Enterprise Storytelling Sessions
Summary
- Jana Sedivy (Principal, Authentic Insight): A Story about Stories (VIDEO) - Carla Pileggi (UX Architect, Design System Lead, Pitney Bowes): A Sympathy Card for a Front-End Developer (VIDEO) - Ramya Mahalingam (UX Architect, Cardinal Solutions): The Road to Being a Bridge Is Not at all Paved (VIDEO) - Audrey Crane (Partner, DesignMap): Thoughts on Vulnerability (VIDEO) - Lada Gorlenko (Director of Research, Smartsheet): Make My Day (VIDEO) - and a horror story from Adam Polansky (XD Strategist, Bottle Rocket Studios) (VIDEO)
Key Insights
-
•
Five-minute talks are harder to give and follow than 45-minute talks because they lack gradual build-up.
-
•
Audience engagement is crucial in rapid storytelling sessions to keep pace with the quick transitions.
-
•
Collaborative storytelling using alternating positive and negative frames ('fortunately'/'unfortunately') drives creativity and connection.
-
•
Volunteering participants to form a storytelling line enhances group dynamic and accountability.
-
•
Clear structure and rhythm (using keywords) help the audience stay synchronized during complex narrative exercises.
-
•
Building stories in short bursts with twists keeps the audience mentally active and entertained.
-
•
The session's success depends on both speaker preparation and audience readiness to think quickly.
-
•
Conducting warm-up vocal exercises (saying 'fortunately' and 'unfortunately') improves timing and comfort.
-
•
Ambiguity in narrative handoffs encourages creative linking between unrelated story segments.
-
•
Interactive storytelling exercises can serve as effective team-building tools in enterprise UX settings.
Notable Quotes
"It’s harder than a 45 minute talk."
"Normally you go into a talk and they build just like a story. A little bit of information, more information, more information. Here’s my point, and that’s it."
"I’m worried you aren’t up to it, frankly."
"We got to get everybody to tell stories in the whole room."
"Fortunately, that was terrible."
"Unfortunately, that was very good."
"You guys have the harder job."
"We’re going to say fortunately, and she’s going to say a sentence. Then we say unfortunately, and he’s going to say a sentence connected to that sentence."
"Watch my lips and my body language if you’re starting to lose the timing on the word."
"When the dot com bubble burst, I had a great design job. Unfortunately, it was at another dot com."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Hugh Dubberly argues we should stop describing design as problem solving and instead see it as engaged conversation."
Daniel GloydDesigning From the Inside Out: How Method Acting Can Inspire Design Research
February 12, 2026
"Butter is about consistently showing up and being present so people don’t forget you."
Deirdre Hirschtritt Cesar Paredes Marie PerrotResearch is Only as Good as the Relationships You Build
November 17, 2022
"Understaffing is consistent in design ops no matter where in the world you are."
Benjamin RealMaturity Models: A Core Tool for Creating a DesignOps Strategy
October 1, 2021
"Sometimes you need to view your career like an investor, where you invest your time for the kind of impact you want."
Max Gadney Andrea Petrucci Joshua Stehr Hannah WickesAssessing UX jobs for impact in climate
August 14, 2024
"From fast-paced tech worlds, you will appreciate the patience and perseverance it takes to move an old champion."
Lada GorlenkoTheme 1: Intro
January 8, 2024
"Within five minutes and two seconds, they just dove right in and started collaborating."
Feyikemi AkinwolemiwaPlay to innovate: How curiosity and experimentation transform UX
March 11, 2026
"If you feel uncomfortable or unsafe engaging in this community, we want to know about it."
Bria AlexanderOpening Remarks
March 29, 2023
"Processing limits and licensing terms currently restrict how much video and audio these AI tools can handle."
Llewyn Paine[Demo] Deploying AI doppelgangers to de-identify user research recordings
June 5, 2024
"OKRs help highlight intentions to leadership and open up conversations that generate alignment and support."
Bria Alexander Benson Low Natalya Pemberton Stephanie GoldthorpeOKRs—Helpful or Harmful?
January 20, 2022
