Listen: The stories are all around us
"Ever since human beings sat around the fire in caves, we've told stories to help us deal with the dread of life and the struggle to survive." (Fryer, 2003)
Powerful storytelling engages people in a way that activates listening, resulting in connections and emotions that can lead to action. In every story, there is a storytelling role and a listening role. The narrator must craft a moving story that engages the listener and builds a connection. Compelling stories are honest and embrace life's struggles and challenges, giving the audience a chance to experience uncertainties and emotions with the protagonist.
For non-profits, many questions surround storytelling when building relationships with donors – what is the goal of telling this story? How do the details of the story support the goal? By answering these questions and crafting a story with a goal in mind, donors make essential connections and glean critical information and ideas.
"When you tell your donors a story, you activate their empathy, help them build connections between ideas and action, and translate facts into feelings–all of which fuels giving and promotes donor retention. Facts and figures have their place, but stories are what stick in people's minds and warm their hearts." (Morand, 2020)
Sensory details bring a story to life and engage a reader's interest. When we illustrate a feeling – triumph, failure, sorrow, or joy, using real sensory details, we engage active listening through passionate emotions that result in a chemical response in the reader's brain and a desire to take action. In this way, readers can experience emotions and feelings through our characters' eyes; in our case, the patients, donors, healthcare workers, families, and every person that comprises our Gaylord community.
At Gaylord, our history is rich with stories. Each member of the Gaylord community weaves a story into our small, independent organization's narrative as we face significant challenges in the journey to advance and revolutionize rehabilitation healthcare. Caring for the whole person, body, mind, and spirit, involves listening. Healthcare and the personal narrative connect at so many points; patients with nurses, patients and families with clinicians, nurses with physicians, and every permutation. Recognizing these connections, actively listening, and using these stories to improve care, build the greater narrative of a patient's recovery. We must not be afraid to reveal our deepest fears and challenges – that is when our story becomes authentic. And, most importantly, we need to listen.
What stories inspire you? What, in your story, inspires others?
