How to Tell Your Story

Recently, our team participated in a storytelling workshop led by Durell (Teaching & Advancement Project Manager) and Troy (Aftercare Program Manager).

Below are some of our main takeaways from the training!

To be a powerful public speaker and storyteller, you must work to understand the importance of your work, your story, and the history of your organization. Be sure to do your research, plan your talking points, and practice!

Creativity exercise:

Locate an object in the room that represents:

• Why this work is important to you? or What brought you to this work? 

Be Creative! Write down 2-5 sentences about how this object connects to your work. 

Crafting your personal mission:

Sticking with the same script every time may not be realistic and can sound too rehearsed. Remember your main talking points, and customize the message from there depending on your audience. Choose keywords that resonate with your mission and reuse them when you’re sharing your personal mission.

By using the three keys you’ll be able to better engage your audience.

If you bring your audience into your story, they will then react emotionally to you, your program, and your organization. Remember to be clear, concise, use examples, and avoid jargon to keep the information accessible to your audience. 

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

-Maya Angelou

Confidence! 

• It sets the tone for how you personally show up to your work

• If you are confident in yourself, others will be confident in your presentation

• When you know better, you do better - take the time to really understand what you’ll be speaking about

With these great tools in your toolbox, you’ll be a storytelling pro in no time! Stay up to date on all things CHOOSE 180 by subscribing to our newsletter, and following us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.