TPiT Team Training

Transforming People into Teams
Effective Communication and Team Building through Personal Narrative

~ 90-Minute Discovery Workshop ~

Got Team?

     • Do personal prejudices affect working relationships?

     • Are some people's actions difficult to understand?

     • Would you rather belong to a group or a team?

The Challenge
We form impressions of people all the time. It's part of human nature. We do it without thinking. Often our impressions (i.e., judgments) are not only wrong, but they can undermine a productive working relationship and interfere with effective communication.

This is a true story:

     He was arrogant, self-centered and he wasn't very respectful of others. I didn't like him.  His name was Bruce and he was the Vice President. One time he joked about an overweight employee warning that, if I ever did something that displeased her, she would "sit on me." Admittedly, I laughed. But I knew on the inside what he said was not only unkind, but wrong. Even though he was my boss, I avoided unnecessary contact with him.
     Sometime later, Bruce was transferred to Texas. I was glad to see him go. Soon after he moved, I learned about an accident involving Bruce and his baby-sitter. There had been a heavy rain and Bruce was taking his child's baby-sitter home. The car in which they were riding was swept off the road by a flooding stream. Bruce swam to the baby-sitter and helped her to safety. He was swept away and drowned. When I heard this, my impression of Bruce shifted dramatically and immediately.
     I had judged Bruce incorrectly because I didn't know him. And it adversely affected our working together. I wish that I had taken the time to know him better.

Personal narratives illuminate our lives.
In this workshop, you'll experience first hand how powerful personal narratives can be. You'll learn techniques that can be used everyday to gain greater understanding of people's actions and ultimately improve communication.

The Solution
Everyday conversation isn't enough.
In order to overcome our nature to judge others, we need to re-learn one of the most basic methods of communication, the personal narrative.

Transforming People into Teams demonstrates how effective the personal narrative can be. It is not normal conversation. The workshop gives every participant a chance to share a memory without any interruption, questioning or correction. And it will give you the chance to listen without distractions or thinking ahead to what you'll say next.
It will change the way you think about your colleagues and co-workers. It might even change your life.

The Workshop
Duration: Approximately 90 minutes.
Fee: $35.00 due with registration. Group rates available.
Class Size: Program size is limited to 12 participants.
For information: E-mail bill@gurnon.org or call (952) 226-6004.
To review the WORKSHOP OUTLINE, click here.

What Others Are Saying

  — I learned how to “connect with people in a meaningful way.”

  — T.P.i.T. is “enlightening and informative.”

  — I discovered how " how common experiences help forge community."

The Presenter

Bill Gurnon is an experienced facilitator who consistently receives the highest ratings from workshop attendees. He has been studying the craft of storytelling for over 10 years. Working with a troupe of storytellers, Bill has performed many times at the Northfield Arts Guild Theater. His stories have aired on Minnesota Public Radio and on TPT 2 (public TV in Minneapolis/St. Paul - watch the video) on Almanac and as part of the Emmy Award-winning "Legacy Letters" series.
Click to read Bill's latest essay "Are You Intexticated?"