All stories are purposeful. They’re meant to entertain or inform or inspire to action. If you're a storyteller for a placemaking initiative, Ben Brown says you'd better have a happily ever after.
"On my PlaceMakers business card, my job title is 'Storyteller.' I figured a graduate degree in English and a two-decade career in journalism gave me a certain amount of credibility in that department. What I didn’t count on, however, was what the title seemed to imply to most folks. To them, I was the spin doctor."
“'We’ve got some great ideas, a really cool project,' potential clients might say. 'But people just don’t get it. Time to educate them. Win ‘em over. Go work your magic so we can get back on track.'”
"Was I wrong to be reminded of the lopsided negotiation in Cool Hand Luke?"
Brown provides a fascinating cliff notes to placemaking storytellers.
Read the full story: Plotting a Persuasive Story? Better have a happily ever after
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Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
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