Introduction to Storytelling

EYEWITNESS PALESTINE
SESSION 2-
STORYTELLING

SHARE AN APPRECIATION OF
SOMEONE ELSE

WHAT IS A STORY?
What makes something a story?
Turn and talk to the
person next to you.

FOR IT TO BE A STORY...
Time has to pass.
There is a beginning, middle and end.
Something has to happen.

EXERCISE:
You already know what makes a great story.
Break into 5 groups.
1. Each group will get a prompt with part of a story on it.
2. Each group will make up a story to fill in the details.
3. Each group will have one minute to perform their story
for their larger group.
4. As you watch, investigate the question, “What makes a great story?”
5. Choose 2 insights to share with the whole group.

STORY VS. DESCRIPTION
How did you feel differently when listening
to the story vs. the description?

Stories are like a PARTY for your brain.
We can’t help but LOVE them.

Our brains are addicted
to stories because
they teach us how
to overcome problems.

STORIES allow us to create
ORDER out of the chaotic.

In a way, humans are not made
of skin and bones as much as
we’re made of stories.
-Sue Monk Kidd

WITHOUT STORY
Language center activated only.
WORDS MEANING

WITH STORY
OXYTOCIN
(the CONNECTION chemical)
DOPAMINE
(the HAPPINESS chemical)
FLOODED WITH
FEEL- GOOD HORMONES!

Stories are designed to persuade an
audience of a storyteller’s worldview.

STORIES SYNCHRONIZE BRAINS
Our brain lights up, as it would if we were
experiencing the story ourself.

YOUR BRAIN
IS CHANGED FOR
AFTER YOU
HEAR OR READ
A GOOD STORY.
DAYS

Stories make us feel
connected to one another.
When we can relate to a story,
it makes us feel that
WE’RE NOT ALONE.

People care more about
WHY THAN WHAT.
STORIES SHOW WHAT’S AT STAKE
AND WHY IT MATTERS.

When beginning a story,
present a question in the mind of the
audience.
?
Ask: what will make someone want to
keep listening to this story?

GREAT STORIES...
have dramatic tension.
THE STAKES are high.
THEY MAKE the audience wonder,
“WHAT WILL happen next?
How will they overcome this challenge?
How will this end?”

A protagonist faces a
challenging experience.
THE HERO’S JOURNEY
(archetypal story told in many cultures)

They struggle to overcome the challenge,

But then they discover the
answer and strength within
themselves (overcoming the
challenge may not look like
they originally thought).

Their reward for overcoming the challenge
is the gift of the insight/lesson.

At the heart of every story is
A CHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE.
The protagonist is not the same at the end
as they were at the beginning.

GREAT STORIES
describe a personal
transformation.
CHANGE IS THE ESSENTIAL
ELEMENT OF A STORY.

GREAT STORIES...
Present lessons that encourage people to
pursue their higher values-
Believing in our power, choosing our own self-definition,
caring for one another, acting on behalf of one another.

GREAT STORIES...
Make the audience have
an ‘A-Ha Moment’.
The moment the protagonist learns how to
get through the challenge.
Most emotional moment of the story.

THE AH-HA MOMENT
It’s when your audience
suddenly understands the
message within the story.
It reveals the purpose and
meaning of the story.

GREAT STORIES...
are specific, concrete and personal.
Small story, universal theme.

GREAT STORIES
do not just describe a series of
events, they are about how that
series of events changed the way
the storyteller sees the world.

Instead of describing how you see the world,
tell a story about HOW you came
to see the world that way.
TIP:

In your story, include two
PARTICULAR MOMENTS/SCENES,
where we are pulled into a specific place
and time.

GREAT STORIES...
Include memorable, sensory
details that are relevant to
the core message.
Paint a scene with words.

When something makes us FEEL,
we remember it.
GREAT STORIES...
Are emotional.
They convey the internal
motivations and emotions of
the characters.

GREAT STORIES...
SHOW, NOT TELL
What did you see, taste, feel, smell?

GREAT STORIES...
Have an element of surprise or
something unexpected

GREAT STORIES
Show vulnerability.
Vulnerability =
Emotional Exposure.

“VULNERABILITY IS THE ONLY
BRIDGE TO CONNECTION.”

GREAT STORIES...
Are simple- they only
include details that
illustrate the message.

Take out everything that
doesn’t serve the story.
ONLY include the details that
add up to the Ah-Ha moment.

HOW TO STRUCTURE A
POWERFUL STORY

HOW TO STRUCTURE YOUR STORY:
STORY ARCH
CLIMAX
CLOSURE
CONCLUSION
The A-Ha Moment.
Ground it in a specific location.
How is life different because of
this realization? Include a detail
or anecdote about how the
impact was experienced.
Relate the story back
to your audience.
Empower them to
apply the moral
of the story
to their lives.
CONTEXT
The hook: set the
stage and introduce
who, what, when,
and where.
CONFLICT
Present the problem. Include
a detail or anecdote about
how the challenge was
experienced.
JOURNEY TO CHANGE
Struggle of the journey
makes the character change.

CONTEXT:
THE BEGINNING OF YOUR STORY
Set the stage and introduce
who, what, when and where.

CONFLICT:
PRESENT YOUR PROBLEM
Set up what the character wants, so the
listener wonders how they will get it.
Include a memory/scene at the moment of
realizing the problem/asking the question.

JOURNEY TO CHANGE:
Struggles on the journey that make
the character change.

CLIMAX:
THE MOMENT OF CHANGE
THE “A-HA MOMENT”.
Include a memory/scene at the moment of
realizing the solution/finding the answer.
Take people to where you were and what you
remember seeing, feeling, thinking, hearing,
smelling.

CLOSURE:
What happened as a result
of the Ah-Ha Moment?

CONCLUSION: FUTURE
State what the future looks like for
the protagonist. Relate the moral of
the story back to the audience.

UNEARTHING YOUR STORIES
We are going to identify
your most powerful stories.

PERSONAL TIMELINE EXERCISE
15 minutes
Plot the major turning points
and experiences in your life.
Indicate at least 10 experiences
that changed you.

EXPLORING YOUR PERSONAL STORY
I’M
BORN!
MOVE TO
PASO ROBLES
MOVE TO
LA QUINTA
MOVE TO
SACRAMENTO
RECEIVE FULL
SCHOLARSHIP
TO NYU.
GO TO
NIGERIA
OUTWARD MOMENTS
INNER SHIFTS
PARENTS BREAK UP,
START DATING ETHAN
I see injustice for
the first time.
Commit to
strengthening
humanity.
Leave Catholicism.
TRAVEL AROUND
THE WORLD WITH
SEMESTER AT SEA
Comparative
injustice.
Develop my
philosophy on
the world.
Beliefs and
worldview
rocked.
Ungrounded.
PALESTINE
I begin calling myself
a photographer“Failure” in school =
Proving mentality.

“We cannot think
without language,
we cannot process
experience without
story.”
-Christina Baldwin

STORIES HOLD OUR
IDENTITIES TOGETHER.

And defining a cause
for each effect.

What is the meaning that you
have taken from the experiences
that you’ve had?

HOW TO CRAFT YOUR
PERSONAL STORIES
CHOOSING A STORY
(FOR THE STORY SLAM)

Two Methods:
EXPERIENCE BELIEF
BELIEF EXPERIENCE

Start with an experience.
Something that happened- a challenge you faced, a goal
you had, a person you met, a project you started.
Reflect on what you learned from that experience and
how it changed the way you see the world.
Craft a story that adds up to that realization/belief.
EXPERIENCE BELIEF

Start with your core messages.
What do you want to say to the world?
What’s the message that you just have to share
as a result of your experiences?
Then try to remember experiences you’ve had
that taught you or confirmed that belief in you.
Build a story that adds up to that belief.
BELIEF EXPERIENCE

DIGGING UP YOUR STORIES
WORKSHEET
Experience Belief
Work on first part of worksheet.

CHOOSE 1 EXPERIENCE
that was particularly transformative
SHARE WITH A PARTNER IN 2 MINUTES:
1. The story of that experience
2. How it affected you.
3. What you learned from it.
PARTNER:
Be a story detective:
-What catches your attention?
-What makes the story powerful?
-What are the ingredients that make it work?

STEP 1: IDENTIFY
YOUR AUDIENCE.

CREATE
AWARENESS
INFLUENCE
BEHAVIOR
CHANGE
ATTITUDES
What is your goal in telling this story?

STEP 2: IDENTIFY YOUR
AH-HA! MOMENT
What do you want your audience to realize?
What is the message you feel called to share
with your audience?

Think about the shift in perspective you
want the audience to have.
Do you have a story of when you had that
shift in perspective yourself?
STEP 3: BUILD A STORY AROUND
YOUR AH-HA! MOMENT

THINK:
What story can I tell to make my
audience have [this] ah-ha moment?

STEP 4: BUILD THE STRUCTURE
OF THE STORY
CLIMAX
CH
ALLEN
GE
RESOLUTION
The Beginning Middle End
Ah-Ha Moment
Setting &
Introduction

STEP 5:
REVISIT MEMORIES TO
create scenes with vivid, sensory details.

STEP 6:
ELIMINATE UN-NECESSARY DETAILS

STEP 6:
PRACTICE & GET FEEDBACK

You will have 3.5 minutes
to share your story.
STORY SLAM

WRITE YOUR CORE MESSAGE
(what is the lesson of the story?)
Use this as a guide to decide what to
include and what to take out.

Take a moment to draw or
visualize your story.

TIPS FOR SHARING YOUR STORY
Connect to your heart.
speak YOUR truth.

“None of it matters without
AUTHENTICITY.”

NERVES =
Your message inside of you,
wanting to be shared with the world.

REFLECTIONS
How was the experience of crafting
your story and sharing it?
How did it feel to share your story?
What realizations did you have listening
to other peoples’ stories?

Share ONE TAKE-AWAY from today.

Introduction to Storytelling

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