Chapter 7

Collecting Stories Collecting stories is the biggest headache in the storytelling process for many non-profit

professionals. During Socially Good’s #GivingTuesday tweet up in 2013, many of us

commiserated over the challenges of unearthing stories. In reader surveys that I run through

TheStorytellingNonprofit.com blog, readers have shared that collecting stories and working

collaboratively with colleagues to get those stories is their biggest struggle. I totally get it.

As fundraising or communications professionals, we unfortunately don’t have the luxury of

being in the program trenches every day. We have to rely on our talented colleagues who work

in program delivery to help us tell stories. On the flip side, your program’s colleagues might feel

like sharing stories is just another thing on their very long to do list, and it’s a less pressing

priority. This is the unfortunate cycle that many of us find ourselves in, which often leads to a

lot of tension and frustrations.

My experience suggests that collaboration is the linchpin of successful story collection.

Naturally the question that comes to mind is “How can we foster collaboration to make

gathering stories easier?” This question is at the heart of what you’ll learn in this chapter.

We are going to explore the challenges of collecting stories, along with practical solutions that

will make the process easier. You’ll also hear from several non-profit professionals who share

their case studies of story collecting at their organization, as well as their best tips.

Why Story Collection Is So Difficult

Collecting stories is a challenge for many organizations. You probably have your own

experiences that speak to this issue. A big part of overcoming this challenge is to really

understand the root causes. From my experience over the last couple of years, here are the

most common reasons why fundraising and communications professionals struggle with story

collecting.

Problem #1 – Staff don’t understand what constitutes a good story. At its root, this is a

training and education problem. When staff members don’t understand what they are

supposed to be looking for, it makes their task that much more difficult. It is a task that we are

voluntarily asking them to help us with, so when it’s difficult or confusing, they are less inclined

to help out. In this instance, we need to recognize our role as a teacher and guide. Provide

training and on-going support to help colleagues with story collecting.

Problem #2 – Lack of buy-in from senior leaders. It is the unfortunate truth for most non-profit

organizations, but change really does start from the top down. Without buy-in from the top

down, it can be challenging to get staff to participate in storytelling. They will see that the

organization doesn’t really value or use stories, so they think that their efforts will be wasted. If

this is to change, it is important to have others lead by example. Get the Executive Director or

Board Chair to talk about storytelling to others. Maybe even have them share a story – a great

way of modeling what you want others to do.

If you’re having trouble getting senior leadership to support the idea of organizational

storytelling, think about sending them some reading material on the value of storytelling, or

host a short meeting where you can discuss storytelling and make a case for it. One resource

for this is a report that I co-authored with Network for Good called “The State of Storytelling.”

You can download a free copy here:

http://learn.networkforgood.org/state-of-storytelling-in-the-nonprofit-sector.html

In the progress of investigating why leadership does not support storytelling, your task is to

uncover why they might be resistant and to address that head on. You might find that people

are resistant to storytelling because of client confidentiality. This is a more than fair reason for

concern, but it is not a good reason not to tell stories.

Problem #3 – Not enough consistency to build a habit. If you want staff members to share

their story leads more often, it needs to become part of the habits of their job, something that

is second nature that they don’t have to think about too much. In other words, it needs to be

normalized. The problem is that when we take a sporadic approach to storytelling, it just

appears to be this random project. In this sense, we need to take ownership and practice it

much more regularly so that colleagues see it as something that is here to stay. Use stories in

newsletters, in emails, in appeals, as a part of campaigns, and so on. Then, be sure to share the

results of storytelling. Again, this is a way to build in proof that storytelling is something your

non-profit’s community values.

Problem #4 – Staff lack direction. This is the problem that I see most often and the one that is

most preventable. All too often, fundraising or communications staff will go to colleagues and

say, “Tell me a story. I need a story for (appeal, newsletter, etc)!” The problem with this is that

it does not give them any direction as to what type of story you are looking for. They are left to

their own devices to try to read your mind and find a story that magically meets your needs. If

they come back with a story that does not hit the mark, you might not use it, and they could

feel discouraged by the process. The other problem with not providing staff with direction is

that they may not even recognize the stories that they encounter each day. This becomes a

lose-lose situation for everyone involved. Again, this is really a training and education issue

more than anything.

The good news is that all of these problems share a common solution: create a streamlined

system for collecting stories. Read on to find out the three essential steps to collecting stories

with ease.

Step 1: Identify Your Story Needs

We covered this step in Chapter 6 when you did the legwork of creating a storytelling strategy.

The idea behind your storytelling strategy is that you now know exactly what stories you want

to use and when. In this process, it can be very helpful to write out the type of character and

conflict you want the story to highlight. When you do the work of developing the strategy and

have a clear vision for a story, it makes it easier to convey that vision to your colleagues who

can help you find those stories.

Step 2: Create Tools for Collecting Stories

Collaboration is key to the storytelling process. We have to work with our programs staff,

volunteer coordinators, board members, and other stakeholders in order to capture stories to

share with our donors.

There are three types of tools to make story collecting easier. The first is tools for capturing

stories. The second is tools for keeping storytelling top of mind for colleagues. The third is tools

for organizing the stories you collect.

Tools for Capturing Stories

Tool #1 – Story Collection Form

This is my favorite story collecting tool. Every organization should have some type of story

collection form. It can be online through a hosted service like Google Forms, Woofu Forms, or

Survey Monkey, or it can be a paper form that is readily available around the office.

What questions should you ask on the story collection form? There are five important pieces of

information that you’ll definitely need.

1. The name of the person who is submitting the story

2. The name of the person who the story is about

3. That person’s relationship to the organization (client, volunteer, etc.)

4. Why are you submitting their story?

5. Would this person be willing to be interviewed?

You can ask more detailed questions in your form, but personally I like to keep it short and

sweet because chances are that you can get more details when you conduct an interview.

For your reference, here’s a sample form that I created using a Google Form to give you an idea

of what this could look like.

Tool #2 – Story Prompts

In the process of collecting stories, we also want to help our colleagues get better at identifying

stories that they encounter. Not only does this build their confidence and lead to more stories

shared, it keeps storytelling top of mind.

Story prompts are a great tool for this. Perhaps you’ve heard of writing prompts before, or

maybe even journaling prompts. Story prompts are a similar concept. They give staff members

a loose direction as to what type of story you are looking for and help them think more

creatively about it.

Here are a couple of example story prompts:

> Tell me about a time when a student vastly improved their grades in your class. Maybe they

went from being a C student to an A student. What catalyzed their change?

> Last week was a busy week at the animal shelter. Did you meet any families with young

children who came into adopt their first pet?

> I heard that you were doing a creek clean up as a part of our conservation programs. Do you

have any passionate volunteers who have come to multiple creek clean ups this year? What

keeps them engaged as a volunteer?

As you can see in these example story prompts, they touch on both the conflict and the

resolution of the story. That will help colleagues think about specific instances during their

workweek, and they are more likely to tell you a story that mimics the prompt.

The key to creating story prompts that result in inspiring stories is to focus your questions on

the conflict of the story. I recommend creating a chart that lists all of the outcomes that your

donors and non-profit facilitates. Then in the column on the right hand side, list the possible

conflicts that someone might go through on the way to getting to that outcome.

When it comes time to write your story prompts, all you need to do is structure your question

around one of the conflicts that you’ve listed. By doing this, you will give your colleagues a clear

idea of types of stories that you’re looking for to get their wheels turning.

If you’re thinking “I don’t know what prompts to create,” then go back to the story needs that

you identified in Step #1. Allow that to be your guide for developing prompts.

Tool #3 – Thank You Cards. Want to encourage your colleagues to submit more stories? A

thank you goes a long way. Buy a couple of fun, thoughtful thank you cards that you can leave

on their desks to say thank you for their help and support.

Tools for Keeping Storytelling Top of Mind

Tool #1 – Email. If your organization is a group of email lovers, this might be a good tool for

you. Beyond just sending one-off emails to specific colleagues about stories you are trying to

collect, my recommendation is to develop a monthly internal newsletter specific to storytelling.

In this newsletter, you can include two to three story requests to get your colleagues’ creative

juices going, as well as showcasing recent stories you’ve told for an added dose of inspiration.

Plan to send out a monthly email to all staff to let them know what kind of stories you’re

looking for, where they will be shared, and when you need them. This will keep storytelling top

of mind for everyone and give them clarity as to what kind of stories to look for. Another thing

that’s great to share in a monthly email like this is positive feedback from donors who read the

stories. This will show and encourage staff that the stories they submit are truly valued and

important.

Tool #2 – Your Intranet. If your organization has an intranet, this is another good place where

you can regularly remind staff about stories that you’re looking for.

Tool #3 – Conversations. One of the great things about storytelling is that it naturally gives rise

to forming connections with people. I personally believe that organizations where the staff

spend a lot of time telling each other stories have the best culture and morale. In this regard, I

really encourage you to be a story cultivator through conversations. If you don’t talk to staff

outside of your department or area, make it a point to start connecting with other people. Get

to know them, and just talk about what’s happening in their job. You’ll be surprised by just how

many great stories naturally surface in everyday conversation.

Tool #4 – Meetings. All staff meetings or department meetings are another great opportunity

to talk about storytelling and story needs. One thing I love to do and have seen clients have

great success with is using the first five to ten minutes of meetings as story time. Talk about

what’s been happening over the last week or month. More specifically, let your guard down to

give people a real, authentic glimpse into your work.

Tools for Organizing Stories

Tool #1 – Tumblr. What do you do with the stories you receive through the Google Form? You

need to develop the story and save it for future use. Creating a Tumblr that is set to private (so

that you just have it for internal use) is a great option. This can be your central place to save

stories, pictures, and videos. You can create tags to organize your stories and search for them

down the road.

Tool #2 – Excel Spreadsheet. This might seem more basic, but it’s a very effective way to

organize your stories. You can create different columns for information and then add in the

relevant pieces of the stories you collect. What I like about using a spreadsheet is that you can

easily search within the document to find what you need.

Tool #3 – Folder System. If you feel like an Excel spreadsheet isn’t enough space to organize

your stories, you might like this idea. What you can do is develop a folder system where you

can store stories based on different categories. Then within the folder, each story can be stored

as a Word document.

Deciding Which Tools to Use

You probably had systems in place for processing gifts, updating your website, putting together

your annual appeal, and so on. Why not create a system for collecting stories? Doing so will

help you coordinate and streamline your storytelling efforts.

So far in this chapter, we’ve looked at the common problems non-profits face when trying to

collect stories, and we also discussed some tools that can help us. By no means do you have to

use every last tool I suggested. In fact, that would probably leave you feeling a little

overwhelmed. Instead, I want to give you a couple of stead-fast tips to decide which tools are

best for your organization. You can think of these tips as your framework for creating a strong

story collecting process.

Tip #1 – Train all staff starting with senior leadership.

If you want all hands on board, then everyone has to perceive and value the project in a similar

fashion. Start with senior leadership. Show them the differences between fundraising programs

that do and do not utilize stories. Draw on research and data that our sector has to offer that

proves that donors want more accountability (i.e. more stories).

Next, suggest the value in having all staff members understand storytelling better. You can

mention the benefits it would have to the bottom line as well as employee morale. Host a one

hour get together to talk about the importance of storytelling, and practice telling each other

stories and explaining how staff can share their stories more often.

Tip #2 – Create tools and opportunities for staff to share their stories.

Since this is something you’ll encourage staff to do during the training, it is important to have

the tools and opportunities in place. First, start using the first five minutes of every meeting as

a time to check in and swap stories. This makes it more top of mind for everyone. Next,

consider hosting a quarterly staff get together that is all about sharing stories. Think of it as an

open mic where everyone gets to talk about their work and help motivate each other. Finally,

create a story collection tool. This could be something as simple as a Google form where staff

can submit stories or even a paper form. Either way, it is important to create this tool and to

remind people about it.

Tip #3 – Tell others what kinds of stories you need and when.

In addition to creating tools and space for storytelling and educating colleagues about it, you

have to be organized and proactive. This means creating your fundraising and communications

calendar so you know what is going out when and what kind of story you need. Then on a

monthly basis, let your colleagues know what’s in the pipeline and what kinds of stories you’re

looking for. By offering them clear direction, you will increase your chances of finding amazing

stories.

Story Collecting in Action

There are a lot of non-profit organizations out there that provide pretty unique services and

programs, which can require more explanation. Furniture Bank could be one of those

organizations, but instead they tell great stories that communicate their impact and inspire

their community.

Furniture Bank (www.furniturebank.org) transfers gently used furniture and household goods

donated by individuals or corporations to people who are in need of a fresh start.

Communications and Fundraising Coordinator, Noah Kravitz, gives us the inside scoop on telling

great stories, navigating client confidentiality, and content strategy.

Furniture Bank is a pretty unique organization. How do you use stories to help people

understand what you do?

Noah Kravitz (Furniture Bank): Often, the first contact someone makes with Furniture Bank is

to arrange a furniture pickup for items they want to donate. These individuals are often in a

stage of their life when they are downsizing, moving, or just spring cleaning and have a need to

get rid of their gently-used furniture, fast! Our furniture donors are not always aware exactly

what happens with their old furniture after it has been donated. That is where our online

storytelling efforts kick in.

Our stories are meant to educate our donors (current and prospective) on exactly what

happens with their donated furniture after it has been donated to Furniture Bank (redistributed

to refugees and new immigrants to Canada, women, and children coming out of abusive

situations and the formerly homeless). We also tell heartwarming client and volunteer stories

that happen at the Furniture Bank with the intention of inspiring community members to

donate furniture and/or join our volunteer team. Here are some storytelling examples that

have really helped to educate and inspire people of our mission.

10 steps to a new home: journey of a donated sofa http://www.furniturebank.org/10-steps-

new-home-journey-donated-sofa/

Just Another Day at the Furniture Bank, Right?

http://www.furniturebank.org/what-is-furniturebank/

Day in the Life of a volunteer (video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOD2p1epEy4

Do you have a process for collecting and documenting stories? Can you tell us a bit about it?

Noah Kravitz: Since content marketing and actively trying to tell our clients’ stories is still a

relatively new priority for Furniture Bank, we are still honing our processes for collecting and

documenting impactful stories.

Tactics we have used so far which are now becoming mainstays in the larger storytelling

process include:

Encouraging a storytelling culture within the organization – inviting staff, volunteers,

donors, and program participants to share stories and experiences which have touched

their lives – even if it includes just jotting down a few points for our communications

coordinator to transcribe.

Implementing an editorial calendar to keep staff “in the know” and engaged with our

storytelling efforts

Making sure that we let staff and volunteers know that there are REAL outcomes behind

our storytelling efforts by sharing with them metrics/analytics around post views,

actions taken as a result of the posts, and overall ROI

Recently, we found an awesome dollhouse with mini handcrafted furniture items. What we are

encouraging our staff and volunteers to do is after clients select furniture, they take a photo

with a “mini” furniture item in hand to symbolize the real life furniture they selected. It’s an

opportunity to receive heartwarming content, tell stories, and also protect the identity of our

clients.

What mediums have worked best or been most successful for sharing Furniture Bank stories?

Noah Kravitz: I would have to say our blog has been the most successful for sharing Furniture

Bank’s stories. We use our blog to tell client stories, update constituents on new projects and

initiatives, and as an overall hub for all news related to Furniture Bank. We have specific

categories related to different operations in order to make it more manageable for our

constituents to navigate content (social impact, volunteers, social enterprise, workshop, etc.)

Since launching our blog equipped with a content marketing strategy, we have seen our

website traffic steadily increase, translating into additional support – new partnerships, more

interested volunteers, and an increase in furniture donations.

Do you ever find that you come up against issues of confidentiality when you want to tell

stories about Furniture Bank clients? What have you done to navigate them?

Noah Kravitz: Like many organizations, issues do come up when attempting to collect and tell

stories about our clients. However, at Furniture Bank, they are not necessarily linked to

confidentiality.

We work with 70+ partner agencies who refer furniture recipients to Furniture Bank. When a

client comes in for their appointment (shopping experience) they are only with us for

approximately one hour. This makes it difficult to collect stories in such short period of time. On

top of that, think about all the feelings and emotions clients are experiencing when they come

through our doors associated with choosing furniture and household items for their new homes

(pleasure, excitement, apprehensiveness, nervousness… the list goes on). Asking them to share

their story on top of this and the emotions it may evoke can be overwhelming for clients we

support.

Of course, when there is a client that moves our hearts, we will respectfully ask on-site if they

would like to share their story and talk about their Furniture Bank experience. However, our

staff and volunteers are always exploring new ways to collect and tell our client stories without

having them feel overwhelmed the day of their appointment.

One method in which we have been able to accomplish this is telling client stories through the

gently-used furniture they select, using furniture items as a vehicle to tell their story. We also

strongly encourage our volunteers to reflect and share stories about clients that they assist who

had an emotional impact on them with respect to client confidentiality. See stories from

question 1 for examples.

One tactic we are exploring that we feel can really help to engage clients in storytelling is

setting up a communication loop in which we touch base with clients a week or two after their

appointment. This will hopefully give furniture recipients the opportunity to settle in with their

new furniture items and appropriate time to reflect on the impact that their new furniture has

had on their lives, and then inviting them to share their story. Stay tuned for updates on this

strategy…

Any tips or lessons learned that you’d like to share with fellow non-profit storytellers?

Noah Kravitz: Making a conscious effort to tell your organization’s story and developing an

organizational culture that embraces storytelling does not happen overnight. You need to be

persistent with your front line people, actively encouraging them to share their experiences

with you. After you publish, you need to show your “content creators” that there is real

bottom-line impact for the organization by the stories they author and help create in order to

further their engagement in the storytelling process (being transparent with your analytics).

Also, providing these people with samples and simple ideas that will translate into stories that

educate, inspire, and entertain to help guide them in content creation.

As you can see, the team at Furniture Bank has intentionally cultivated a culture of storytelling

that is paying off in a multitude of ways. One of the ways that they are effectively encouraging

storytelling is by sharing the results of those stores with the people who shared them. This

feedback loop highlights that the work they did has had a positive impact on the organization

and the people in its community.

Creating effective methods for generating stories leads is absolutely key in the storytelling

process. But once you’ve got leads, you might need more information in order to develop the

story more fully. You may need to ask more questions or even conduct an interview.

Interviewing to Get the Story

You’ve finally found a great story at your organization that you can’t wait to share with your

donors. Maybe it’s a story about a client that your organization has helped or a donor who has

a special connection to your cause. Whatever the story may be, you’re jazzed about it and are

eagerly awaiting the interview you’ve set up with the person.

The interview arrives. You sit across the table at a local coffee shop from the person whose

story you plan to share. Your notebook is out, pen in hand, and recorder charged – you are the

spitting image of preparedness!

After the small talk and rapport building, you are ready to dive into the interview, and you

know your first question is awesome.

“So, tell me your story!” You say.

Your interviewee starts to get a deer in the headlights look on their face as they try to tell you

bits and pieces, but none of it is making sense to you, and you start to wonder if this was such a

good story after all. This interview is not what you imagined, nor is the story unfolding how you

thought it would. Mid-way through, you start to feel discouraged and your interviewee is

looking a little lost. You start to think that it might be time to cut your losses and find a different

story to tell.

Does this sound familiar to you?

There are many steps to telling a great story, including interviewing. Through the work I’ve

done with non-profit professionals, time and time again, I have seen people underestimate the

importance of a great interview. The information that you gather during the interview is the

foundation of what you’ll use to actually write the story. So ensuring that you have high quality,

detailed information to work with is key. Let’s look at how we can improve our interviewing

techniques to be better storytellers.

The Kiss Of Death Question

Leading your interview with, “So, tell me your story,” is the kiss of death question.

It’s broad. It’s vague. Frankly, it’s overwhelming for the person you are interviewing.

While we can be good intentioned when we ask the question, the problem is that it is too big of

a question for most people to feel comfortable answering. It’s the equivalent of the classic job

interview question, “Tell us about yourself.” If you’re not prepared for that question, it can very

easily go awry.

Instead of asking the one broad question to coax the story out from your interviewee, it is

better to approach the interview as a conversation. It’s a conversation where you are getting to

know someone. Just as you would with a new personal acquaintance or friend, you ask them a

number of questions while engaging in conversation to show that you are interested in what

they have to say.

That does not mean that you can’t prepare questions for your interview ahead of time. I would

still advise you to have five to seven questions written down. Be open to the possibility of

asking other questions and following the conversation wherever it may go.

Sample Questions for Interviewing a Program Staff Member for a Story

Let’s say you wanted to interview a program staff member about a program that they run and

to collect a story about someone who has accessed it. Instead of asking them to tell you a story

about someone in the program, here are five alternative questions to ask.

Question #1 Tell me about what problem this program/service solves?

Question #2 Can you tell me about a specific person who has used this program?

Question #3 What was their life like before they began working with you?

Question #4 Do you remember the first time you met them? What was their emotional state

like?

Question #5 Now that they’ve gone through this program, what’s their life like? What is their

outlook for the future?

As you can see in these questions, they are arranged to help coach the interviewee to share

their stories. They provide clear direction, which is essential for building confidence and

comfort in an interview. Additionally, they allow you to get a sense of the problem a program

solves and a specific example of the problem solving in action.

How a Journalist Writes a Non-Profit Story

There are a lot of causes and organizations out there that feel like they don’t have any stories

to tell. Libraries are one of those organizations that frequently struggle to create stories that

engage their community and ultimately lead to donations.

Lucky for us, the Kent District Library is not only telling great stories, but they have a very

talented former journalist on staff that is very knowledge about storytelling. Morgan Jarema

has been working with the Kent District Library to help tell library patrons’ stories. What follows

are some of Morgan’s tips and insights for getting the best scoop.

“I developed our patron stories page on the website, which are used in our board packets, go

out as press releases to relevant school districts and community leaders, and are posted in

“library love bomb” form on our social media channels. Just as I thought, it is astounding all the

reasons people have for using their public library; these stories go far, far beyond the “warm

fuzzies” I think my superiors were expecting (and everyone has been more than willing to have

their full names used, a huge credibility boost that really puts a face on advocacy). My methods

caught the attention of the Illinois Library Association, and last year they brought me to their

annual meeting in downtown Chicago to present.”

What inspired you to start telling library patrons’ stories?

Morgan Jarema (Kent District Library): What inspired me to start telling patrons’ stories was

my background in journalism, and knowing from that that everyone has a story. I also used to

teach journalism at the college level, and every semester would show my students how to pull

(truly newsworthy) stories out of one another. Another reason Kent District Library (KDL)

started telling patron stories is that at the time I joined the staff here, KDL was beginning

participation in a nation-wide effort to show libraries why those stories were their stories, and

how they could make a difference. The timing just worked out that, again, a nosy reporter

showed up who wasn’t at all shy about getting all up in patrons’ business. The real beauty is I

didn’t have to; just read a few of the stories on our patron stories page (Cynthia Worden and

Alexei Salazar are two that spring to my mind). Stories have always been voluntary, and what

people are willing to share astounds and touches me; we thought others would feel the same.

What results/impact have you seen from sharing these stories?

Morgan Jarema: As for results/ impact, I’d say collecting these stories (and holding contests to

encourage submission) has not only shown our Board of Directors, funders, and patrons that

people use the library for heaps of reasons most of us never think about, but it is a great boon

to staff; reading how what they do in the stacks every day changes lives is a shot in the arm for

those who don’t always get to be in on seeing their impact.

As a former journalist, I’m sure you have lots of tips on writing and interviewing. What are

your top three tips for interviewing someone when you are collecting their story?

Morgan Jarema: My dream job is to tour the planet teaching library (and other) staff to collect

patron stories. Interviewing is an art and a skill, and it’s harder than it looks. Most

inexperienced reporters (myself included) try to have a prepared list of questions, and do not

deviate from that list. What should be an interview comes off as a questionnaire, and we miss

so much when we do it that way. So, my first piece of advice is to have a conversation. Really

listen to people’s answers and build from there, letting the conversation meander as it will.

Keep quiet and let them talk! And finally, writing patron stories is showing, not telling. There’s

no reason to hard sell your library and its services; let the patron’s story “sell” them simply by

recounting their experiences. That’s the difference between Sue Smith loves all the services she

gets at the XYZ public Library and Sue Smith has learned to create and manage her one-woman

accounting firm’s blog, helped inspire both her children to become lifetime readers through the

Reading to Doggies program, and met her husband, Joe, at the weekend Book Club for singles –

all for free, and all at the XYZ Public Library.

Interviewing Someone You’ve Helped for Their Story

Let’s say you are going to interview someone your organization has helped for a story. These

stories are fantastic ones to share as they show your organization’s mission in action. But the

challenge with these stories can sometimes be that if you don’t ask the right questions, then

you won’t get to the heart of the really moving and inspiring story. Sometimes, it ends up just

being a chronological tale of what’s happened to them. While this can be good, what we are

really after in these types of stories is the emotion. Depending on the circumstances

surrounding that person’s story, it can feel like you are walking on eggshells in this process.

As you prepare to start the interview, here are four important ground rules that you can use to

help conduct the best interview possible. You can also apply these rules to any story interview

situation.

#1 – Give the person context. Before starting the interview, let the client know a bit about you

and the project that you are working on. Tell them about where the story will be used and who

might be reading it. Providing them with this information is a part of the process of building

rapport and trust.

#2 – Tell the person that they will have final approval of the story. This is another important

piece of information to communicate at the beginning of the interview. Let them know that no

matter what is discussed during the interview, you will be providing them with a copy of the

story before it is used in any publication. If they are uncomfortable with anything that is in the

story, they can 100% veto it.

To me, this is a fundamental component of storytelling ethics – that the person whose story it is

will have final say over how that story is presented and represented. While it might be an

unspoken truth, it is important to let the client know that they are ultimately in control of this

process.

#3 – Ask the person if it’s okay for you to ask questions about their experience. There are a lot

of non-profits out there that are dealing with very sensitive issues that require a lot of

sensitivity and sometimes confidentiality. The experiences that people have been through

might have even been traumatic. If this is the case, it is easy to feel like you might offend or

upset the client during the interview. That’s why it’s important to ask them if it’s okay for you

to ask questions about their experience.

In one interview that I did last year, I was speaking with a man who had gone through an

organization’s alcohol and drug recovery program. Before we had our interview, I asked his

counselor if there was anything that might be triggering for him that I should not ask about

during our interview. Then when we began the interview, I ask the client if there was anything

about his experience that he would prefer not to talk about. Although he was extremely

gracious and told me that he was an open book, I felt more at ease knowing that we were both

on the same page.

#4 – Let the person know that they are under no obligation to answer every question you ask.

Even if a person is happy to talk about their experience, they don’t necessarily know what

questions you’ll be asking, and there is no way to know how those questions will land with the

client. So before you start the interview, let them know that they do not have to answer every

question you ask, and if there’s one that they don’t want to answer, all they have to say is, “I’ll

pass on answering that question.”

What Questions You Should Ask During an Interview

When interviewing people that you’ve helped, you can group your questions into three

categories: experience, emotion, and future. These three categories will help you get the best

details of the story in order to touch on each of the four pillars of storytelling that we discussed

in Part One. In essence, we want to capture the character, their conflict, and the resolution

when we tell a story to our audience. By asking a person about the continuum of their

experience, we can gather information about their life, the problem they faced, and how it was

affecting them. Asking questions about emotion also touches on those things, but finding out

about a person’s emotional state helps us communicate their internal conflict and turmoil.

Finally, asking questions related to the future ends a story on an inspirational note and provides

a concrete resolution.

To give you an example of what questions from each of these categories might be, here are

some questions that I asked a client who had graduated from an alcohol and drug recovery

program.

Experience

What kind of an addiction were you struggling with?

How did the addiction develop?

At what point did you start to think about getting help with recovery?

What was your experience like in the recovery program?

Emotion

What were you feeling when you came to the recovery center for the first time?

What were you feeling when you graduated from the recovery program?

What was it like to have your family there at the graduation ceremony?

Future

Looking back on your experience in the recovery program, what is one piece of advice

you’d want to give to someone who might be struggling with an addiction?

What dreams or goals do you have for yourself?

Do you want to give back to the recovery program by volunteering as a mentor?

These are just a few sample questions that I asked during the hour-long conversation that we

had. I don’t usually ask them based on category. Instead, I like to mix them up and ask them in a

sequence that flows well. For instance, after asking the question “At what point did you decide

you needed help with recovery?” I would follow up with “What were you feeling when you

called the recovery center to make an appointment?” First, I ask a very factual question. The

client’s answer will tell me a bit about their history and how their addiction came to a crux. By

following up with a question that probes about their emotion, I can go a level deeper in the

story to give the audience an inside view as to what was going on in the client’s mind during

that process. This helps strike a balance between the chronological story and the emotional

story.

Developing questions for story interviews can be a fun, yet challenging exercise. If you find

yourself struggling to come up with questions, put yourself in your audience’s shoes. What

would they want to know? Reference the audience profile that you developed in Chapter 2 for

additional inspiration. Sometimes, this shift in perspective will help you find the best questions

to ask that will lead you to the most engaging story.

Think about the next story that you will tell. What would your audience want to know about the

character and their conflict?

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Now that you’ve brainstormed ideas about what your audience wants to know, what questions

can you ask to find out that information?

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While it might seem to prolong the process of getting and developing this story, using your

audience as a lens is incredibly helpful and will ultimately make you a more effective storyteller.

After all, the whole point is to effectively communicate with our audience to the point that they

want to answer the call to action.

Storytelling Advice from Catholic Volunteer Network

Does your organization have a blog? Are you looking for content to share on your Facebook

page?

These are constant problems that a lot of organizations are faced with. Having great content

that engages your organization’s community is key to standing out online. Stories are a type of

content that can help explain your organization’s work and also humanizes the organization.

Larissa Dalton Stephanoff from Catholic Volunteer Network shares how she manages their

outstanding blog and consistently shares great volunteer stories.

Tell us a bit about Catholic Volunteer Network and your role there.

Larissa (Catholic Volunteer Network): Catholic Volunteer Network (CVN) is a leading

membership organization of Christian volunteer and mission programs. We promote faith-

based domestic and international volunteer service opportunities for people of all ages,

backgrounds, and skills. More than 20,000 people serve through more than 200 CVN programs

each year.

I work as the Communication Coordinator for CVN. I am a bit of a “Jane-of-all-trades”! I manage

the website, blog, and social media; produce the annual Response directory in-house;

coordinate advertising on our website, in Response, and ads we place; cover nearly all of our

graphic design needs; and assist with fundraising efforts.

CVN has an outstanding blog that features lots of original content and stories. What

prompted you to start blogging?

Larissa: The blog existed when I joined with CVN team last December. It primarily serves as an

outlet for sharing stories and reflections from volunteers. Most of the time, the posts are

written by the volunteers, alumni, or program staff, then I edit them if needed and schedule

them on the blog.

I also like to post updates from the CVN recruiters and Campus Recruitment Associates. These

tend to be simple “slice of life on the road” as the recruiters travel to campuses around the

country and host or participate in campus service days.

How do you work with staff and volunteers to regularly collect their stories?

Larissa: Each year, we have a call for volunteer stories and choose one to publish in the

Response directory. The rest I use in promotional material and blog posts throughout the year.

Same with our photo contest.

I also include a monthly blog post theme in the monthly Social Media Toolkit I send out to

member program staff. If the theme fits a particular program, they can send me a post for the

CVN blog.

Other times, we know an event is happening, like a day of service, and we’ll contact

participating staff or volunteers to write a post. Occasionally, there is a specific topic I want to

cover, like the AmeriCorps 20th anniversary, and I’ll solicit someone related for a post.

Honestly, it’s pretty varied month to month where the blog posts come from. Some months, I

end up with a great collection of posts, while other months are harder to get enough stories.

On my favorite days, I log in to the blog and find a draft from another CVN staff member that I

wasn’t expecting!

What types of stories has your audience been most responsive to? Have you been surprised

by what's been successful?

Larissa: I haven’t been surprised, not yet at least. Recently we’ve done a few posts about

religious vocation discernment as part of CVN’s new From Service to Sisterhood initiative. Those

are different from the more frequent volunteer reflections, and I’ve really enjoyed them.

So far, the blog has been mainly targeted to prospective and current volunteers. I want to add

posts specifically for volunteer alums, such as the best way to include volunteer experience on

a resume, post-service career help, or even ways to maintain a community of people even

when alums are no longer living in community during their service.

What are your top three tips for non-profits that want to curate their stories on a blog or

other social media?

Larissa: Number one is having buy-in from the right administrators or staff to support a blog.

Unless the blog manager plans to write all the posts – and has the staff time allocated for that –

a blog is very much a team effort. It would be very hard to run a sustainable CVN blog if our

program directors and volunteers were unwilling to share their stories!

Number two is staff time. Effectively managing a blog or other social media takes time! I don’t

only schedule a few posts to Facebook or Twitter; I am actively reading articles that come

through my Google alerts for interesting pieces worth posting or scanning member program

social media to comment on or like their content. The key to social media is interaction. It’s a

conversation. If I only post things, but never interact with other organizations, I’m not doing my

job well. (Certainly some months are better than others!)

Finally, number three is creativity. It’s very easy to get into a rut of similar stories or posts all

the time. They’re quick and familiar! I know I have some standard things I resort to when I’m

short on time. If content is king, variety is queen. Keep things interesting!

And I’ll include a fourth for free: be consistent. Don’t abandon the blog for two months (been

there) or avoid interacting on Facebook for weeks at a time (done that). Find a schedule that

works for you and stick with it. Maybe just one blog post a week and one Facebook post per

day. Then twenty minutes each day to browse social media, commenting or sharing as

appropriate. It doesn’t have to be hours per day to be effective.

Larissa’s advice touches on a lot important aspects of storytelling. Her tip on creativity is one

that speaks to a common concern that a lot of non-profit storytellers share. That is telling the

same story over and over again, which is why she’s right to say, “Variety is queen.” As you

create and refine your storytelling plan, keep in mind that while your core message will remain

the same, how you present that message should change.

Final Thoughts

Collecting stories is a big piece of the storytelling puzzle. It takes time, team effort, great

listening skills, and curiosity. If you have never interviewed someone for a story, this part might

seem a bit intimidating a first. I would like to encourage you to be compassionate with yourself.

No one gets it right the first time around. I certainly didn’t! Approach the interview as if it were

a conversation with an old friend. You’re spending quality time with them getting to know them

better. Allowing the conversation to go where it goes often leads to the best gems of the story.

About the Author

Vanessa Chase Lockshin

Vanessa Chase Lockshin is an international non-profit

consultant, thought leader, trainer, and speaker. She’s part of

the next generation of professionals bringing change to the

non-profit sector and challenging conventions.

Vanessa founded The Storytelling Non-Profit in 2012 to help

not-for-profit organizations articulate their impact to donors in

a new way, using narrative techniques to generate greater

personal interest and accountability, thereby improving their

fundraising success. Today, The Storytelling Non-Profit

provides consulting, training, and coaching to non-profits

around the world.

Vanessa’s fundraising career started at The University of British

Columbia, her alma mater. Other clients have included: Union Gospel Mission, British Columbia

Children’s Hospital, Cancer Care Connection, Universal Outreach Foundation, Hope for the

Nations, Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine, Love Global Foundation, A Rocha Canada,

Kokua, The Wellmen Project, and SHARE Family and Community Services. To date, she has

helped these organizations raise over $10 million.

As a recognized expert in communications and storytelling, Vanessa has been invited to speak

at a number of events and associations including: NetSquared Vancouver; Artez Interactive;

UBC Impact Labs and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education; Association of

Donor Relations Professionals; The Nonprofit Storytelling Conference; and Blackbaud

Conference for Non-Profits.

Currently, Vanessa is President of The Storytelling Non-Profit, Co-Founder of Stewardship

School, and Board Chair of Women Against Violence Against Women. Although she stays busy

with work, she enjoys cooking with her husband, reading, crafting, and corresponding with

friends by snail mail.

About The Storytelling Non-Profit Book

The Storytelling Non-Profit is Vanessa Chase Lockshin’s first book. You can pre-order your copy

of the book at www.TheStorytellingNonprofit.com/book

The Storytelling Non-Profit gives you a step-by-step process for telling stories that raise more

money and awareness. You’ll learn:

The foundation of great storytelling

How to understand the audience you want to communicate with

The keys to finding and collecting great stories

How to create a 12-month plan for storytelling, which creates consistency and impact

Ways to navigate ethics and confidentiality when telling stories

How to measure the results of your stories to get the best results

Ideas for telling stories across digital and offline channels to reach the broadest

audience possible

The Storytelling Non-Profit is a portable consultant for fundraisers, communications

professionals, and executive directors who want to tell stories. It walks professionals through

the process of telling a story that inspires and resonates with a target audience.

Pre-order your copy of the book by March 14, 2016 and receive over $150 is bonus gifts!

When you pre-order your book by March 14, you’ll receive over $150 in bonus resources including:

A group coaching call with Vanessa on April 1, 2016. This is an opportunity to get answers to your questions and get more storytelling tips.

31 Days to Storytelling Inspiration. You’ll receive daily emails from me filled with prompts and inspiration for stories.

Access to Vanessa’s Personal Storytelling Training, which is a 90 minute on-demand training to help you tell your personal story.

Pre-order your copy of The Storytelling Non-Profit now!

www.TheStorytellingNonprofit.com/book