Last week, we witnessed the power of Communication in its different forms to make an impact during crises, i.e. a global pandemic.

In our final week on program, and as you all are about to transition to different phases in your life, we will discuss the public narrative framework as a way of sharing your project idea or Experiment program experience through storytelling. For activity 303, you will focus on first creating your own story. The activity is broken down into three parts which you will complete by:

    One reviewing and brainstorming the questions that will guide your story

    Two choosing 1 out of the 3 videos to watch on storytelling

    Three telling your story by creating a post on the padlet at the bottom of this prompt in any format you wish

    AND completing the discussion response by answering the two questions in Canvas and commenting on your neighbors posts on Padlet.

A “story of self” tells why you have been called to serve or are passionate about a cause. Think about what you are passionate about or feel called to change in your community then consider what personal story you can tell that will help others understand why you want to make that change?

Start to write down ideas as you think about these questions!

  • Why are you passionate or called to make that change: what specific experiences have shaped your story of self?
  • What happened in your past that taught you the importance of the issue?
  • Who was involved in your story? How did they help or guide you?
  • How has that led to where you are now?
  • What are you doing now to make a change/ difference?


Read the captions to see which one is most intriguing for you to watch. You are only required to watch one but you may watch more than one or parts of all. The videos are meant to help you brainstorm how to tell your own story and understand why it is important to do so.

The power of telling your story: As humans, we love to listen to good stories. But what makes a story good? Dominic Colenso explores the elements that make a story irresistible, transforming a run-of-the-mill tale into an extraordinary epic.


Science of storytelling: Why is Storytelling so powerful? And how do we use it to our advantage? Presentations expert David JP Phillips shares key neurological findings on storytelling and with the help of his own stories, induces in us the release of four neurotransmitters of his choice.


Entrepreneurial storytelling: Supriya led a voyage of words which structured around the role of stories in impacting our mindsets, and them being a measure to interact with the world and understand it better. Sharing her own journey, interestingly, in the form of a story, to the audience as to how she explored multiple aspects of life in terms of career prospects, only to find out that she couldn't find her inner self and passion in whatever she had been doing. Then, reminded of the habit of her grandmother of telling​ her bedtime stories instilled the thought of storytelling as an effective way of expressing leading to entrepreneurial build-up of mind. Following her passion, 'Josh Talks', is now delivering at a national level, in various cities and various stratas​ of the society, recollecting and improving this somewhat lost art of storytelling.


In any format that you would like, post on padlet to tell your story. This is a program-wide Padlet, so we hope you get inspired by your peers and inspire them right back!

You can tell your story through video recording, audio recording with pictures, song, poetry, written word with art, slideshows, animations, graphics, posters, or any format you prefer. All those examples are to show that you can be as creative as you would like for the next two activities. In the instructions below, we share how you can find options to create and share your story directly on padlet so if you are unsure on what format to choose, you can do it through one of those. Otherwise, you are welcome to create your story using any tool and share it to our stories padlet below!

  1. Before deciding how you want to share your story, we suggest you write it down in a notebook or on your phone first so you can think about what words to use and how to tell it.
    • Use the questions to guide your story:
      • What change do you want to make?
      • Why are you passionate or called to make that change: what specific experiences have shaped your story of self?
      • What happened in your past that taught you the importance of the issue?
      • Who was involved in your story? How did they help or guide you?
      • How has that led to where you are now?
      • What are you doing now to make a change/ difference?
  2. Choose what format you want to share your story in.
    • On padlet, select the three dots (...) on the bottom right corner of your post to see more options for how you can create and submit your story. A few options you have (but are not limited to) are:
      • Film: record video from your device camera
      • Voice: record audio from your device microphone
      • Screen: record your screen giving a presentation or using another tool
      • Upload and Link: you are welcome to use other tools to create your story then upload or link it to your post
  3. Create a post with the story of your community and call to action on your neighborhood padlet embedded below or by going to the link


Discussion:

  1. Whose story did you connect with the most? What did they say that you related to or felt closer to them because of?
  2. Whose story taught you something new? What did you learn?

    3. & Comment on Padlet for each story that you listen to or read and write the first word that it made you feel and then explain why.

      example comment on padlet post: I feel happy! Sara, your story made me feel really happy because of how you described your childhood helping in your mothers garden.

Thank you for sharing your story with us and utilizing your experiences to make a difference.