How to Succeed at Storytelling (Without Really Trying)
Stories breathe life into promotions. Readers are energized when they hear how your organization makes a difference in the lives of people you serve.
And since you’re doing all kinds of good things for people, there’s no question – stories are out there.
The problem is collecting them.
A story collection system – one that takes next to no time and is easily accessible – puts your stories at your fingertips. With a system, you’ll have basics your writer needs to flesh out stories for powerful appeals, newsletters, and online promotions.
Putting together a story collection system is not hard. And it takes barely any time.
Take advantage of the stories that come your way today when you follow these intentional steps.
Keep your antennae up
Story-gathering is a priority. Keep your ears open about successes, both big and small. Make this a point of intentionality for your staff, too. You can even solicit stories from volunteers – “Tell me how things are going for you as you work with us. What situation sticks out in your mind over the last couple of months?”
Total time invested: 0
Take notes
When you hear a story, open a file on your computer and type in a few brief phrases:
Sue – unemployed for 5 months; after counseling with Alice she had 3 interviews in a week (just enough information to spark a feature story interview with Sue and/or Alice).
Joe – short-term missions worker to Chad; overwhelmed by the poverty he found there; on day 2, he saw the line wrapped all the way around the makeshift medical clinic and into the desert; cried; helped deliver 3 babies and vaccinated 30+ children that day (perfect core information to initiate an interview with Joe).
Total time invested: 2-3 minutes
Maintain good records
Nothing is more frustrating than recalling a story that’s perfect for the piece you’re working on – and not being able to put your hands on the contact person’s email address or phone number. Record contact information in each story file. Note the date you hear the story, the source, and that person’s phone number and email address.
Total time invested: 30 seconds
Voila! With just a teensy bit of planning and even less time, you can have oodles of story leads to share with your writer. She’ll do the heavy lifting – contacting the source, getting details, and weaving the stories into your pieces.
Sounds too easy? It is.
Why don’t people do it? I don’t know. Just make sure you do!
About the author
Kathy Widenhouse (www.kathywidenhouse.com) is a freelance development writer who specializes in producing materials for the faith-based, nonprofit market. She also provides strategic consultation to help nonprofits get their message out and get results. Kathy’s 90+ articles have appeared in more than 40 periodicals, and she has written 5 books.