Storytelling - A Powerful Advoate

Notes from session at SXSWedu
http://schedule.sxswedu.com/events/event_EDUP12464
Presenters - Glover, Murner

Why storytelling?
How can we use storytelling?
How can we understand through telling stories?

• The best stories survive - from generation to generation - survival of the fittest mentality
• Stories allow us to connect personally.
  

How can use storytelling to make things relevant?

Challenges
In education there are many challenges.

Two main challenges are:

1.   Low Awareness

2.   Passive support - lack of resources


Start telling your story today.
The best stories have a point.
They help achieve a purpose.

The Layers of Storytelling

1. Challenge

• What specific problem or challenge do you want to solve?
• Prioritize and Focus
• Be specific

2. Whose support do you need?

• Who is the primary target audience?
• Who is the secondary primary audience?
• What does your audience care about?
• Choose something that will attract them.
  

3. What are you going to ask them to do?

• What action do you want them to take?
• What is the actionable step?
• Will you follow up?
• Create an action
  

4. The actual story

A. Selecting the story

• Choose an emotional or personal story

B. Bring the story to life

• Can you represent it visually?
• Can you package it and share it so it can live beyond the presentation?
• Keep your story small and simple - to the point
• Focus on one story
  

Provide context
Outline the challenge, the struggle
What’s the victory - where are you now?
What’s the action step?

What good is your story if no one hears it?
The story needs to live beyond. Package it.
Where does your target audience go? Place your story so they can see it.

Use storytelling in staff meetings, in needs assessment

What's your story?
Can you let others into your story?

Some ideas:

• Teach students to be heroes. Have them tell their story.
• Have students choose something symbolic and tell a story about it.
• Have them step outside their story and tell it in 3rd person
• This makes them see their story clearly
• Have them change the point of view.

All individuals have a voice.