Circle of the 9 Muses

Chapter 10

Use this when you want a fast, energizing, and visual method for quickly reconstructing your memory of a big story that has happened in the past, or use it to surface compelling stories from your history that you might otherwise never have thought of.

For this exercise you will need:

• Blank copier or printer paper so that each participant has at least one sheet. Legal-sized paper (8.5 × 14) works best, but if that is not available, then standard letter-sized (8.5 × 11) will work, too.
• If you have plenty of table space, flip chart pages are even better. If space is an issue, some participants may be willing to take off their shoes and get down on the floor to work.
• Markers or pens for each participant. Multiple colors are good.

This process is, possibly, the easiest to facilitate in Circle of the 9 Muses.It brings together a very basic exercise in visual thinking that will help people reconstruct their memories of events in the past in a way that is intuitive and meaningful. Additionally, it works as a story-mining process because the timeline reveals many substories that are worthy of closer exploration.

Identify the Story You Want to Tell

A Visual Timeline is a classic storytelling device in which you or your team will reconstruct the story of a past event by drawing a dynamic line that depicts the ups and downs of the event.

You'll begin by identifying the ...