Sharing information vs. sharing our stories

Step 1. Review the following profile A

Researcher Biography

Stephen Thorpe is a PhD student at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) in Auckland, New Zealand. He is a facilitator specialising in the online domain who has been researching online groups over the last 7 years. Stephen is responsible for the IT functional area for Zenergy, a New Zealand based group of facilitators, mediators and transformational coaches. Working with Zenergy, Stephen is researching ways to enhance the effectiveness of online groups. His PhD explores facilitation as a vital domain in assisting online groups with a focus on the benefit of story and narrative in online relationship development. Stephen holds a Bachelor of Business with First Class Honours from AUT where he has a background researching computer-assisted group work as part of a team who researched, developed and commercialised a multi-site interactive digital whiteboard. Stephen has also developed CD-ROM based tutorials for online training and has been a part-time lecturer teaching Computing, Globalisation and Business Information Management on the Bachelor of Business Degree. Stephen is a member of the International Association of Facilitators (IAF) and Global Facilitators Service Corps (GFSC) and has co-written a chapter on Facilitator Values and Ethics in the IAF Handbook of Group Facilitation with Dr. Dale Hunter. Stephen is also an Associate Editor of the IAF's Group Facilitation Journal.

Step 2. Answer these questions about the personal profile

Question 1. On a scale of 1-7, how close do you feel to this person after reading their personal profile?

1.Very Close

2. Close

3. Somewhat close

4. Neither close nor far

5. Somewhat far

6. Far

7. Very far

Question 2. What aspects, if any, of the person's attitudes, values, personality traits or concerns can you see in this profile?

Question 3. What are the points of connection, if any, between this person and yourself?

Question 4. What aspects of this personal profile contribute to your level trust and safety with this person?



Question 5. Other comments

Step 3. Review the following introduction email A

First let me introduce myself.

I am a Pakeha New Zealander which means I am not of Maori descent (Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand). My name is Stephen Thorpe and my heritage is Irish, Scots and English. My family has been in New Zealand 7 generations on my father's side and 3-4 on my mother's. It took my forbearers 90 days grueling travel in sailing ships to get here. Storytelling is a bit of a family trait. The ability to tell a good yarn or make others laugh is well prized in my family 'Having the Blarney'. I go to Toastmasters and enjoy creating story speeches that make people laugh. I'm currently in training for the Auckland marathon (coming up next weekend) and am enjoying reading Patrick O'Brian's historical novels at the moment - you might have seen the movie Master and Commander; it's the guy who wrote that.

I have been interested in group facilitation since early 2001 through lecturing at AUT and coming to work at Zenergy, a New Zealand-based facilitation, mediation, coaching and facilitation training company. I ran a workshop on online facilitation that year in Brisbane at the Australasian Facilitators network conference. I also became quite involved in the IAF Ethics and Values Think Tank and traveled with Dale Hunter to the IAF Conference in Texas in May 2002. I met many facilitators there and learnt a lot about the different styles and approaches to facilitation from all around the world. I have co-authored a chapter in the IAF Handbook with Dale, become involved in the Global Facilitators Service Corps and more recently become an Associate Editor of the Group Facilitation Journal.

I first came to appreciate the impact that story can have in an online group in late 2000. It was in a discussion group I facilitated with fellow students traveling to a conference in the United Arab Emirates. Students in my group came from Australia, Japan, Bolivia, Mexico, USA, Jamaica, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, Thailand, Brazil, Pakistan, India, Lebanon and South Africa. Many did not have English as their first language. Our conversations quickly moved beyond the conference and I began to notice that strong relationships were being developed across our national borders, across our cultures, across our religions and even across languages as emails were translated and sent between us.

It was the stories that we told and shared that had somehow given us a really powerful human connection. The engaging stories that showed who we were, what we had experienced and who we aspired to be - they really brought us all together. Slowly, as I learnt more about group facilitation, my interest in this topic developed into a research project, and getting together with others who are engaged with facilitating online groups seemed the natural next step. That's what has motivated me to initiate the project with you and other online facilitators.

Introducing myself in this way, beginning with my ethnicity and heritage, is a very New Zealand way of introducing oneself. How do you like to introduce yourself?

Step 4. Answer these questions about the email introduction

Question 1. On a scale of 1-7, how close do you feel to this person after reading their email introduction

1. Very close

2. Close

3. Somewhat close

4. Neither close nor far

5. Somewhat far

6. Far

7. Very far

Question 2. What aspects, if any, of the person's attitudes, values, personality traits or concerns can you see in this profile?

Question 3. What are the points of connection, if any, between this person and yourself?



Question 4. What aspects of this personal profile contribute to your level trust and safety with this person?



Question 5. Other comments

Step 5. Answer these comparative questions

Question 1. If someone was introducing themselves to your group, which of these two approaches would you prefer?

Profile introduction

Email introduction

Question 2. Why do you choose that preference?



Question 3. What impact does having a photo in the profile have on your impression of this person?

Question 4. What other information would you like to know about this person?



Question 5. Other comments

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