Stories Lived. Stories Told.

What is the difference between leaning in and opting out of conversations that feel tricky to navigate? When we do not feel that we understand the beliefs that someone holds, how can we stay in conversation and push through to find the story behind that belief, which inevitably gives us the best chance at finding shared understanding? How can we make small (but significant) changes in our language...

Who are you inviting to your table? Who or what do you need to disinvite?  What changes if we really start to believe that communication is not just about talking? How can we create change simply by listening and paying attention? How can we find a balance between advocating for our own stories and making space for the very different stories of others? How can we learn to collaborate with others r...

What are the possibilities of communication? What are the limits? How does understanding both bring us peace about what is outside of our control? How can we seek to “respond” instead of “reacting”? What is the difference between “responding” and “reacting”? What if we let go of the idea of trying to control the way that others communicate and instead focus on controlling our own communication in...

Please be aware that this conversation contains discussion of suicide, addiction, and mental illness. … How might we use the Theory of Positive Disintegration and CMM to equip ourselves to lean into the challenge of deconstructing and reconstructing our values? What makes you feel empowered to take control of your own narrative? How can you seek out language, tools, and community that encourages t...

What is Giftedness? What is Overexcitability? What is the Theory of Positive Disintegration? What if we stopped trying to “fix” ourselves and started trying to change the world around us instead? How can we start to challenge the framework we have about cognition and emotion? How can we work together to co-create a new framework that honors emotions better? ... Dr. Chris Wells is a writer, social...

Why is language so important? How does language empower us in our creation of social worlds? How can we let go of a scarcity mindset in favor of a mindset of abundance? How can we see the stories of others as adding something important rather than taking something away from us? What does it actually look like to make more space for people and their stories? How can we start to recognize the system...

What is “multicultural competence”? And why do we need it? What are the real ways that we can embrace the complexity of our experiences?  How do we manage an ever-evolving social world? … Dr. Paul Porter is the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) . Like Abbie, Paul graduated from Ball State University and was a member of the Ball State...

How can we recognize the complexity of our social worlds by understanding the role of humor in moments of pain, suffering, and oppression? How might we make space for stories that are different than our own? And how might we begin to see all stories as contributing to the never-ending story of what it means to be human? What does it mean for people to "have the necessities they need for the o...

What is the role of data in our lives? How does data tell a story? How can we better understand it and use it ethically to create a better social world? How does humor allow us to subvert expectations in a way that is empowering? What can we change when we begin to believe this? How can we deepen our understanding of political events by using a communication perspective to consider meaning-making,...

How do we do ourselves a disservice by oversimplifying grief and limiting what we consider to be "appropriate" responses and "acceptable" expressions of it?  Instead of saying, "let me know what I can do to help," how can we answer our own question by using our empathy and creativity to show up for the people we love in the depths of grief?  What does it do for us to...

How do we find peace when there is no sense to be made of our pain?  What can we do to lean into a more complex understanding of loss and grief?  How can we trade platitudes like "everything happens for a reason" for a deeper understanding of the way pain and joy can coexist in our lives? ... Dr. Michelle Colpean is a communication professor at the University of Cincinnati. She received...

Why does a fear of the unknown keep us from leaning into the hard conversations and experiences around death and dying? How can we hold onto the things we can control so that we can feel steady enough to keep leaning into this big thing that we can't? How can we let go of unhelpful stories and write new ones for ourselves by learning better ways to recognize the deeply human pain we feel arou...

How can we embrace celebrating every part of ourselves (even the parts we don't feel like celebrating) as a way to recognize our full humanity? What connection happens when we share our most vulnerable parts with others, especially when we are still in the middle of figuring them out?  How can we make time to pursue creation (in any of its many forms) as a way to "check-in" with our...

How do we create meaning through shared language in every space? Why is it helpful to ask ourselves if what we know is being "Confirmed," "Challenged," or "Changed"? What does it look like to set boundaries that allow us to say our "Best Yes"? ... Stephanie Higgs is, above all else, a passionate educator. Since graduating with her Master's Degree in Edu...

How can we celebrate our own individuality (and the individuality of others) by being honest about our needs, finding unique ways to meet them, and saying out loud the things we appreciate about each other? How can we celebrate children's individuality in school settings and beyond? What happens when we learn, not only how to tell our own story, but to hear the stories of others as well? Why...

Hi. My name is Abbie, this is Stories Lived. Stories Told. and here’s what I know... Everything in our social world is created through communication—communication being the stories we live, the stories we tell, and all the other stories in between; it's the patterns we find ourselves in, the contexts that affect us, the meaning we make, the questions we ask, and how we listen; it’s the choice...

How do we balance looking back, looking forward, and staying present in our stories? How do the stories we tell shape us? But more importantly, how do the stories that we DO NOT tell also shape us? How can we have more empathy and compassion for others by reminding ourselves that we all have Untold Stories? ... In this final Minisode of Season 1, Abbie talks about the complex place that she (and m...

How does fulfilling basic needs through sustainable agriculture also create space for economic freedom, social justice, and personal dignity in Africa? How is Aline’s work building bridges—for the future and for right now? What does it do for a society to nurture young people, open itself up to innovation, and reject the idea of a “single story”? ... Aline Mugisho is the Executive Manager of the I...

***Content Warning: Mentions of Sexual Violence*** ... How do we understand the parts of our story that we didn't have control over?  How do we heal our communities and ourselves by empowering others?  How do we create the space for innovation when our society is built on injustice and inequality? ... Aline Mugisho is the Executive Manager of the Innovative Youth in Agriculture Project at the...

***Content Warning: Mentions of Sexual Abuse*** ... How can you change the moment in the moment?  We know what we don’t want to be…. but what do we want to be? What else can you listen for? ... John shares his practice for unfreezing yourself when someone kills your imagination; the things he has learned from those he works with, including the resoluteness of the human spirit and experiencing real...

What does it mean to be aware of our communication? How do we become actively engaged? Can we learn to recognize, acknowledge, note, and be present to our communication in a gentle and neutral way? How do we control our patterns instead of the other way around? What are we swimming in? ... Abbie discusses how it might be easier to go on autopilot when it comes to how we communicate, but the way to...

Why are the hardest stories to tell the ones we most need to hear? How do we balance the stories that others tell about us vs. the stories we tell about ourselves? When is blame a resource? When is hope a problem? What does it mean to take a "not knowing position?"  ... Today, John shares when he first became a storyteller and why it is important to take the risk of sharing your real, no...

What does it mean that we "create meaning?" How can we reframe? ... Abbie explains trying out different meanings like trying on a new pair of glasses; bringing attached meaning into the light by saying it out loud and what it can look like to bring others into the conversation and how we can be empowered to do it; and shares one more example for making meaning, managing meaning, and coor...

Why does it matter how we show up as listeners in conversation? What does it mean to create a space for deeper connection? How can we "listen to others the way that we want to be listened to?" ... Abbie discusses seeing our communication as a dialogue, instead of a monologue;   becoming conscious of the subconscious with Active Listening; and moving from hearing to listening, listening t...

Why does it matter how we talk about climate action? How does better language inspire better action? ... Today, Miriam shares her story, including all the challenges that led her to be where (and who) she is now. Abbie and Miriam discuss the lessons, people, and experiences that transformed Miriam from a concerned citizen to a "climate action warrior" and how Miriam is using her platform...