We are all storytellers. From the story we tell ourselves about who we are as leaders, parents, spouses, and community members to the stories we tell others in interactions as simple as checking out at the grocery store. The question is – what story are you telling? And if the story serves a specific purpose for you, are you telling your story in a way that is not only heard but also remembered?
To explore these ideas and build momentum towards the annual Ignite event, C3MD held a workshop in May to provide skills training on the art of storytelling. The group learned why storytelling is a powerful vehicle for messaging along with group formation and cohesion. The workshop was a Win3 for participants as they were able to consider the role of storytelling in their personal lives, their professional endeavors, and also within the framework of Conscious Capitalism.
During the workshop, we discussed a variety of different things to explore the stories that we are telling, in all aspects of our lives. We started off diving into storytelling by talking about the story of our names. We also connected the pillars of Conscious Capitalism – purpose, stakeholder, culture, and leadership – to storytelling. We used a variety of brainstorming processes to engage in rapid prototyping story seeds and then built rapport with others and confidence in ourselves by sharing a story seed with another participant. In order to enhance the impact of these story seeds, and all our other stories, we learned “layering” techniques. And most importantly, we reiterated the truth that we are all full of stories. In fact, the best stories are about just five seconds of your life.
The barrier is not “if” you have a story to tell; we are all full of stories. The issue is that we hardly slow down long enough to consider what the most pivotal moments of our lives have to teach us. The workshop format carved out time for participants to focus on their stories and provided facilitation of thinking within a community of engaged and supportive peers. In the frenetic pace of life, it is critical we give ourselves the gift of time to reflect on our purpose and reflecting on the stories of our lives and work is a perfect vehicle for this “life work.”
Are you looking to give yourself the time reflect on your stories and your purpose? Disappointed that you missed out on the workshop back in May? Or just looking to continue to expand on the story seeds you thought about at this workshop? Well, don’t worry, facilitator for Howard County Public Schools and founder of “Gathering With Purpose” Jennifer Hlavka will be leading another story ideation workshop on Tuesday, August 20th from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Join us at the Oneness Center as we move from ideation to story development. We will discuss elements of high impact storytelling including story sequence, arc, and use of images to convey tone. Together we will share our stories and enhance our confidence, not only for the Ignite event but also for our everyday lives. If nothing else, joining us will give you space and time to consider – what is the story you’re telling? And are you living the story you want to tell? You can prepare by engaging in the challenge our May participants were given – commit to jotting down one story, as short as 2 – 3 sentences, each day (concept credit: Matthew Dicks’ “Homework for Life”).
Remember – you are full of stories. Your work is to uncover them, learn from them, and share them.
Resources:
Storyworthy by Matthew Dicks
The Moth podcast
StoryBrand.com / Donald Miller