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Learn the power of narrative and how to craft effective stories for education and persuasion. Develop a storytelling culture within your organization.
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Storytelling as Best Practice How it Works
Two weeks before the workshop, each participant receives an email with a homework assignment: Think about 2-3 stories that illustrate what your organization does, how it makes a difference, or why it’s worthy of attention and support. Now write down, in a sentence or two, a brief summary of each story. Those summaries will be emailed to Andy Goodman to help him tailor the workshop to your group.
The workshop begins with a 45 minute presentation that asks and answers four questions: What makes narrative such an exceptionally powerful tool? What are the structure and qualities of a good story? What is the role of stories versus data when the goal is education or persuasion? How can you build a lasting storytelling culture?
After a brief Q&A session, participants are ready to start writing their stories. The process begins by taking one of the ideas submitted by email and using a story structure template to build a complete outline.
Once they have completed their outline, participants began writing a first draft of their story (with a limit of 750 words.) We allocate one hour for outlining and writing.
During the writing session, Andy holds open “office hours” for one-on-one consulting with any participant who has questions or concerns about his or her story.
After the writing session (time permitting), we reassemble into small groups of 6-8 participants each. Over the next hour, participants read their completed drafts to their colleagues and receive feedback on the effectiveness of their stories.
For the last segment, the full group will reassemble. Now it’s time for a few of the participants to share final drafts with all of their colleagues. (This segment can run 60 to 90 minutes, depending on the size of the group.)
This is always the most powerful part, because now you get to hear well-crafted stories. Stories about how your organization began, or how it overcame early setbacks…
…accounts of emblematic victories, remarkable examples of transformation, or even defeats from which worthwhile lessons were drawn (and later applied.)
For others, it’s a time to think more clearly about the history, values, and culture that truly define your organization. For some, the storytelling session is an opportunity to hear your organization’s stories for the first time and to learn more about their colleagues.
For many, it’s a breakthrough moment because they experience a connection with the audience that they have not felt during other presentations. And many will also report that they feel something more: a connection with themselves as presenters, because storytelling helps them speak from their heart and not just from their mind. For each storyteller, it’s a chance to exercise a new (or freshly honed) skill in front of a live audience.
RWJ Executive Nurse Fellows Program These are some of the nonprofit organizations that have completed “Storytelling as Best Practice” and are now using stories for advocacy, fundraising and internal training. Here are four examples of how other recent “graduates” are applying their storytelling skills…
It contained 21 stories that let the people at each state agency clearly see how their colleagues were succeeding so they could bring those lessons back to their own state. Turning Point partners with agencies in 21 states to improve local health care. When members of those agencies met in Denver for an annual conference, Turning Point gave them this booklet.
Environmental Defense, a national organization with over 250 employees, devoted an entire day to collecting and refining stories. The staff developed 87 stories that will be kept in an organizational story bank for future use. The twelve best stories were published in this booklet, which is now available to new staff members, trustees, donors, and the public.
At one of its annual conferences, LIFP gathered 250 grantees for a half-day of storytelling. The group storytelling session was videotaped. LIFP then incorporated several of the stories told that day into an online story bank with audio and video files for all site visitors to see and hear. www.lifp.org/html/spotlight/stories.html
“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Faith in Action, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the many dedicated individuals who serve in this interfaith volunteer caregiving program. I had the pleasure of meeting with numerous volunteers from throughout my Congressional District during their visit to Washington, and I was uplifted and inspired by the stories they shared with me.” June 8, 2004 “Storytelling as Best Practice” was presented as a keynote speech to 500 members of Faith in Action at their 2004 annual conference in Washington, DC. The next day, about half of these members made visits to Capitol Hill, many using this opportunity to tell stories. One Representative was so moved by the stories he heard, he read four of them into the Congressional Record from the House floor.
For references, pricing, and more information, please call Andy Goodman (that guy on the left) at 323.464.3956 or send email inquiries to: andy@agoodmanonline.com Thank you.
Special thanks to for allowing us to photograph their storytelling workshop and use those images in this presentation. Please hit the escape key to end presentation.
