  • February 2010 (18)
  • January 2010 (16)
  • December 2009 (12)
  • November 2009 (15)
  • October 2009 (20)
  • September 2009 (20)
  • August 2009 (17)
  • July 2009 (16)
  • June 2009 (13)
  • May 2009 (3)
  • April 2009 (19)
  • March 2009 (18)
  • February 2009 (21)
  • January 2009 (26)
  • December 2008 (31)
  • November 2008 (19)
  • October 2008 (8)
  • September 2008 (11)
  • August 2008 (11)
  • July 2008 (10)
  • June 2008 (16)
  • May 2008 (1)
  • March 2008 (17)
  • February 2008 (24)
  • January 2008 (13)
  • December 2007 (10)
  • November 2007 (6)
  • July 2007 (27)
  • June 2007 (23)
  • May 2007 (13)
  • April 2007 (19)
  • March 2007 (17)
  • February 2007 (14)
  • January 2007 (15)
  • December 2006 (14)
  • November 2006 (16)
  • October 2006 (13)
  • September 2006 (29)
  • August 2006 (14)
  • July 2006 (19)
  • June 2006 (19)
  • May 2006 (12)
  • April 2006 (11)
  • March 2006 (14)
  • February 2006 (14)
  • January 2006 (7)
  • December 2005 (15)
  • November 2005 (27)
  • October 2005 (22)
  • September 2005 (38)
  • August 2005 (31)
  • July 2005 (34)
  • June 2005 (32)
  • May 2005 (27)
  • April 2005 (28)
  • March 2005 (36)
  • February 2005 (33)
  • January 2005 (35)
  • December 2004 (13)
  • November 2004 (24)
  • October 2004 (22)
  • September 2004 (28)
  • August 2004 (8)

Copyright © 2021 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in