Creating Stories that Inspire Change
If you are working in the arts, transformation or social change, you probably have a desire to facilitate change.
Many of us are looking for the right words and the perfect story to inspire this change.
How can we do this through the stories we tell? And is it possible?
How Stories Make Change
The truth is, people absorb information in bits and pieces.
What they absorb depends on their existing experiences, understandings, beliefs, and desires.
If you want to communicate something with your story, you need to communicate the same message over and over in different forms from different angles.
You can increase your impact if your message is in conversation with other stories already in the cultural landscape. When you are in a dialogue with other narratives, your audience will have additional handles, places of resonance, of an overlap of understanding.
Finding Your One Phrase
To repeat the same message over and over in different ways, you want to create a story kaleidoscope. You share fractions of the same message but it looks and sounds different depending on where you are sharing it and which details you are sharing.
To do this, it is important to know what you want to convey. What is the main message you hope people walk away with? What bigger knowing do you want to guide them to understand?
I call this the One Phrase.
I’ve talked about the One Word in previous posts, the theme of your work. And I have a free download that shares how to find your One Word.
The One Phrase expands on this and widens the story.
It is the belief that you want to be known for.
Here are two examples.
For psychotherapist Esther Perel, her one word is relationship.
Her one phrase is “The quality of our relationships determines the quality of our lives.”
For physician, author and podcast host Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, his one word is health.
His one phrase is “I believe that when we are healthier we are happier because when we feel better we live more.”
My one word is story.
And my one phrase is “I believe that stories have the power to bridge divides, the more we know others the less we fear others.”
Your one phrase should be big enough to encompass the breadth of what you are interested in speaking about and narrow enough to be unique and meaningful to the audience you want to serve.
Our Stories Have Power in Numbers
The more people share their authentic stories the more open people will be to new ideas and ways of relating to the world.
It may not seem that way right now when our media landscape is sliced and diced so that we hear only a narrow set of experiences and perspectives.
However, I think as more voices speak up and out and call in, the more different human expressions are being accepted.
In my Instagram feed over the past few weeks I’ve seen people speaking up for native peoples in the wake of the uncovering of mass graves outside of residential schools in Canada and people speaking in support of Olympian Simone Biles as she withdrew from competition to take care of her mental health.
These stories didn’t just take root in the hearts and minds of people here today.
These stories were heard because of the millions of stories that came before. The men and women fighting for the right for women to vote, the humans fighting in the 1960s to expand our education beyond white colonial narratives, the stories that came out from the #MeToo movement.
Each of our stories matters.
Creating Your Story Kaleidoscope
If you want to be remembered and if you want your story to have your intended impact, it is important to find your One Phrase and to state what you believe in, that times your work and your interests together.
This might sound easy but it can feel risky as you narrow your focus to your core message.
If your belief is something you haven’t spoken about directly, it can feel uncomfortable opening up and sharing your authentic self.
If you start talking about your belief and do not get immediate feedback you might feel pulled to sharing other ideas.
But I’ve seen this over and over, the people who are the most clear and open about their belief are able to find their audience, create connects for partnerships and build opportunities to expand their work and enrich their lives.
Finding your One Phrase also brings your closer to align all that you do to the source of your energy, your passion and purpose.
Your Story Seed
Change happens over time.
Much of what happens is imperceptible, like the growth of a seed buried underground.
Our stories are seeds for change.
I fantasize about a time when the world is love bombed with stories for good.
It starts with each person taking the time to go inside and understand their own inspirations and beliefs.
Take a moment today to reflect on your own beliefs. What do you stand for? What seed of change do you want to plant?
Share your seed with me on Instagram.
If you are interested in learning how to build your story kaleidoscope, I invite you to check out my 8-week program, Find Your Authentic Voice. Doors close August 6 and the program starts August 9. Learn more here.