The ability to tell a compelling and evocative story is a critical part of our work, especially if it is related to creating a social impact. 
Communicating with clients, potential donors, bank loan officials, remote co-workers, and supervisors can benefit from effective storytelling.

Storytelling and Social Impact

<ul>
<li>Ask yourself what is the social impact story you want to tell, its title, main characters and audience. Figure out the desired outcome.</li>
<li>Keep your narrative vivid and relatable to the audience, showing them the impact of your work.</li>
<li>Ensure your story is linear and has certain milestones that help the audience follow through.</li>
</ul>

Crafting Your Story

One needs the right audience to deliver a good story:
<ol>
<li>A job interview requires you to use your storytelling skills to highlight your past success in a compelling and confident manner.</li>
<li>A presentation does not have to be facts and figures, but a backdrop of your story, illustrating your words as you narrate it.</li>
<li>While reaching out to an external audience, one needs to understand the issues they face and make it personal for them in your narration.</li>
</ol>

The Right Audience

<ul>
<li>Even if public speaking isn’t something that you excel at, you can craft stories, newsletters, emails, blogs, press releases and grant applications.</li>
<li>Social media is designed for storytelling, and you can broadcast to a wide audience with Facebook and Instagram.</li>
<li>Use an audio or video message to showcase the impact of your work, and use it as an instant story tool to new audiences.</li>
<li>Read your favourite storybooks and listen to TED talks that deliver great, impactful stories, learning new methods to fine-tune your message.</li>
</ul>

Delivering The Message

As social-impact professionals, the ability to tell a good story can be the difference between engaging our community with the work we do and learning too late that no one truly understands our organization’s mission.And now more than ever, as many of us have shifted our work to a remote space, storytelling skills are a critical part of our social-impact toolbox. The ability to tell a strong and evocative story enables us to communicate effectively not only with potential donors, but with remote co-workers and supervisors as well.<h2>Storytelling at work</h2>Social-impact professionals have a distinct advantage when it comes to storytelling. Talking about the work we do and why we do it can inspire others to get involved, give back, and learn about pressing social issues. The trick is figuring out how to use storytelling in our professional lives the same way that we use it in our personal lives.What’s your work story? Can you use it to give your supervisor insight into challenges you’re facing in your day-to-day? When working on a grant application, how can you connect the larger issue of homelessness, domestic violence, or sustainable agriculture to the individual stories of the people whose lives these issues most deeply impact? Storytelling can be one of the most valuable resources in your social-impact toolbox.<h2>Crafting your story</h2>Here are a few simple questions to ask yourself in order to start crafting your social-impact story:<UL><LI>What is the story that I want to tell?</LI><LI>If it had a title, what would it be?</LI><LI>Who are the main characters? Who is my audience?</LI><LI>If the audience receives this story exactly how I intend, what is my desired outcome?</LI></UL>Make your narrative vivid and relatable by showing your audience the impact of your work. Here is an example, using the above questions as a guide:<UL><LI>You want to tell a story about a your outdoor-education organization. You recently led a weeklong trip for kids to foster mindfulness and resiliency skills.</LI><LI>Title your story: “Off the Screen and In the Woods."</LI><LI>The main characters of your story are a group of six middle-school boys who have not spent much time camping or hiking.</LI><LI>Your audience includes alumni of your programs, parents and kids who may be interested in signing up for a similar program, community members who can support your mission, and the larger community who can benefit from hearing about the importance of time spent in nature with peers.</LI><LI>You want your audience to feel the emotional impact of what happens when a group of kids who don’t know each other at the beginning of the week is able to bond through shared experiences, struggle, and success.</LI></UL><h2>Telling your story to the right audience</h2>While personal narratives are a great accompaniment for an annual giving campaign, there are plenty of other situations where the story of your career, your organization, or your personal trajectory may be a great complement to the larger message you’re trying to communicate.<UL><LI>Job interviews. During an interview, <a href="https://idealistcareers.org/interview-star?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=idealist" dir="ltr">use your storytelling skills to show examples of your past success</a>. Maybe you have a strong background in volunteer management—talk about the creative way you recruited volunteers to grow the program, or how you learned to support their ongoing development and connection in your organization.</LI><LI>Presentations. Rather than pull together a presentation geared toward statistics, share the story behind the numbers instead. Ask yourself what those numbers mean, and why they matter. If it jives with the presentation culture of your organization, try to keep the words on each slide to a minimum, opting instead to use your slides to share important diagrams and illustrations that will act as the backdrop for your story.</LI><LI>Sharing the work of your organization with an external audience. I used to do outreach for an organization that supported survivors of domestic and sexual violence. When I entered a room of new people to talk about our work, my ability to connect with them hinged on my ability to make the issues real. To do this, I had to paint a picture of the women and children in our community who came to us for help, and show how the services we offered made a difference. In your own work, being able to make the issue personal can help get people invested and involved.</LI></UL>Pro Tip: Always make sure your story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. It may seem obvious, but if you don’t demarcate these milestones in your story, you may end up rambling on and losing your point (and your audience!).<h2>Alternative ways to deliver your message</h2>If public speaking isn’t your thing, consider some of these suggestions for communicating your message in a powerful way:<UL><LI>Writing. Written stories about your work can reach many more people than speaking engagements alone. Use writing to give a compelling report of your work history in a cover letter. Craft stories that get to the heart of your mission and touch the heart of your reader. Write your organization’s newsletter, website copy, blog content, press releases, and grant applications.</LI><LI>Social media. Storytelling on Instagram and Facebook can offer a way for folks outside of your organization to see the results of the work you do. This kind of storytelling gives the world a chance to be more connected to your work. Bonus: both platforms lend themselves to stories with visuals like beautiful and inspiring photos and video.</LI><LI>Video. Just as you are moved when sitting with someone and hearing an inspiring story, you can use video at work to tell yours. It is easier than ever to craft simple videos to actually show, rather than tell, your audience about the impact of your work.</LI></UL><h2>Brush up on your storytelling skills</h2>Who are some of the storytellers you most admire? Sit down with one of your favorite books, movies, or TED talks and start noticing what it is about the storytelling that pulls you in. Look for ways to play with styles you admire in your own work and practice different storytelling styles and techniques.<a href="https://narrative4.com/?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=idealist" dir="ltr">Narrative 4</a> and <a href="https://www.idealist.org/en/nonprofit/3d90baea9e014712a75d91b93ab657ae-storycorps-brooklyn" dir="ltr">StoryCorps</a> are two organizations that use storytelling to build and strengthen connections between people and communities by encouraging empathy and compassion. Both organizations believe that everyone has a story to tell and encourage people to sit down and talk to one another to grow our capacity to understand ourselves and our world. Check them out for inspiration on how to tell your own story.Did you enjoy this post? There's plenty more where this came from! Subscribe <a href="https://www.idealist.org/signup" dir="ltr">here</a> for updates.About the Author: For nearly two decades, Jeannette Eaton has been working for nonprofits and helping people identify their strengths. She has experience as an advocate for women and girls in crisis, a volunteer coordinator for adult literacy, and a family literacy instructor.<div><button data-qa-id="subscribe-to-subsite" type="button">Subscribe</button></div>

Telling stories about the work we do and why we do it can inspire others to get involved, give back, and learn about pressing social issues.

career

Career

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

communication

Communication

As social-impact professionals, the ability to tell a good story can be the difference between engaging our community with the work we do and learning too late that no one truly understands our organization’s mission.

And now more than ever, as many of us have shifted our work to a remote space, storytelling skills are a critical part of our social-impact toolbox. The ability to tell a strong and evocative story enables us to communicate effectively not only with potential donors, but with remote co-workers and supervisors as well.

Social-impact professionals have a distinct advantage when it comes to storytelling. Talking about the work we do and why we do it can inspire others to get involved, give back, and learn about pressing social issues. The trick is figuring out how to use storytelling in our professional lives the same way that we use it in our personal lives.

What’s your work story? Can you use it to give your supervisor insight into challenges you’re facing in your day-to-day? When working on a grant application, how can you connect the larger issue of homelessness, domestic violence, or sustainable agriculture to the individual stories of the people whose lives these issues most deeply impact? Storytelling can be one of the most valuable resources in your social-impact toolbox.

Here are a few simple questions to ask yourself in order to start crafting your social-impact story:

<ul><li>What is the story that I want to tell? </li><li>If it had a title, what would it be? </li><li>Who are the main characters? Who is my audience? </li><li>If the audience receives this story exactly how I intend, what is my desired outcome? </li> </ul>

Make your narrative vivid and relatable by showing your audience the impact of your work. Here is an example, using the above questions as a guide:

<ul><li>You want to tell a story about a your outdoor-education organization. You recently led a weeklong trip for kids to foster mindfulness and resiliency skills. </li><li>Title your story: “Off the Screen and In the Woods." </li><li>The main characters of your story are a group of six middle-school boys who have not spent much time camping or hiking. </li><li>Your audience includes alumni of your programs, parents and kids who may be interested in signing up for a similar program, community members who can support your mission, and the larger community who can benefit from hearing about the importance of time spent in nature with peers. </li><li>You want your audience to feel the emotional impact of what happens when a group of kids who don’t know each other at the beginning of the week is able to bond through shared experiences, struggle, and success. </li> </ul>

While personal narratives are a great accompaniment for an annual giving campaign, there are plenty of other situations where the story of your career, your organization, or your personal trajectory may be a great complement to the larger message you’re trying to communicate.

<ul><li>Job interviews. During an interview, <a href="https://idealistcareers.org/interview-star?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=idealist">use your storytelling skills to show examples of your past success </a>. Maybe you have a strong background in volunteer management—talk about the creative way you recruited volunteers to grow the program, or how you learned to support their ongoing development and connection in your organization. </li><li>Presentations. Rather than pull together a presentation geared toward statistics, share the story behind the numbers instead. Ask yourself what those numbers mean, and why they matter. If it jives with the presentation culture of your organization, try to keep the words on each slide to a minimum, opting instead to use your slides to share important diagrams and illustrations that will act as the backdrop for your story. </li><li>Sharing the work of your organization with an external audience. I used to do outreach for an organization that supported survivors of domestic and sexual violence. When I entered a room of new people to talk about our work, my ability to connect with them hinged on my ability to make the issues real. To do this, I had to paint a picture of the women and children in our community who came to us for help, and show how the services we offered made a difference. In your own work, being able to make the issue personal can help get people invested and involved. </li> </ul>

Pro Tip: Always make sure your story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. It may seem obvious, but if you don’t demarcate these milestones in your story, you may end up rambling on and losing your point (and your audience!).

If public speaking isn’t your thing, consider some of these suggestions for communicating your message in a powerful way:

<ul><li>Writing. Written stories about your work can reach many more people than speaking engagements alone. Use writing to give a compelling report of your work history in a cover letter. Craft stories that get to the heart of your mission and touch the heart of your reader. Write your organization’s newsletter, website copy, blog content, press releases, and grant applications. </li><li>Social media. Storytelling on Instagram and Facebook can offer a way for folks outside of your organization to see the results of the work you do. This kind of storytelling gives the world a chance to be more connected to your work. Bonus: both platforms lend themselves to stories with visuals like beautiful and inspiring photos and video. </li><li>Video. Just as you are moved when sitting with someone and hearing an inspiring story, you can use video at work to tell yours. It is easier than ever to craft simple videos to actually show, rather than tell, your audience about the impact of your work. </li> </ul>

Who are some of the storytellers you most admire? Sit down with one of your favorite books, movies, or TED talks and start noticing what it is about the storytelling that pulls you in. Look for ways to play with styles you admire in your own work and practice different storytelling styles and techniques.

<a href="https://narrative4.com/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=idealist">Narrative 4 </a>and <a href="https://www.idealist.org/en/nonprofit/3d90baea9e014712a75d91b93ab657ae-storycorps-brooklyn">StoryCorps </a>are two organizations that use storytelling to build and strengthen connections between people and communities by encouraging empathy and compassion. Both organizations believe that everyone has a story to tell and encourage people to sit down and talk to one another to grow our capacity to understand ourselves and our world. Check them out for inspiration on how to tell your own story.

Did you enjoy this post? There's plenty more where this came from! Subscribe <a href="https://www.idealist.org/signup">here </a>for updates.

About the Author: For nearly two decades, Jeannette Eaton has been working for nonprofits and helping people identify their strengths. She has experience as an advocate for women and girls in crisis, a volunteer coordinator for adult literacy, and a family literacy instructor.

How to Be a Social-Impact Storyteller

Storytelling and Social Impact

Crafting Your Story

The Right Audience

Delivering The Message

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