Last weekend, I spoke and taught at the Pädagogische Hochschule St. Gallen (PHSG). The teacher training conference was under the heading “Creativity – Learning for Tomorrow”. Here’s a short writeup by someone else:

The topic was introduced with a skit illustrating the importance of innovation in education. As an example of discovering creative talent at schools, the act incorporated young author and business storytelling coach Jyoti Guptara reading an excerpt from his first novel. (The author dropped out of school at the age of 15 to become one of the world’s youngest full-time writers.) The convention, co-organised by the St. Gallen Department of Education and the colleges of education in St. Gallen and Graubünden, drew together around 200 teaching professionals from across eastern Switzerland who wanted to explore how to encourage gifted students in the Swiss school system.

“The importance of storytelling skills is only going to grow,” Guptara concluded the segment on conveying context and coherence in an increasingly complex world. “Most opinions are formed by emotions, not facts. Story is a structure that delivers emotional impact. Everyone needs to know how to influence and inspire people. Not to mention the increasing demand for divergent thinking.”

The author held two rounds of seminars, combining story theory with tips on nurturing talent, developing new ideas, and how to be heard in a world of sensory overload. Finally, Jyoti Guptara joined artist Ruedy Schwyn in delivering some closing remarks from an interdisciplinary perspective.

After trying their own hand, the teachers were keen to use Guptara’s exercises themselves to promote and teach creative writing.