Example Reflection – Storytelling

Challenge & Selection

Storytelling is a great method of communication and I believe you gain a great understanding about  people and their needs just by listening to them talk about themselves and their personal situations.  I am the group leader of a nonprofit, recreation center that supports people in the inner-city, which  are in need. We offer various resources including but not limited to, food, clothes, financial support  and volunteered labor.

We have monthly meetings and we have about 10-15 attendees, on average for each meeting.  During the meetings, it’s encouraged for the attendees to tell us about themselves and discuss  things they are in need of. Once the family members became comfortable enough to open up during  our meetings, they give brief introductions about themselves and a short description of what they  need at the time, i.e. financial loans, groceries, new job, opportunity to go back to school.

We encourage members to be comfortable asking for whatever they need even though our financial  resources are limited. For the most part, our offerings consisted of donating groceries, clothing,  providing information about going back to school and financial advice. We aren’t always able to help  the families as much as we would like to and because of this, the attendance for our meetings has  started to dwindle. I realized that we are losing too many attendees to our meetings because we  don’t have enough resources to help our members.  I spent time thinking about ways to better assist  our members, with the limited resources that we have.

Application

I was thinking about the descriptions of the families that attend my meetings, I appreciate that they  were comfortable enough to open up to me and my team. This is why I value open discussions; it is  a great way to learn about people and to get an insight to what their circumstances are. It also helps  you connect in a more intimate way. We are not just some organization providing a service, we are a  group of people they are comfortable with, a bond is being made.

One day a question occurred to me, could I help visitors more if they told me stories about  themselves? Instead of brief descriptions, what if I could hear actual stories about them and their  day-to-day lives? For instance, I spoke to a lady that shared information about herself, like where  she went to school, where she’s from, what she does for a living and her highest level of education.  She also mentioned to me that she is a registered nurse and has been looking for a new job.  However during her next meeting I wanted her to tell me a story about herself, so I asked her to

simply tell me about a typical day for her. After hearing her story, I learned that she works a 10-hour  shift and then she has to pick up her son from her parents. It occurred to me that between her job  and raising her kids, that she didn’t have a lot of time to search for jobs nor to interview. I asked her  if it would help if my group searched for jobs for her and e-mail her job listings that match what she  is looking for. I offered to e-mail her job postings from job-networking sites. I also offered to reach  out to recruiting agencies and connected her with them. She agreed to the offer and allowed us to  search for jobs for her. This saved her a lot of time and gave her convenience to search for and  review jobs.

Another instance involved a gentleman that expressed to my team that he wanted to go back to  school. He has a B.A. in Communications and wants to pursue an MBA however he couldn’t afford to  enroll in business school. The next meeting, I asked him to talk more about his background and why  he wants to pursue a business degree. In this scenario our team would normally offer to research  scholarships or financial aid options but my first response was to ask him to tell me about where he  went to school, his past career and why he now wants to pursue a master’s in business.   I learned  that he worked in communications but the wages weren’t great so he started to work in sales. Now  his goal is to be a sales manager and in a few years, a Project manager.   After some thought, I  advised him that a cheaper option might be to earn a Project Management Certificate. A Project  management course is more affordable than a business degree and it’s more related to your career  choice. He never considered that option, he said he would give it some thought and I offered to e- mail him some info about Project Management certificates. I could have just addressed his needs as  he stated them, by helping him find ways to afford to go to business school however by getting him  to open up more I learned what he wanted to do for a career and was able to offer him a solution  that may work even better for him.

Insights and Approach

So I learned that by getting our attendees to speak out and tell stories, we were able to learn more  about their situations in detail and connect with them more intimately. The more information they  shared, the easier it was to help them. The more info we had, the more my group and I could  brainstorm solutions for helping them. Going forward, I will have our members tell story about their  day-to day lives during our meetings and find other exercises we can use for my group and I to get  to know our members. Of course, if they don’t feel comfortable telling these stories, to the group, I  will arrange to talk with them in private.

Having them tell stories gave us greater insights about how we could help them than we would get  from just digging, asking specific questions. It also helps to connect with people and makes them  feel more comfortable interacting with your organization. By getting members to tell stories about  themselves and open up, they felt more at home and people who feel like they are at home, tend to  come back.


Example Reflection – Storytelling Challenge & Selection Storytelling is a great method of communication and I believe you gain a great understanding about people and their needs just by listening to them talk about themselves and their personal situations . I am the group leader of a nonprofit , recreation center that supports people in the inner - city , which are in need . We offer various resources including but not limited to , food , clothes , financial support and volunteered labor . We have monthly meetings and we have about 10 - 15 attendees , on average for each meeting . During the meetings , it ’s encouraged for the attendees to tell us about themselves and discuss things they are in need of . Once the family members became comfortable enough to open up during our meetings , they give brief introductions about themselves and a short description of what they need at the time , i.e. financial loans , groceries , new job , opportunity to go back to school . We encourage members to be comfortable asking for whatever they need even though our financial resources are limited . For the most part , our offerings consisted of donating groceries , clothing , providing information about going back to school and financial advice . We are n’t always able to help the families as much as we would like to and because of this , the attendance for our meetings has started to dwindle . I realized that we are losing too many attendees to our meetings because we do n’t have enough resources to help our members . I spent time thinking about ways to better assist our members , with the limited resources that we have . Application I was thinking about the descriptions of the families that attend my meetings , I appreciate that they were comfortable enough to open up to me and my team . This is why I value open discussions ; it is a great way to learn about people and to get an insight to what their circumstances are . It also helps you connect in a more intimate way . We are not just some organization providing a service , we are a group of people they are comfortable with , a bond is being made . One day a question occurred to me , could I help visitors more if they told me stories about themselves ? Instead of brief descriptions , what if I could hear actual stories about them and their day - to - day lives ? For instance , I spoke to a lady that shared information about herself , like where she went to school , where she ’s from , what she does for a living and her highest level of education . She also mentioned to me that she is a registered nurse and has been looking for a new job . However during her next meeting I wanted her to tell me a story about herself , so I asked her to simply tell me about a typical day for her . After hearing her story , I learned that she works a 10 - hour shift and then she has to pick up her son from her parents . It occurred to me that between her job and raising her kids , that she did n’t have a lot of time to search for jobs nor to interview . I asked her if it would help if my group searched for jobs for her and e - mail her job listings that match what she is looking for . I offered to e - mail her job postings from job - networking sites . I also offered to reach out to recruiting agencies and connected her with them . She agreed to the offer and allowed us to search for jobs for her . This saved her a lot of time and gave her convenience to search for and review jobs . Another instance involved a gentleman that expressed to my team that he wanted to go back to school . He has a B.A. in Communications and wants to pursue an MBA however he could n’t afford to enroll in business school . The next meeting , I asked him to talk more about his background and why he wants to pursue a business degree . In this scenario our team would normally offer to research scholarships or financial aid options but my first response was to ask him to tell me about where he went to school , his past career and why he now wants to pursue a master ’s in business . I learned that he worked in communications but the wages were n’t great so he started to work in sales . Now his goal is to be a sales manager and in a few years , a Project manager . After some thought , I advised him that a cheaper option might be to earn a Project Management Certificate . A Project management course is more affordable than a business degree and it ’s more related to your career choice . He never considered that option , he said he would give it some thought and I offered to e- mail him some info about Project Management certificates . I could have just addressed his needs as he stated them , by helping him find ways to afford to go to business school however by getting him to open up more I learned what he wanted to do for a career and was able to offer him a solution that may work even better for him . Insights and Approach So I learned that by getting our attendees to speak out and tell stories , we were able to learn more about their situations in detail and connect with them more intimately . The more information they shared , the easier it was to help them . The more info we had , the more my group and I could brainstorm solutions for helping them . Going forward , I will have our members tell story about their day - to day lives during our meetings and find other exercises we can use for my group and I to get to know our members . Of course , if they do n’t feel comfortable telling these stories , to the group , I will arrange to talk with them in private . Having them tell stories gave us greater insights about how we could help them than we would get from just digging , asking specific questions . It also helps to connect with people and makes them feel more comfortable interacting with your organization . By getting members to tell stories about themselves and open up , they felt more at home and people who feel like they are at home , tend to come back .