‘The venue (The Freedom Hub) is light and spacious; the audience are sitting in the theatre style seating – lines facing the ‘stage’ and there is a vibe of anticipation. The first speaker (Carol) offers an acknowledgement of country and introduces the intention and shape of the day. The founder of the network, who has travelled from Canada to attend, Vicki, then stands and greets the audience, she notes with a smile that we are working within an emergent approach. Suddenly, emergently, Caresse jumps into the space. She invites the ‘audience’ to get out of their chairs to mingle and meet. She invites them to share a ‘yarn’ with some prompting questions – the storying has begun! The energy builds in the room! We’re no longer an ‘audience’, we’re co-creating a field of story within which seeds can flower!’
WE were recently invited to facilitate a process with a network of change-makers to articulate and give expression to current and emerging cultural themes. Questions like ‘who we are’ and ‘where we are going’ were wanting to be answered. Together with our client we decided that storytelling and story listening offered the most effective way to tap into these themes.
We went on through the day using a mix of story sharing; people pitching their business with a story focus, someone telling a story to the group, one 2 one story sharing, sharing stories in small groups. We also took time to do some reflecting and sense making around the stories. We culminated in a group action-based story exercise generating intimate connections, rich and diverse insights and a level of trust that allowed for more challenging themes to be expressed.
Often, at conferences, training and meetings etc we discuss ideas in abstract concepts like ‘the future’ or ‘communication’ or even ‘leadership’, these topics can be difficult to grasp as they lack a tangible context. Stories, however, are steeped in context and resonate with our mind, heart and imaginations, tapping into our innate ability to recognize and anticipate patterns.
Stories beget stories and before you know it a rich field of insight gets activated that taps the group’s lived experience, generating fresh ideas and deepening connection.
When you next want to explore an issue, we encourage you to include storytelling and story listening, be sure to spend time to reflect on the stories you hear; what are the themes, harvest insights together.
Read about our wonderful program Story pollinators to support you in the language and practice of storytelling. Reach out to us if you are seeking deeper engagement in topics with your audiences.
