An analysis of Texan oral narratives that focuses on the significance of their social context. Although the tales are all from Texas, they are considered representative of oral storytelling traditions in their relationships between story, performance and event.

So, you’ve got a story to sell . . . “A great resource” for business or social occasions from an Emmy winner and storytelling coach (Samantha Harris, cohost of Dancing with the Stars and author of Your Healthiest Healthy). 2021 International Book Awards finalist in Self-Help: Motivational #1 New Release in Speech and Public Speaking Learn the art of telling stories and make the sale, land the client, propose a toast, or impress a date. Corey Rosen is an Emmy Award–winning writer and actor with years of experience as a skilled storytelling coach, and his book is jam-packed with some of the best storytelling strategies out there. We’ve all got stories to tell-but how do you make your story the best? Here, the Moth Radio Hour veteran and master teacher conveys the best techniques from improvisational theater to design an accessible guide for all ages and skill levels. Crafted to help ordinary people tell extraordinary stories, this laugh-out-loud handbook covers everything from how to tell a good story to going off script. Learn how to sell yourself through the art of telling stories. The best storytelling uses improvisation to enthrall, entertain, and keep audiences on edge. Laugh along with tales of performance triumphs (and disasters) and explore ways to develop confidence and spontaneity. From brainstorming and development to performance and memorization techniques, learn how to tell a good story with: A variety of structures and editing approaches to bring out your best story Improv exercises to stimulate creativity without feeling foolish Quick and easy lessons on building stories Resources for putting on a showcase to tell your story “Let Corey Rosen teach you how good-humored authentic story sharing, in any social and cultural context, beats those nasty public lying contests every time.” —Nancy Mellon, author of Storytelling and the Art of Imagination “I know I will return to it again and again for ideas, inspiration, and entertainment.” —Samantha Harris

The socially minded linguistic study of storytelling in everyday life has been rapidly expanding. This book provides a critical engagement with this dynamic field of narrative studies, addressing long-standing questions such as definitions of narrative and views of narrative structure but also more recent preoccupations such as narrative discourse and identities, narrative language, power and ideologies. It also offers an overview of a wide range of methodologies, analytical modes and perspectives on narrative from conversation analysis to critical discourse analysis, to linguistic anthropology and ethnography of communication. The discussion engages with studies of narrative in multiple situational and cultural settings, from informal-intimate to institutional. It also demonstrates how recent trends in narrative analysis, such as small stories research, positioning analysis and sociocultural orientations, have contributed to a new paradigm that approaches narratives not simply as texts, but rather as complex communicative practices intimately linked with the production of social life.

This book presents a perspective on genre based on what it is that leads users of a language to recognise a communicative event as an instance of a particular genre. Key notions in this perspective are those of prototype, inheritance, and intertextuality; that is, the extent to which a text is typical of the particular genre, the qualities or properties that are inherited from other instances of the communicative event, and the ways in which a text is influenced by other texts of a similar kind. The texts which form the basis of this discussion are drawn from experimental research reporting in English. Contents: 1. Introduction 2. Approaches to genre 3. Genre and frames 4. A sample analysis: Writing up research 5. Summary and conclusions.

Learn the lessons of elite athletes to reach your full potential From acclaimed psychologist Anthony Klarica, The Performance Mindset: 7 steps to success in sport and life reveals the lessons of high-performing athletes and shows how you can build strategies to apply for greater success in sport, business or in your personal life. High performers are made, not born. High performance occurs through putting a careful and deliberate focus on growing mindset, and science proves that high-performers intentionally build these mindset skills and habits to maximise their opportunities. Talent and hard work are simply not enough. Through candid, in-depth interviews and stories from a wide variety of Australian athletes, you’ll learn how to: harness and maintain your motivation become resilient stay focussed and present lead yourself and others protect your mental health and wellbeing. Natural talent doesn’t necessarily equal high performance. With The Performance Mindset: 7 steps to success in sport and life, you’ll discover how to unleash your inner-champion and realise your full and unbridled potential, whether in sport, in business, or in life.

Jeffrey C. Alexander brings together new and leading contributors to make a powerful and coherently argued case for a new direction in cultural sociology, one that focuses on the intersection between performance, ritual and social action. Performance has always been used by sociologists to understand the social world but this volume offers the first systematic analytical framework based on the performance metaphor to explain large-scale social and cultural processes. From September 11, to the Clinton/Lewinsky affair, to the role of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Social Performance draws on recent work in performative theory in the humanities and in cultural studies to offer a novel approach to the sociology of culture. Inspired by the theories of Austin, Derrida, Durkheim, Goffman, and Turner, this is a path-breaking volume that makes a major contribution to the field. It will appeal to scholars and students alike.

This market-leading practical text helps student teachers develop their confidence, understanding and skills to effectively and authentically teach arts. With a strong balance between theory and practice, Delivering Authentic Arts Education outlines the true nature of the key learning area of arts education and its importance in the curriculum, emphasising the arts as forms of creative activity, meaning-making and expression in a cultural context. Initial chapters discuss how to recognise and build on existing artistic abilities and pedagogical skills, how to encourage children’s creativity, how to lead arts appreciation experiences, and the general principles of planning and assessment. Part 2 specifically examines the five arts areas: dance, drama, media arts, music and visual arts. The final part of the text, Units of Inquiry, contains valuable sample learning activities and resources that demonstrate how to plan an effective lesson within a unit of inquiry.