Coordinated Management of Meaning - Application and Models - LUUUTT Model

LUUUTT Model

The next tool is the LUUUTT Model. LUUUTT stands for stories Lived, Untold stories, Unheard stories, Unknown stories, stories Told, and story Telling. This model is ideal for use during the communication process, particularly with the help of a facilitator. It is also helpful in understanding the larger cultural knowledge. Rossmann's look at how American culture understands the Alamo is an excellent example.

Stories lived and stories told vary because how we see or want to see ourselves differs from what we actually do. Stories told may be people's way of understanding or coming to grips with their own stories lived. Understanding that these differences exist and paying attention to them can be important to understanding the nuances within a communication event. The well known "do as I say, not as I do" between parent and child is one example of the contrast between stories told and stories lived. Another example might be a person forced into theft or other criminal activity to survive. They may not like what they are doing and they may condemn the behavior to others. They might not continue that behavior if the situation were different, but from where they stand, there are no other options. The story that they tell is unlikely to match the story that they are living.

Unheard stories are those that are told but that the conversational partner fails to hear. This may be because they do not want to hear it, are not paying attention, literally cannot hear it, or that the message is being communicated in an unfamiliar or unknown way to them. It is popularly held that diverse groups can provide the best results, but one of the worst situations is to include token members within a group because it is statistically shown that nearly all suggestions made by the token individual will be discounted by the majority group without consideration. The token member becomes the unheard member.

Untold stories are ones that are not shared, at least not with others in that event. Someone may choose not to tell a story for a variety of reasons. If told stories become unheard stories frequently, then they may eventually become untold stories.

Unknown stories are generally ones in which the communicators themselves either don't know exist or don't understand well enough to communicate.

Much of the emotional aspect of communication is attributed to the nonverbal aspect of messages, those elements outside of the actual words. When and where a person tells a story, their mannerisms, tone of voice, word choice, and subject matter all contribute to the overall story being told. This is the process of story telling.