Challenge & Selection

Storytelling is a tool that I use all the time. I work with multiple populations, sometimes  without education, and economically disadvantaged people. Many of these people deal with  oppression and dysfunction in every aspect of their lives, they need to be empowered and  inspiration is a path to empowerment. I spend a lot of time “opening people up” and finding  ways to inspire them to improve their circumstances. When I work with seniors, we share  stories for different reasons. Often they're lonely and are so happy to share stories of their  lives with me to connect and they find meaning in sharing these experiences as a form of  teaching and/or legacy, in a sense. With many clients I share stories of my life in order to help  them visualize a state of independence, I use their feedback against the context of my story to  ascertain their goals, and sometimes we use stories to better understand their interests and  thought processes. I use this information to develop different strategies to try and find a way  that works for them to gain more independence in the areas they find lacking in their lives.

Application

I use storytelling. In discussing policy changes with a social service agency, I was trying to  explain to them the benefits of taking a more client focused approach, among other things,  and in particular, of recognizing each person as a unique being, and addressing their individual  needs first and foremost. The agency was in the grip of a “compliance culture” and its clients  were failing in this non-empathetic, rigid structure. I was also explaining how sometimes  addressing the needs of one individual can impact everyone for the better, even if it seems  extreme or out of the ordinary. I told a story about when I ran an emergency shelter after a  natural disaster. Everyone was doing really well except for one woman whose stress was  making her very emotionally volatile. I could tell she needed attention; in my mind I decided  she would be “Princess for an hour.” I made her a cup of coffee and sat down with her and let  her talk. It turned out that her mother, who was with her, had survived a brain aneurysm and  she was terrified that she would fall or that some other crisis would befall her during this  disaster while in the shelter.

Insight & Approach

Well, wow, that was an eye-opener. Her mother was a calm presence and doing very well.  Clearly it was time for me to open up with my story. I told her how scary it was when my father  had his brain aneurysm in front of me and how I had to get him to the hospital and how  difficult and scary that all was. I shared how he recovered well, and then tied us together, by  noting how she and I both have parents who survived brain aneurysms. This worked really  well. She really needed individual attention for that brief time, and she ended up with that and  a true support. She calmed down, her mother, who had become worried about her, calmed  down, and everyone around them calmed down. Peace reigned again in our little shelter. So I  told this story to the agency, and I think it had a big impact on people there. The policies are  being reevaluated and the caseworkers are going through new training. Sometimes a little  story can do a lot of good. This course made me see this as a tool in a new way. When I've  done it before it was really "ad hoc," but now I can prepare ahead and think of stories that will

assist me in presenting my ideas and best illuminate them. I have a design background, but I  ended up as an entrepreneur in business. I had no idea this would ever be considered an asset,  but I am so very grateful that it is!

