Storytelling and copywriting is a great tool to us.

I work with vulnerable populations in church, developmentally disabled individuals, senior citizens, 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 “preaching” 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 my developmentally disabled 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 have a  story about using 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. 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 churches. I had  no idea this would ever be considered an asset, but I am so very grateful that it is!

