StorytellingforchangeAurélieSALVAIRE

@asalvaireTheAFactor

What is storytelling?Storytellingistheartofusinglanguage,vocalization,and/orphysicalmovementandgesturetorevealtheelementsandimagesofastorytoaspecific,liveaudience.

4elementsofstorytelling1. Storytellingisinteractive:two-wayinteractionbetweenastorytellerandoneormore

listeners:tightlyconnectthetellerandaudience.

2. Storytellingusesactions suchasvocalization,physicalmovementand/orgesture.

3. Storytellingalwaysinvolvesthepresentationofastory - anarrative.

4. Storytellingencouragestheactiveimagination ofthelisteners.

2essentialelements1. Story:narrativeaccountofarealorimaginedeventorevents

2. Telling:live,person-to-personoralandphysicalpresentationofastorytoanaudience

Storytelling predates writing• Storytellingisamongthemostancientofarts.

• Storiesor narratives havebeensharedineverycultureasameansofentertainment,education,culturalpreservationandinstilling moral values.

• Withtheadventof writing andtheuseofstable,portable media,storieswererecorded,transcribedandsharedoverwideregionsoftheworld.

Storytelling hasbeen here forever

• Storiesfunctionasatooltopassonknowledgeinasocialcontext.• Storytellingistheoldestformofpassingknowledge andmuchofhowwelookatwhatweliketocallfactsisinfluencedbystoriesandhowweinterpretthem.

• Storiesareuniversal inthattheycanbridgecultural,linguisticandage-relateddivides.

• Tohearastoryistobetouchedinheartandmind,inbodyandspirit.

Storytellingisameanforsharingandinterpretingexperiences

• Storiesareaprimevehicle forassessingandinterpretingevents,experiences,andconceptsfromminormomentsofdailylifetothegrandnatureofthehumancondition.

• Throughthissharing ofexperienceweusestoriestopassonaccumulatedwisdom,beliefs,andvalues.

• Throughstoriesweexplainhowthingsare,whytheyare,andourroleandpurpose.

• Metanarrative,sometimes also known asmasteror grand narrative,is ahigher-level culturalnarrative schema which orders andexplains knowledge andexperience you've had inlife.

Humans arestorytelling organisms• Humansleadstoriedlives,individuallyandsocially.

• Humanknowledgeisbasedonstoriesandthehumanbrainconsistsofcognitivemachinerynecessarytounderstand,rememberandtellstories.

• Storiesmirrorhumanthoughtashumansthinkinnarrativestructuresandmostoftenrememberfactsinstoryform.

• Factscanbeunderstoodassmallerversionsofalargerstory,thusstorytellingcansupplementanalyticalthinking.

Learning tolisten• Storiesareeffectiveeducationaltoolsbecauselistenersbecomeengagedandthereforeremember.

• Whilethestorylistener isengaged,theyareabletoimaginenewperspectives,invitingatransformativeandempatheticexperience.

• Becausestoriesoftenhavemultiplelayersofmeanings,listenershavetolistencloselyto identifytheunderlyingknowledgeinthestory.

• Storytellingisusedasatooltoteachchildrentheimportanceofrespectthroughthepracticeoflistening.

Stories toheal• Apersonalnarrative process is involved inaperson's sense of personal or culturalidentity,andinthe creation andconstruction of memories;it is thought by some tobethe fundamentalnature ofthe self.

• The breakdownofacoherent or positivenarrative hasbeen implicated inthe developmentof psychosis and mentaldisorder,andits repair said toplay an important roleinjourneysof recovery.

• Narrative Therapy is aschool ofpsychotherapy andtherapeutic storytellingistheactoftellingone'sstoryinanattempttobetterunderstandoneselforone'ssituation.

Stories toempower• Some approaches treat narratives aspolitically motivated stories,stories empoweringcertain groups andstories giving people agency.

• Political theorist, HannahArendt argues that storytelling transformsprivatemeaning topublicmeaning.

Stories asamarketingtool

• Formanymulti-mediacommunicationcomplexinstitutions,communicatingbyusingstorytellingtechniquescanbeamorecompellingandeffectiverouteofdeliveringinformationthanthatofusingonlydryfacts.

• Storytellingisincreasinglyusedinadvertisingtodayinordertobuildcustomerloyalty.

• Storiesareillustrative,easilymemorableandallowanyfirmtocreatestrongeremotionalbondswiththecustomers.

Ourbrainsarefarmoreengagedbystorytellingthanbycold,hardfacts.• Whenreadingstraightdata,onlythelanguagepartsofourbrainsworktodecodethemeaning.• Butwhenwereadastory,notonlydothelanguagepartsofourbrainslightup,butanyotherpartofthebrainthatwewoulduse ifwewereactuallyexperiencingwhatwe'rereadingaboutbecomesactivatedaswell.• Thismeans it'sfareasierforustorememberstoriesthanhardfacts.• Storiesallowustocaptureourlisteners’attention,buttheyalsomakeitmorelikelythattheywillremember whatwearetellingthem.

Storytelling helps you toremember the facts• Rememberthatgreatteacherthatusedtotellstoriesaboutwhathewasteachingandhowthosestoriesmadeyourememberbetterwhatyoulearnedascomparedwiththatboringteacherthatjust‘teached’andwhosenameyouhaveprobablyforgotten?

• Finallywearesocialanimalswithlanguageastheultimatewayofcommunicating,expressingemotions,perceivingtheworldaroundusandourselvesandevensimplybeing.

The importance ofmastering your narrative

Storytellingforchange

• Acumenbelievesthatstorytellingisanessentialtoolforchangingthewaytheworldtacklespovertybecauseitstartswithchangingconversations aroundwhatwesee,hear,feelandknowtobetrue.

• Changeleadersseetheworld'spotential,andtellpowerfulstoriesthatinspireaction.

Storytellingforchange• Objective:totell stories that illuminate the issues shaping our world and then invitethe audience tobecome engaged.(Jeff Skoll)

• Digitalplatform, TakePart.com:empirical evidence that you canboth entertain andaccelerate positive socialchange.

• Participant Media is aleading media company dedicated toentertainment that inspires andcompels socialchange.

• Participant’s morethan 70films, including Spotlight, Contagion, Lincoln, The Help, HeNamed MeMalala, The LookofSilence, CITIZENFOUR, Food, Inc., and An Inconvenient Truth, have collectively earned 50Academy Award®nominations and11wins, including Best Picturefor Spotlight.

What is astory?• If anarrative is basically what happened,astory takes it tothe nextlevel.

• It creates astructure toseek andhold far moresignificance.

• It hasameaning.

Whatisagoodstory?• Astoryisaselectivebatchofinformation.• Don’ttrytosay too much!

• Simple• Catchy• Personal• Authentic• Relevant

Thehero’sjourney

HowtoStructureAStory:TheEight-PointArc1. Stasis:normallife2. Trigger:when…3. Thequest4. Surprise5. Criticalchoice6. Climax:highesttension7. Reversal8. Resolution

Mixing3keyelements

How towrite agood story• Clearmoralorpurpose – there’sareasonwhyyou’retellingthisstory,tothisaudience,atthistime.

• Personalconnection – thestoryinvolveseitheryou,orsomeoneyoufeelconnectedto.

• Commonreferencepoints – theaudienceunderstandsthecontextandsituationofthestory.

• Detailedcharactersandimagery – haveenoughvisualdescriptionthatwecanseewhatyou’reseeing.

• Conflict,vulnerability,orachievementwecan relate to – showusthechallenges.

• Pacing – there’saclearbeginning,ending,andseguewaybacktothetopic.

Exposing your vulnerability

How towrite agood story• Keepalogofstorycontent.• Whenyouhaveimportantpoints,matchthemwithastory.• Practicethem.• Don’ttrytobeperfect.Allowyourselftobevulnerable.• Usegoodstorystructure.

How towrite agood story• Startwiththemessage• MineyourownexperiencesThebeststorytellers looktotheirownmemoriesandlifeexperiences forwaystoillustratetheirmessage.Whatevents inyourlifemakeyoubelieve inthe ideayouaretryingtoshare?• Don’tmakeyourselfthehero• Highlightastruggle• Keepitsimple.Lessismore:choose!• Practicemakesperfect

How towrite agood story• Paintthescene. Toomuchdetailcanbore,andthesamegoesfortoolittledetail.• Includeyourreactionstotheeventsthatunfolded.• Adddialogue.• Establishthenorm,andthencontrastthatwithhowaneventdidn'tgoasexpected.• Onceyouestablishthenormofthestory,describetheturningpoint.• Post-CommentaryWrappingUp. Youcanrecovermanybadstoriesbyaddinggoodpost-commentary.Thepost-commentaryallowsyoutoreflectbackonwhathappenedandmakewittycommentsaboutit.

How towrite agood story:5elements1. Setting(whereyourstorytakesplace)2. Character(thehero/heroine/protagonistwhohasadventures)3. Plot(theeventsthatunfold,thearcofwhathappens)4. Conflict(theobstaclesthecharactersencounter)5. Theme(theresolutionoftheconflict,what'sbeenlearnedalong

theway)

Thestoryofme,thestoryofus,thestoryofnow“…publicnarrativeiscomposedofthreeelements: astoryofself,astoryofus,andastoryofnow.

AstoryofselfcommunicateswhoIam– myvalues,myexperience,whyIdowhatIdo.

Astoryofuscommunicateswhoweare– oursharedvalues,oursharedexperience,andwhywedowhatwedo.

Andastoryofnowtransformsthepresentintoamomentofchallenge,hope,andchoice.”

Thegoodnews

• Youalreadyknowhowtotellagoodstory. Youdo.You'vebeentellingstoriesyourentirelife.

• Storytellingiswhatpsychologistsrefertoasan"unconsciouscompetence"-- askill,likewalking,eating,orcomplainingthathasbecomesecondnaturetous.

Solet’s doit!

First:find your why!

Identifyyourmessage

Identifyyourmessage

WHAT:neo-cortex (language)

WHY:limbic brain- decision, behaviour change

Identifyyourmessage:drawyourgoldencircle

Second:pickastory!• Whatisthestoryandnarrativebehindeverythingyoudo asabrand,rangingfromwhatyoustandfortothereasonwhyyoudevelopedsolutionXordecidedtosupport‘goodcauseY’?

• Think about how your brand was born,what inspired you tocreatethe company andwhat your personalmission is.

Findinspirationinyourlifeexperiences

Third.Structure the whole speech!• TheGrabber. Grabyouraudience’sattentionwithananecdote,aquestion,astartlingstatisticorathought-provokingquotation.• TheMessage. Followthegrabberwithaone-linestatementthatsuccinctlytellstheaudiencewhatyourpresentation isabout.• TheClosure. Sumupyourmainpointsinonesentenceandgiveyourcalltoaction.• Thiscouldbeadirectclosesuchas“visitourwebsite”oranindirectclosethatremindspeopleofthehardshiptheywillendureiftheydon’ttakeaction.Reallypowerfulspeechesalsoreconnectwiththebeginningofthespeechinsomeway.Thisalsoavoidstheembarrassmentofhavingtotelltheaudiencethatyouhavefinished.Thechallengeistohaveagrabberthatallowsaneasyreferralback.

Third.Structure the whole speech!

QuestionWordPhraseStat

Grabber

WhoWhatWhenWhereImpactConclusion

Story

StatsNumbers

Impact

YourproductOrservice

Solution

Whatdoyou expectfromtheaudience

Calltoaction

1clearslogan/1summary phrase/Tweet /headline

Andnow the telling!

Andnow the telling!• Anchoryourself• Openyourshouldersandarms• Makeeyecontactwiththeaudience• Usefacialexpressionstoconveyyourfeelings• Enunciateandvaryyourrateofspeech• Powerposebeforegettingonstage

• SMILE!

Stories aretold,not read.• ThestorytellerconnectswiththeaudiencewhenthereisnoPAGEbetweenthem!

• Pleaseknowyourstory“byheart”butnotbyrotememorization.

• Astoryteller learns/internalizesthestoryandthenrecreatesitfrommemory,usingvoiceandbodytoconveyhisorherunderstandingofthestory'smeaningandnuances.

Start andend with aboom!• Startintheaction.Haveagreatfirstlinethatsetsupthestakesorgrabsattention.

• SteerclearofmeanderingendingsTheykillastory!Yourlastlineshouldbeclearinyourheadbeforeyoustart.

• Knowyourstorywellenoughsoyoucanhavefun!

Alwaysassumethatyouraudienceconsistsofgood,thoughtfulpeople

Leverage mindfulness toovercome stage fear

Leverage mindfulness toovercome stage fear

Leverage mindfulness toovercome stage fear