7 Questions with Limor Shiponi

Ethos3 recently had a conversation with Limor Shiponi, renowned storyteller, orchestra conductor, and coach.
Bio: Limor Shiponi is the author of Stories at Work (Hebrew) and publishes regularly through the book’s blog and ‘Limor’s Storytelling Agora’. She is best known for her powerful presentation and her ability to connect diversities. She moves with ease between western and eastern environments with great respect for both, incorporating different techniques and fields of knowledge.

Founder and CEO of ‘The Story Telling Company Inc.’ based in Israel. Most of the company’s products are created by team discussion, which leaves on the table only the ideas that survive the process and will therefore stand powerfully on stage. 

1.  You have an interesting background, how has that influenced your path as a storyteller?

I suppose ‘interesting background’ in my case stands for ‘complex identity’ now living in peace with itself. It has influenced my path as a storyteller in various ways – it is difficult to label my storytelling style, I like to experiment and send myself to the edge, controversial issues are my favorite, give me any audience and I’ll love them, don’t ask me to stick to my ‘tribe’ because I have many and if I’ll try and sum it up – I’m a survivor, sometimes too strong, most of the time a diplomat.

2.  Being a world traveler, how different is the art of storytelling from culture to culture?

Well, it is hard to tell nowadays when many people are affiliated with the MySelf.com culture. If I take only storytellers into consideration, there are great differences. There are places where you won’t utter a folktale in front of an adult audience; there are places where personal stories are unspoken. There are places where violence is recognized as part of the entire balance of a story and places where evil is not allowed in. There are storytellers who feel naked without costumes and props and storytelling cultures where a load of props stands for poor ability. Yet, great work shines everywhere. People recognize a masterpiece when they see one. Audiences by the way are the same everywhere. Scrap the surface a little and we all love to listen to a good yarn. The only difference is in the way the audience shows it to the storyteller.

3.  Do you feel storytelling is a lost art?  Why?

No way. If it exists in the world for so many years, it must be doing something right. Storytelling is an expression of a human need and that need has not gone anywhere, it is with us all the time. It evolves constantly but like a powerful shape shifter – it will not let go. Science is only starting to prove what storytellers know for thousands of years –storytelling has to do with biological needs, with the way our brain is formed. Is love a lost art? Neither is storytelling and for the same reasons.

4.  I know you wear many hats (i.e. musician, author, storyteller).  What is your favorite?

I wear one hat with expanding margins. At the beginning there was music. Along came storytelling and emphasized the power of music through voice. Notice great storytellers have great voices. This in my opinion has to do with patterned movement which is what music is about. Patterned movement is what creates the feeling of a question inviting an answer, of constriction and relief which is so powerful, which is what we are looking for both in music and storytelling. This part is often missing in technological applications that are too loose like social networks and gaming. Then comes coaching, illuminating storytelling as a mass coaching art. Then comes writing. My favorite? The reason I’m wearing the hat in the first place, which is to move people, share, make us think and feel truthfully.

5.  What was your inspiration for writing your book, Stories at Work?

People’s requests for guidance and stories. Since the book is in Hebrew I assume you haven’t read it. Half of it is about all the good reasons to tell stories at work, at home, everywhere and as often as suitable. It is about how to start, how to get friendly with stage-fright, how to select the best story for the moment and the listener and much more. The other half contains 50 short stories you can easily tell and adapt for many occasions. The book expands on the web, it has a blog. The person that deserves the highest credit for inspiration, or rather nagging “why don’t you write a book” is now the business development manager of The Story Telling Company Inc.

6.  You mentioned on your blog, that your husband is also a storyteller.  Do you two work together?

Well, he is not my husband but rather my lover and bestfriend. Recognizing I am a busy person he tried to find a way for us to meet more often and came up with the idea of being a student of mine. One day he showed up in class. Yes, we do perform together sometimes, especially for teens and young adults at risk. He seems to them as someone that is way more disturbed than they are but also as someone that has turned all what could have been destructive power into good deeds. I most probably seem to them as a profound witch… they ask many questions about our joined lives.

7.  Just for fun, what is your favorite story?

The story I’m telling. But I won’t leave you without a favorite story..

Bird in a cage

Many years ago, in France, lived a wealthy businessman. He built a great economical empire with his own hands. One day he was sitting on his executive chair on the top floor of an ultra-modern building in the heart of Paris. Rotating slowly and watching the panoramic view he thought to himself: “For so many years I’ve been busywith my work. I never got to see and visit the beautiful country I live in. People come from all over the world to visit here. They praise the food, the wines and the beautiful women. It is time for me to take a vacation”.

He left all hisresponsibilities with trustworthy people and left in his expensive car. Hedrove through the highways and sideways of France. He stopped often forwatching the view, for meals and wines, for meeting people and having conversation. 

One day, afterdriving for many hours, he parked his car by a small forest and stepped out tostretch a little. As he was stretching, he heard the singing of a bird. It wasbeautiful and it moved his heart. It made him feel things long forgotten.

He searched forthe bird through the forest, following its voice, but he could not see in anywhere.The voice led him to a clearing and a small wooden cabin. He walked up to thedoor and knocked. No one answered, so he walked to the back of the cabin.There, in the garden, in front of his eyes, was a large tree. A cage washanging from one of its branches and in it was the singing bird. Thebusinessman stood there for a while and listened, charmed.

As standingthere he noticed a bench in front of the. Sitting on it were an old man and anold women. They too were listening to the bird’s radiating voice and they nevernoticed him. After a while he stepped into the garden and approached the old couple.

“Hello” he said.“I was standing here and listening to your bird. It sings so beautifully, Iwould like to buy it.”

“It is not for sale” replied the old man, smiling friendly.

“Oh, you don’tknow who I am,” said the businessman, “I am one of the wealthiest people inthis country. Anything your heart desires I can give you!”

“We already haveeverything our heart desires and the bird is not for sale. Sorry”.

The businessmanthought: “Well, this is a country area so the bird is most probably local. Imight find another at the local pet-shop”. Back he went to his fancy car anddrove into the village. And there, right in the middle of the main street, hefound a pet-shop. He pulled over and walked in. Just in front of his eyes hesaw a cage with a similar bird in it. The note attached to the cage read “10Franks”.

“Isn’t that toolittle?” he asked the salesman.

“Yes” came thereply “But this one doesn’t sing”.

“But I need onethat does!”

“But we havenone” was the short reply.

He wanted thebird. He bought the silent one, waited for nightfall and drove back to thecabin. There, he switched the cages and drove all the way back to Paris, to hisoffice. He placed the cage next to his chair and the bird sang for him – fordays and
weeks and months, moving his heart. After about six months he was sochanged that he realized: “I have done something terrible. I have to give themtheir bird back”.

He drove all theway back. Reaching the cabin he parked his car and left the cage in it. Hewalked around until he got to the garden. There was the tree. From one of itsbranches a cage with the silent bird was hanging. In front of it on the benchwas the old man. As the businessman walked into the garden the old man greetedhim:

“Hello! You arethe businessman from Paris, aren’t you? How are you?”

The man wasamazed:

“What? Youremember me? I was here six months ago we, spoke just a few words, how on earthcould you remember me?”

“Oh” replied theold man “I do not remember you for nothing. Remember the day you were here? Thesame night my wife died. Since then, the bird sings no more.”

My pleasure, Limor.

 

 

 

Join our newsletter today!

© 2006-2025 Ethos3 – An Award Winning Presentation Design and Training Company ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Contact Us