Refection: Storytelling

Challenge & Selection

Storytelling is a great tool that I use all the time. It allows me to create energy and passion and excitement about  something. It helps me to make strategy accessible. I work in an organization who feed those children which are away  from their parents and orphans. Those children 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 deal with children, we share stories for several reasons. Often, they're lonely and are unhappy to share stories  of their lives with me to connect and they find meaning in sharing these experiences I share stories of my life 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 have a story about using storytelling. I was thinking 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 well except for one woman whose stress was making  her very emotionally volatile. I think she needed attention so I decided to help her. I suddenly start walking and  noticing her and then sat down with her and start talking with her. She told me that her daughter, who was with her,  had survived with malaria and she was terrified; as now a days many people are died from this disease; thinking about  her daughter.

Insight & Approach

Her daughter was a calm presence and doing very well. Now its my time to told my story, I told her how scary it was  when my son had malaria 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 children who  survived malaria.

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 and start thinking positive that her daughter would also be fine and everyone around  them calmed down.

So I told this story to the organization and we also apply this story telling method to our students.  Sometimes a little  story can do a lot of good.

This course made me see this as a tool in a new way. Now I can prepare my mind and think of stories that will assist  me in presenting my ideas and best illuminate them.

