Professor Barnhurst

I found Professor Barnhurst’s lecture to be interesting. However, I was not keen on his approach on introducing his topic. In a brief summary, in which Professor Meraz had given, Barnhurst specializes in sociology in adolescents, as well as several different aspects of communication. His lecture can be related to our class study on social sciences.

 Barnhurst begins his lecture by dividing the class into small groups in which each individual shares a brief story of a recent event that they had encountered. This technique brought me back to our class discussion on non-verbal message codes. Most individuals veer away from sharing their personal life events with strangers, let alone having a one on one interaction with those whom we are not accustomed to. Although Barnhurst approach on the one on one interaction helped others to open up, not every individual feels comfortable with sharing their personal life with others.

Barnhurst’s reasoning behind this activity is to introduce and educate others on the art of story telling. One of the main points underlining his lecture and one that we have discussed in class is to introduce individuals to the proper ways of telling a story. He continues on with speaking of the abstract. Every story whether told or written, has an abstract. This part of story telling is crucial because it introduces the reader and listener to what they will be informed about. The presentation of the story will lead to the effect it has on an individual’s interpretation of the material.

As we spoke of framing in previous class discussion, Barnhurst conveys that this process is what story telling is about. The way we present the story whether it is with excitement, anger, or worry it will set the mood of the event. Framing also entails an introductory phrase or sentence that will catch the reader and listener’s attention. Lastly, Professor Barnhurst mentions that an important step of story telling is the resolution. As we all know, this is the part of the story telling where everything comes together and a resolution is drawn. All of the steps above are what leads to the resolution, which is basically the conclusion of the story. I found Professor Barnhurst’s lecture on the steps to story telling to be intriguing. For myself, when writing a paper, I never think about the proper steps that should be taken when writing a story. It is always very important to figure out an approach that will spark the interest of a reader and most importantly keep them continuously interested in the story.