Story
Story
The Useful story is as simple as this: we became frustrated with the entertainment industry and so resolved to do something different, something out-of-the-box. What we really wanted to do was to apply our skills to interesting problems. And where our various talents and expertise intersected was Story. So here are some stories:
Adrian Galley
Spoken-word Specialist
“Having honed my skills as a professional actor, radio journalist and screenwriter, I went on to study linguistics and to conduct post-graduate research into the neurological foundations of social cognition and empathy. The spoken word is an effective tool that can be deployed through various modalities to have a profound impact on those who hear it. My guiding principle is that embodied speech has the capacity to connect and engage, to inspire and motivate, to create and transform and, ultimately, to heal.”
“I am a story coach with decades of experience in the film and television industry, now specialising in helping individuals and businesses craft their inward- and outward-facing stories for clarity, purpose and a customised road-map to success. My training and first career as an actor sparked my fascination with embodied storytelling and introduced me to the concept of story truth: when we craft and present a narrative to express our convictions, we indeed “make up a true story”. Now, after years of work as a teacher and lecturer in the skills needed for compelling storytelling, I help design real-life stories through a deep dive into their true meaning.”
Vicki Bawcombe
Story Specialist
Chris Galley
Researcher
“My love of story as such first emerged consciously as a love of history. When I was a child it seemed that interesting things always happened in the past—for me a mythical past—in illo tempore. I learned later why: that the same forces that shape history are present whenever stories emerge. My studies of history have shown me that what people believe to have happened is at least as important as what actually happened; and equally as interesting as people’s thoughts of the past are their feelings of the same. These twin passions of history and story led me into historical research for film and television. Now I am excited to apply my understanding of both history and story, as well as my interests in classics, design, linguistics, literature, and philosophy, to different problems.”
Get in Touch
Have any queries? We are excited to hear from you and can’t wait to see how Useful and story can help you with your project.