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VISIONING:
TELLING YOUR STORY
How do you cultivate and share compelling stories that showcase your work, the work of those in your community, and highlights the value and importance of maker-centered learning.
OBJECTIVE: To create a culture of storytelling grounded in power and joy and understand what tools and documentation practices support organic and authentic storytelling on an ongoing basis.
What do we mean by storytelling?
Storytelling is the use of images and words to convey a message. It's one of world's the oldest art forms and happens all around us. It can be used "as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation or instilling moral values." http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/narratives
Why stories?
Telling stories is good for our physical and communal health. When we tell stories and listen to others tell stories, our bodies produce more oxytocin. Oxytocin is the “feel-good” hormone that makes us feel connected to others.
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Stories help us remember. When you have facts you want to stay with folks, it’s much more likely they will be remembered if you contain those facts within a story. Data is important, but especially powerful when couched in the human element.
Stories bridge gaps. Most of our brains are wired for human connection and engagement. Stories satisfy that craving. We want to know about people. Stories keep us connected. They keep us interested.
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Stories link us to our sense of humanity. Stories connect us to our sense of generosity and understanding. They help us build confidence so other people can beleive us and join us on our journey. Folx are more likely to support our work if the ask is connected to a human story.
GETTING STARTED
WHO YOU'LL NEED
This module can be completed on your own; however, you’ll have a much richer discussion if this is a collaborative effort with colleagues and partners.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
VIRTUAL
Miro, Padlet, or Jamboard
PHYSICAL
whiteboard, post-its, paper, and pens
WORKSHEETS
TIME TO COMPLETE
The program values module will take you and your team at least three hours to work through the first time. Remember this is an iterative process - you may need to come back and revise your thinking after you work through other modules.
LET'S PLAN!
PART ONE: When and Where to Find Stories
You can use stories to connect, share information and experiences, learn, and rally people around your work: in social media, grant writing, workshop facilitation, and team building.
Stories are all around us, living in documents that already exist. You may have stories hiding in plain sight: in workshop slides, office photo archives, and even meeting notes.
Think about the many different voices that may have stories to share. Who’s in your organization or community? What skills and capacities might they offer if they were invited into the work as full contributors? What do they know, what insights do they have that might lead to a solution to this problem?”
1.
MINI MAKE SESSION + REFLECT INDIVIDUALLY
You will be creating a story catalog: a collection of stories about the people you work with and the work that you do. It's easy to forget the many anecdotes that arise in this work. Your story catalog is both a place to capture those moments and be a go-to resource when you're looking for narrative inspiration.
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This exercise is meant to broaden our sense of organzational narratives worth capturing and introducing a new way to habitualize story capture.
Before we get started, think about your favorite story. What makes it great? Make a note for yourself.
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Now let's build your catalog! You're going to start by making a zine. Follow the directions on the left. (You can also look for an online video on "How to Make a Zine")
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Title your story catalog. You can use "Office Chronicles", "[ORG] Field Notes, or make up your own.
Use your mini book to answer the neighboring prompts that resonate with you. Respond to one per page. You can also make up your own prompts or note some of your favorite work stories
2.
DISCUSS AND SYNTHESIZE WITH COLLEAGUES
Share some of your stories as a group. Next, you'll think about who holds stories and where to find them. This exercise is meant to help us "pass the mic" and hone in on where we can find stories. ​
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Think about the following:
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What other voices could amplify or add to your stories?
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Where might these stories be? Name specific places, events, people, and memories holding them. Meeting notes? Photo archives?
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When and where can you find other stories that activate and amplify your work and your communities? Who is holding them?
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Document these in your collaborative visioning journal.
Here are a few prompts to jumpstart your thinking:
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Make a list of the folx on your team, or those you work closely with. What do you appreciate about them?
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Name 3 colleagues or clients. What are there superpowers?
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What are ways your colleagues and your clients have shown up for you in ways big and small? Say thank you.
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Name a time you've laughed (a lot!) at work.
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What's a piece of sage advice you've taken from a colleague or client.
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When did you last do something that made you feel like you belonged at your organization?
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What is the most amazing thing that's ever happened at work?
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What's the biggest crisis you've ever tackled at work?
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When did your co-workers take you past a perceived barrier or obstacle?
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What is one thing you do everyday that demonstrates company values?
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How did you get to this moment?
PART TWO: Know Your Audience
Now that we have a catalog of stories we can leverage, a list of voices we can showcase, and some places where we can uncover stories, let's think about audience.
Let's ground our stories
in power and joy
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Savior complex > Reframe the changemaker/hero
Instead of framing ourselves as the hero, let's shine the light on those we're in service of
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Product over process > Show the messy middle
Rather than just showing the final result, let's also feature the parts in between
Deficit narrative > Joys, hopes, and dreams
Deficit thinking is often rooted in a blame the victim orientation that suggests that people are responsible for their predicament, fails to acknowledge that they live within coercive systems and diminishes their humanity. Let's flip the script.
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Gatekeeping > Pass the mic
How can you share or shift control of the narrative?
Reliance on the written word > Oral, visual, and alternative formats
Video? Audio capture? What formats, beyond long-form text, can you leverage to open up accessibility.
1.
PLAN WITH COLLEAGUES
Revisit your stakeholder mapping. In this exercise, we're going to do a deeper dive into specific audience segments.
Have everyone choose one stakeholder group to dive deeper into.
2.
RESEARCH INDEPENDENTLY
Once you've chosen a stakeholder group to research, you're ready to work through the "Who's Your Audience" sheet.
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Identify an actual person in your stakeholder group. If it's 5th graders teachers, look online find the social profile 5th grade educator in your community. What accounts do they follow? What do they post? What accounts do they engage with?
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This will help you predict which stories may resonate with which audience segments and even give your some ideas for new ones.
3.
DISCUSS AND SYNTHESIZE WITH COLLEAGUES
Based on your findings, identify some stories you want to share in the coming months, voices you need to engage, and any documentation you might need.
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(You can jumpstart your brainstorming with this content cheat sheet)
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Document these in your collaborative visioning journal.
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