Narrativity and Professional Communication: Folktales and Community Meaning
http://jbt.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/13/3/297
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  peer-reviewed

Kelly, Christine and Michele Zak
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
1999

Abstract:

Narrative has been neglected in the education of professionals. The persuasive power of narrative is essential to all the sense-making activities that govern the lives of professionals, for in sense making, they are regularly using narrative. The central example here is the O. J. Simpson legal defense that was organized within the narrative frame of Simpson's story. The authors compare his story with a famous Norwegian folktale to illustrate the role narratives play in amplifying the values of a community. Using Propp's structural analysis of the folktale, they deconstruct the Simpson trial, which reveals implications of the narrative paradigm for the professional.