Example Reflection – Storytelling 

 Challenge 

 I am a self - published author and launching a motivational self help book titled “ Unleash   Your Creative Self ” . The book provides essential tools that help my readers re - connect with their inborn creative spark . 

 My challenge lies in an internal obstacle many of us face : To overcome the fear of being   visible online . Especially when it comes to sharing my vulnerabilities and weaknesses .   Firstly because revealing my vulnerable self and struggles in life comes at the risk of   shame . And what is even more crucial when it comes to marketing , opening up about my   weaknesses and failures may imply the risk of not being perceived as an expert . Moreover ,   publically presenting myself by sharing the struggles I have gone through in life could   come across as a victim story , and too much of that aspect may scare off potential readers .   As there is an inflationary use of stories in which storytellers describe themselves as former victims of challenging life cirumstances who then turned into heroes , potential readers   may be oversaturated by stories according to the principle “ from zero to hero ” . 

 Selection 

 “ The king is dead . The queen is dead ” is a factual report . “ The king died . The queen died   from a broken heart ” is a story . I came across storytelling in my Journalism Studies , but I   had never implemented the tool thus far . So I consider this example reflection the   opportunity to do so . As I have been told to be an entertaining storyteller from my early   childhood on and even more so , as I am selling books , storytelling makes perfect sense as   the tool of my choice . To me , storytelling is the most promising way to make my readers   anticipate my book with pleasure and excitement , and connect at an emotional level .   That effect is granted to the hormones a brilliant storyteller inflicts in his audience or   readership , such as oxytocine , dopamine , and endorphines .   Video lecture reference : “ The magical science of storytelling ” , David JP Phillips ,   TEDxStockholm . 

 Application 

 The story I tell goes as follows : For an overall period of ten years , I traveled the world by   cargoship . Once I joined the ship in Southern Spain . The Captain had told me the ship was   going to go to Antwerp , Netherlands . But the schedule changed , and instead of going to   Antwerp , the ship with me on board went to South America and the Caribbean . In Panama   Canal , I got on the ship by climbing up the board wall over a pilote ladder that was moving   freely , and the white sharks who had n't had dinner gnashing their teeth underneath me .   When we left Brazil with the intention to travel to Russia , the ship suddenly stood still in   the middle of the ocean . I spent several nights in the most dangerous of pirate areas and in   front of a prison island – and we were running out of food , despite the tons of Tuna fish we had stored in the hatches , and some packs of instant asparagus soup .   When traveling the world by cargoship , I literally never knew where I would end up . The   same holds true when you find yourself sitting in front of a client 's briefing in an   advertising agency , and you are supposed to fill a blank page with the most innovative 

 ideas under enormous time pressure .   The moral of my story : Cargoship travel taught me to stay comfortable in the face of   unpredictability . That is the basis of creativity . And creativity is what I teach .   So the story I tell my potential readers delivers the emotional justification that builds my   credibilty , whereas my being a trained copywriter with 15 + years of experience is the   rational explanation .   I implement my story as a speaker on stage , prior to my readings in bookstores , in online   videos , and in webinars . It proved to be effective as my audiences gave me the feedback   they perceived my story to be captivating , and my emotional story along with my rational   reasoning made me a credible expert in their eyes . 

 Insight 

 The insight I gained by conducting storytelling is that the storytelling process is unilateral ,   while there is a general trend towards co - creation , which is multilateral .   Moreover , opening up to my online audience and letting my vulnerabilities show is key   when it comes to creating an authentic personal brand . It is imperative when building a   relationship with my audience and readership . It provides value to my readers , as it gives   them faith on their path of empowerment . 

 Storytelling also contains the aspect of uncertainty and unpredictabilty stressed by Sonia De La Fuente , as it comes at the risk that my readership or audience does not buy into my story . 

 Bearing in mind that no breakthrough or disruption ever evolved from a merely analytical   thinking process , and no analytical thinking process can prevent us from facing unpleasant responses on the internet , the risk of being visible and vulnerable also holds the   opportunity of success . Revealing my authentic self is a way to get my readers engaged at   an emotional level , and thus in building a relationship . A deep relationship between my   readers and me is profoundly important , as my book is supposed to impact them on a   deeper level , and eventually even change their lives for the better . And as we can tell from   relationships in our private lives , getting closer requires opening up to your significant   other . 

 Collaborative creation could turn out to be an important factor when it comes to creating   more pleasant business environments in which employees experience reduced anxiety ,   which favors creative breakthroughs . 

 Approach 

 As a result of the insight I gained , next time I would invite my potential readers into the   creation process at an early stage . In my social media accounts and in interactive webinars , I would encourage my readership to share in what areas of creativity they desire guidance .   Furthermore , I would invite experts from various fields of creativity , such as acting   coaches , painters , and photographers into my bookwriting process . That way , a maximum   of value co - creation is guaranteed . It implies a high probability that my book meets my   readers ' expectations , as it is a customer - centered approach far from ethnographic data   and spreadsheets .   The experts who contributed their expertise , will want to purchase my book as well , and   there is a chance that I profit from their networks .   I would raise awareness for my book project and for my involving both experts and readers into the creation process by letting it all happen in public – on my social media accounts . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: 
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Example Reflection – Storytelling 

 Challenge 

 I am a self - published author and launching a motivational self help book titled “ Unleash   Your Creative Self ” . The book provides essential tools that help my readers re - connect with their inborn creative spark . 

 My challenge lies in an internal obstacle many of us face : To overcome the fear of being   visible online . Especially when it comes to sharing my vulnerabilities and weaknesses .   Firstly because revealing my vulnerable self and struggles in life comes at the risk of   shame . And what is even more crucial when it comes to marketing , opening up about my   weaknesses and failures may imply the risk of not being perceived as an expert . Moreover ,   publically presenting myself by sharing the struggles I have gone through in life could   come across as a victim story , and too much of that aspect may scare off potential readers .   As there is an inflationary use of stories in which storytellers describe themselves as former victims of challenging life cirumstances who then turned into heroes , potential readers   may be oversaturated by stories according to the principle “ from zero to hero ” . 

 Selection 

 “ The king is dead . The queen is dead ” is a factual report . “ The king died . The queen died   from a broken heart ” is a story . I came across storytelling in my Journalism Studies , but I   had never implemented the tool thus far . So I consider this example reflection the   opportunity to do so . As I have been told to be an entertaining storyteller from my early   childhood on and even more so , as I am selling books , storytelling makes perfect sense as   the tool of my choice . To me , storytelling is the most promising way to make my readers   anticipate my book with pleasure and excitement , and connect at an emotional level .   That effect is granted to the hormones a brilliant storyteller inflicts in his audience or   readership , such as oxytocine , dopamine , and endorphines .   Video lecture reference : “ The magical science of storytelling ” , David JP Phillips ,   TEDxStockholm . 

 Application 

 The story I tell goes as follows : For an overall period of ten years , I traveled the world by   cargoship . Once I joined the ship in Southern Spain . The Captain had told me the ship was   going to go to Antwerp , Netherlands . But the schedule changed , and instead of going to   Antwerp , the ship with me on board went to South America and the Caribbean . In Panama   Canal , I got on the ship by climbing up the board wall over a pilote ladder that was moving   freely , and the white sharks who had n't had dinner gnashing their teeth underneath me .   When we left Brazil with the intention to travel to Russia , the ship suddenly stood still in   the middle of the ocean . I spent several nights in the most dangerous of pirate areas and in   front of a prison island – and we were running out of food , despite the tons of Tuna fish we had stored in the hatches , and some packs of instant asparagus soup .   When traveling the world by cargoship , I literally never knew where I would end up . The   same holds true when you find yourself sitting in front of a client 's briefing in an   advertising agency , and you are supposed to fill a blank page with the most innovative 

 ideas under enormous time pressure .   The moral of my story : Cargoship travel taught me to stay comfortable in the face of   unpredictability . That is the basis of creativity . And creativity is what I teach .   So the story I tell my potential readers delivers the emotional justification that builds my   credibilty , whereas my being a trained copywriter with 15 + years of experience is the   rational explanation .   I implement my story as a speaker on stage , prior to my readings in bookstores , in online   videos , and in webinars . It proved to be effective as my audiences gave me the feedback   they perceived my story to be captivating , and my emotional story along with my rational   reasoning made me a credible expert in their eyes . 

 Insight 

 The insight I gained by conducting storytelling is that the storytelling process is unilateral ,   while there is a general trend towards co - creation , which is multilateral .   Moreover , opening up to my online audience and letting my vulnerabilities show is key   when it comes to creating an authentic personal brand . It is imperative when building a   relationship with my audience and readership . It provides value to my readers , as it gives   them faith on their path of empowerment . 

 Storytelling also contains the aspect of uncertainty and unpredictabilty stressed by Sonia De La Fuente , as it comes at the risk that my readership or audience does not buy into my story . 

 Bearing in mind that no breakthrough or disruption ever evolved from a merely analytical   thinking process , and no analytical thinking process can prevent us from facing unpleasant responses on the internet , the risk of being visible and vulnerable also holds the   opportunity of success . Revealing my authentic self is a way to get my readers engaged at   an emotional level , and thus in building a relationship . A deep relationship between my   readers and me is profoundly important , as my book is supposed to impact them on a   deeper level , and eventually even change their lives for the better . And as we can tell from   relationships in our private lives , getting closer requires opening up to your significant   other . 

 Collaborative creation could turn out to be an important factor when it comes to creating   more pleasant business environments in which employees experience reduced anxiety ,   which favors creative breakthroughs . 

 Approach 

 As a result of the insight I gained , next time I would invite my potential readers into the   creation process at an early stage . In my social media accounts and in interactive webinars , I would encourage my readership to share in what areas of creativity they desire guidance .   Furthermore , I would invite experts from various fields of creativity , such as acting   coaches , painters , and photographers into my bookwriting process . That way , a maximum   of value co - creation is guaranteed . It implies a high probability that my book meets my   readers ' expectations , as it is a customer - centered approach far from ethnographic data   and spreadsheets .   The experts who contributed their expertise , will want to purchase my book as well , and   there is a chance that I profit from their networks .   I would raise awareness for my book project and for my involving both experts and readers into the creation process by letting it all happen in public – on my social media accounts .
### Output: 