Storytelling and Community Building
In the tapestry of community building, the storyteller or artist serves as both a custodian and a catalyst, wielding narratives as tools for unity and transformation. They act as the guardians of collective memory, preserving and disseminating the stories that define the community’s identity and values. Through their craft, they breathe life into these narratives, infusing them with emotion, meaning, and resonance.
Moreover, storytellers and artists hold a unique power to amplify marginalized voices, offering platforms for expression and representation within the community. Their creative endeavors foster empathy and understanding, bridging divides and fostering a sense of belonging among diverse perspectives.
As cultural stewards, they facilitate dialogue and collaboration, orchestrating spaces where community members can connect, share, and co-create narratives that reflect their collective experiences and aspirations. By weaving threads of imagination and reality, the storyteller or artist helps to cultivate resilience, inspire action, and shape the community’s narrative trajectory, enriching its social fabric and fostering a sense of shared purpose and belonging.
The storyteller (or other artist and creative worker) serves as a vital transmitter of values within communities, bridging generations and preserving cultural heritage through the art of narrative. Embedded within tales of triumph, loss, and resilience are the moral compasses that guide community members through life’s complexities.
Through oral traditions, literature, and artistry, storytellers imbue timeless wisdom into their narratives, passing down cherished beliefs, ethics, and norms from one generation to the next. They are the guardians of collective memory, ensuring that the essence of the community’s identity endures amidst the passage of time.
Furthermore, storytellers play a pivotal role in shaping societal consciousness by addressing contemporary challenges through allegory and metaphor. By weaving universal themes into their tales, they provoke reflection and dialogue, inviting communities to confront pressing issues while upholding enduring values.
But storytellers are also able to apply tools to works around identity construction of the self and the community. Starting from the notion that we identify ourselves through stories and the opportunities to re-author the stories we tell about ourselves, storytellers and other artists using storytelling techniques can act as change makers in values and norms patterns, reshaping society in order to support positive development.
In essence, the storyteller as a value transmitter is a custodian of the community’s moral fabric, weaving threads of tradition and innovation to create a tapestry that both honors the past and guides the future. Through their narratives, they empower individuals to navigate life’s complexities with integrity, empathy, and resilience, enriching the collective soul of the community.
The intersection of storytelling and value transmission presents a rich landscape of entrepreneurial opportunities for individuals keen on making a societal impact. As a storyteller operating within this realm, one can leverage various platforms and mediums to cultivate meaningful narratives that resonate with audiences and drive positive change.
Additionally, collaboration with brands, organizations, and institutions presents opportunities for entrepreneurs to create branded content or educational programs aligned with their values. By partnering with like-minded entities, storytellers can amplify their reach and impact while generating revenue through sponsored content, workshops, or licensing deals.
Furthermore, entrepreneurs in this space can explore opportunities in education and training, offering workshops, courses, or consultancy services to help individuals and organizations harness the power of storytelling for personal development, team building, and even brand messaging, which is of growing importance in the social welfare field.
In essence, the entrepreneurial opportunities for storytellers working as value transmitters are vast and multifaceted. By tapping into the growing demand for authentic narratives that inspire and empower, entrepreneurs in this space can not only create sustainable businesses but also contribute meaningfully to the fabric of society.
Potential Applications:
- The storyteller/artist is hired by municipalities or social welfare organisations to work on the empowerment of groups in vulnerable positions.
- The storyteller/artist is hired by municipalities to apply storytelling as an intervention to diminish polarisation.
- The storyteller/artist is hired by companies to support change processes, for example in the field of diversity and inclusion or even in workplace behaviour
Social entrepreneurs working in community building can glean valuable insights from storytellers that can enhance their approach and impact:
- Embrace Authenticity: Storytellers excel at weaving narratives that resonate with audiences because of their authenticity. Social entrepreneurs can learn to approach community building with genuine sincerity, honoring the unique stories and perspectives within the community.
- Listen Actively: Storytellers are skilled listeners, attuned to the nuances of human experiences. Social entrepreneurs can benefit from adopting a similar mindset, actively listening to community members to understand their needs, aspirations, and challenges before designing interventions or solutions.
- Cultivate Empathy: Storytelling fosters empathy by inviting audiences to step into the shoes of others. Social entrepreneurs can leverage storytelling techniques to cultivate empathy within communities, bridging divides and fostering understanding among diverse groups.
- Create Connection: Storytellers have a knack for creating emotional connections through narratives. Social entrepreneurs can learn to harness the power of storytelling to forge stronger bonds within communities, fostering a sense of belonging and collective identity.
- Inspire Action: Compelling stories have the power to inspire action and drive change. Social entrepreneurs can use storytelling to mobilize community members around shared goals and values, catalyzing collective efforts towards positive social impact.
- Adapt and Evolve: Storytellers adapt their narratives to suit different audiences and contexts. Social entrepreneurs can apply this flexibility to their community building efforts, continuously learning from feedback and adapting their strategies to better serve the evolving needs of the community.
By incorporating these lessons from storytellers into their approach, social entrepreneurs can enhance their ability to engage, empower, and mobilize communities towards meaningful and sustainable change.
Facilitators can establish a comprehensive practice to train others to become value transmitters through storytelling by following these steps:
- Define Objectives: Clearly articulate the goals and objectives of the training program. Determine the key skills, knowledge, and competencies participants should develop as value transmitters through storytelling.
- Develop Curriculum: Design a structured curriculum that covers essential topics such as the principles of storytelling, identifying and articulating values, understanding audience dynamics, and ethical considerations in storytelling.
- Incorporate Interactive Techniques: Utilize a variety of interactive teaching methods, including storytelling exercises, group discussions, role-playing, and multimedia presentations, to engage participants and reinforce learning.
- Provide Practical Tools: Equip participants with practical tools and techniques for crafting and delivering compelling narratives that convey values effectively. Offer resources such as storytelling frameworks, templates, and storytelling prompts to support their practice.
- Offer Feedback and Coaching: Provide constructive feedback and one-on-one coaching to help participants refine their storytelling skills and overcome challenges. Encourage peer learning and collaboration to foster a supportive learning community.
- Encourage Reflection: Incorporate reflection exercises into the training program to encourage participants to examine their own values, biases, and motivations as storytellers. Create opportunities for self-assessment and goal-setting to support continuous improvement.
- Promote Ethical Considerations: Emphasize the importance of ethical storytelling practices, such as respecting cultural sensitivities, obtaining consent, and ensuring authenticity and transparency in narratives.
- Foster Community Engagement: Facilitate opportunities for participants to practice storytelling in real-world settings, such as community events, workshops, or digital platforms. Encourage them to seek feedback from their audiences and reflect on their experiences.
- Evaluate and Iterate: Continuously assess the effectiveness of the training program through participant feedback, performance evaluations, and outcomes assessment. Use this feedback to make adjustments and improvements to the curriculum and delivery methods.
- Provide Ongoing Support: Offer ongoing support and resources to participants beyond the training program, such as networking opportunities, mentorship, and access to additional learning materials.
By implementing these strategies, facilitators can create a robust training practice that empowers individuals to become effective value transmitters through storytelling, fostering positive social change and community development.
Potential applications:
Design and offer of trainings created based on the insights mentioned above.
Share to connect
Arjen Barel, facilitator, Storytelling Centre
We, Storytelling Centre, developed the Share to connect method to facilitate applying storytelling in community work better. This method is the back bone for application in different directions, from working with groups in vulnerable positions to give them opportunities for personal development to anti polarisation and conflict transformation work. The method starts from the art of storytelling and is very suitable for creative practitioners to broaden their scope and to find new ways to use their skills in society. The entrepreneurial aspect in this is that it opens new doors for creatives to practise their art, albeit in an applied way, for different clients.
We deliver the Share to Connect training, as we described in the pilots, two times a year for a group of storytellers, creatives and social workers. In this training we focus on working with groups in vulnerable positions as part of the learners groups will apply the newly acquired knowledge and skill immediately after in the so-called Golden Men program, a program to activate men in social isolation. We introduce the theory of storytelling to the learners and we invite them to experience the tool we hand them. One of the three training days is dedicated to the tree of life, an activity developed by the Dulwich Centre for Narrative therapy, and often one of the core activities in our trainings and story work.
The last session we invite the learners to design their own sessions and we give feedback, to prepare them for the work. We always stay in touch with most of the learners, to see if and how they applied the knowledge and skills and to inform if they need more information or support. By this, we know that quite some learners started delivering their own workshops, began working for organisation with their new knowledge and skills of even designed their own programs. So the impact of these trainings is twofold: the society benefits as more opportunities to work with strolling of personal growth and social impact are offered and more creatives get the change to apply their skills and knowledge in society.
Activities
Instructions:
The workspace is the map of the world. Ask the participants to stand where they currently live. The participants have to work together, to find out which place is where. Common discussions will include, where north is, where the different continents are placed, and other geopolitical issues. When everyone is standing, you ask everyone to name that place. Then ask everyone to stand in the place where their father or mother was born. When everyone is standing, you ask everyone to name that place. Then ask everyone to stand where one of their grandparents was born. When everyone is standing, you ask everyone to name that place.
If necessary, you can then talk to the group about the information that came out of the exercise
Instructions:
Ask the participants to make a story together. One person makes up the first sentence (that serves as the beginning of the story). They’re gonna be on the left. The second person makes up the last sentence of the story and stands all the way to the right.
Invite the other participants one by one to also make a sentence for the story, and ask them to stand somewhere between the first and second person, in the line of where they think their sentence fits in the story.
Each time a participant joins the line, the participants who are already in the line repeat the sentences that belong to it now, so that the story takes shape more and more.
In the end, when all participants stand in line, there is a complete story. Or is there a complete story? Ask them to tell the story one more time. What could make it better?
Instructions:
Ask the participants to pair up, one is B, the other C. Remember there are no As!
Ask the participants to think of a ‘challenging situation’ that they have experienced in the past. Ask them to write down the essence of their story, preferably in one sentence.
Ask B to tell their story to C. C listens carefully. Then C tells their story to B.
Ask them both to summarise the other’s story. After sharing the summaries, the participants show each other the essence that they have put on paper.
Discuss whether the written down essence was found in the summary.
Bring the group back together and discuss how the exercise went. What went well and what went less well?
Instructions:
Ask everyone to create a short fantasy story that starts with an ordinary morning action (e.g. getting up or making yourself breakfast). Then something happens, and you end up in a whole other world. Eventually you’ll get back into your daily routine.
Give everyone a maximum of 5 minutes to think about this (maximum of 2 minutes for groups who are less focussed) and then let everyone tell their story.
Instructions:
Get into pairs and give everyone a pen and paper. Ask for a word related to the theme to be placed in the middle of the paper and to start associating on that word. One of them helps the other by asking questions. As soon as the web is of a certain size and the interviewer may already see a number of connections, these questions go to moments and events that are related to the words that are on paper. This often quickly provides the basis for a story that can then be worked on.
It works well to do this method once with one of the participants, on a large sheet of paper (flipchart).
Although working in pairs is preferable, the association web also works very well when people work individually.
Instructions:
Ask the participants to retrieve a memory. Then ask the participants to elaborate on this memory in a structured way by answering questions for each phase of the journey that is the memory. Follow the next phases and the corresponding:
1. The beginning (describing the initial situation)
- What is the moment your story began?
- Where were you?
- Who was present?
- What was the atmosphere?
2. The call (or the ‘one day/one time’)
- What was the moment you went on a journey?
- What was the reason?
- Who was involved?
3. The help(er) (optional)
- Who/what has helped you on your journey?
- How has this (person) helped you?
4. The opponent/setback (optional)
- Which opponent/setback did you encounter on your journey?
- How did this opponent work against you or why was it a setback?
- How did you deal with this opponent/setback?
5. The arrival
- What was the last event on your journey?
- Where were you?
- Who was present?
- How was the atmosphere?
The moment the participants answer (part of) these questions, a clear picture emerges of the journey they have made within the memory. The next step is to use this observation to carry out an analysis, by asking questions starting with ‘What did … mean to you?
Take the Quiz!
Share to Connect Website
http://www.sharetoconnect.org/