Inclusive Storytelling for Community Building

Storytelling Skills

Author: Symplexis - Nora Giannakaki

Introduction

Storytelling/Copyright free/ https://www.istockphoto.com/search/2/image?phrase=storytelling&allowedu

Your task as a cultural mediator is to get prepared, gain and strengthen your skills as a curator-facilitator, so you will be able to organise storytelling events & sessions in an inclusive way to the members of your community/ region or city/ village. These events and sessions are expected to help build diverse communities and overcome loneliness, while strengthening yours and the participants' competences around communication, public speaking, researching, and improving their self- confidence and overall quality of life.

Your focus should be on inclusivity, ensuring that the storytelling procedure will serve as a tool for celebrating diversity and promote inclusivity at community level.

A short reminder from the previous quest:

Storytelling is beneficial for everyone and all ages. Storytelling is the highest form of communication, where the teller and the audience connect in many different ways. Recent research has shown that storytelling has a positive impact on our physiology: an engaging story can even change some of our main hormones.

Let’s dive deeper in the world of stories!

What’s the activity?

https://www.dreamstime.com/search.php?srh_field=group+people+playing+cards+board+games+community+cen

Methodology

This webquest is

based on the ACE partnership,s (organisational) knowledge, expertise and experience in delivering capacity programs in the field of art and adult education,
built on an inclusive learning approach - where nobody is left behind.

Within the framework of the ACE Culture Project, you are encouraged to use the knowledge gained from this quest for empowering your community’s members, adult learners in the wider sense. This quest is expected to be an important tool for you, when creating a community based learning event about or through storytelling.

Remember from the previous quest: The topic of storytelling is chosen, as it is accessible for all and can become a strong basis for exploring local cultural treasures, folklore resources, resulting in better community engagement and strengthening personal and communal identity for eliminating loneliness and isolation.

What am I going to do?

In this section you will find detailed simplified instructions (step by step) on how to build up an inclusive storytelling session or event in two main phases.

1st phase: “Make your homework”

Read this quest and the recommended sources on how storytelling can become a tool for building inclusive communities.
Additionally, do your own research online and offline, listen to people who inspire you, and seek for resources on the internet.
Remember what you already know and have: your work and personal experiences, studies, research you have made on the topic.
Get prepared and organised: make a timeplan and schedule your time for going through the learning content & create your own material on inclusive storytelling.

When creating your inclusive storytelling material for your community/ learning group pay attention to the following:

Create a space where oral real time storytelling is possible and encouraged and participants have the possibility to showcase an authentic diversity.
Set as a goal of the session(s)/ event: getting to know each other better, without discrimination,
Ask attendees to create their stories: Set a timeframe & (a) topic (s) for this.
Remind your participants that storytelling is a form of public speaking, therefore “structure, language, and oral delivery play a role in storytelling, too”.
Let your participants tell/ present their stories.
Engage your participants in a discussion on the stories told. Lead the discussion in a way that is non-judgmental.
Be cautious about giving the floor to all participants to speak.
Highlight as positive all different opinions and backgrounds of the participants.
Focus also on commonalities in the group.
Challenge stereotypes, generalisations, and prejudice. For this the best way is to let everybody talk and have deepening questions leading the conversation.
Encourage them to discuss culture-related topics.
Encourage them to talk about things and events making them proud & happy.
Allow participants to give feedback on what they heard and gained from the session/ event. This needs a timeslot that is planned in the agenda according to the number of participants.
Close the session(s)/ event with summarising questions:

What makes a story interesting? Inspiring?

Which are the skills of a great storyteller?

What else is needed beside words (non verbal communication, music, lights, etc)?

Is it better to actively involve the audience in a story?

Was the content well organised? Easily understandable?

Did the storyteller challenge his/her/its comfort zone?

Was the flow and the rhythm of the story good?

Did the storyteller manage to hold up the attention of the audience?

Was the intensity and the variety of the voice tone likeable?

Were there any messages? Lessons to learn, or could you relate to any of the stories told?

2nd phase: “Plan your sessions/event”

Plan and deliver your storytelling session(s) or event based on the suggested detailed plan found in the previous quest (Storytelling Workshop)

Important note:

Inclusivity is your priority - make an effort to reach out to vulnerable groups in your community, who may be more at risk of isolation. Remember that inclusivity is also about accessibility: your event is more inclusive when people with disabilities or difficulties in their movement can have access (both on and offline).

You can find useful information in the Resources section with tips and hints for a workshop.

What will I learn?

Knowledge Acquired:

Knowledge on inclusive storytelling.
Knowledge on storytelling techniques and methods that serve inclusivity.
Knowledge on how to organise a cultural - educational event/ workshop in an inclusive way.
Basic knowledge on how to prepare tools for feedback and reflection for storytelling sessions/events.

Skills Acquired:

Leadership
Communication
Public speaking
Storytelling
Compassion
Enthousiasm
Resilience
Planning and organising
Researching

Attitude Acquired:

Inclusivity
Openness
Patient
Spontaneity
Critical in a positive manner/ non -judgmental
Optimism
Collaborative, team player
Public-oriented attitude
Advanced language skills
Advanced body language
Empathy
Self-confidence

What will I take home?

As a Cultural Mediator and event facilitator, it is important that you share your knowledge on inclusivity and storytelling with the members of your community.

You will grow as a professional, too. Your artistic career will be boosted by gaining experience and knowledge on what inclusive storytelling is and how to facilitate a session/event on this topic.

Your attendees and you will have better soft skills (skills mentioned above) that will definitely help them in personal and professional life.

At a community level, it is estimated that after the event(s) organised based on this quest, your local community members will feel less lonely and isolated and more motivated to participate in similar future learning events.

Resources
Click each section below to see all resources available.

Websites (URLs)

Making Storytelling Inclusive and Equitable
URL: https://www.practice-space.org/storytelling_guide/resource-2-making-storytelling-inclusive-and-equitable/

Frontline Worker Toolkit

Aims and Objectives:

Introduce the method of inclusive storytelling to art workers/ art educators
Introduce tools on leading/ facilitating an event discussion on storytelling.
Strengthen community through inclusivity.
Eliminate loneliness and isolation through inclusive storytelling.

Top tips:

Tips to art educators and frontline workers:

Make your “homework”: read the quest, do your research, “own’ the topic! You are supposed to share your thoughts, knowledge and experience around inclusive storytelling with your audience or learners and this needs preparation.
Get digital! Share your sources and resources with your learners through your online platform(s) for better informing and engaging them. You can also do this through your company or organisation channels if allowed.
Never lose focus on diversity and equity: Be sure that the language, the material and tools you use are all inclusive.
When making your own inclusive storytelling learning material, pay attention to the following points:

Pointing out commonalities and differences of the participants in a balanced way is crucial. All participants of a learning group need to feel unique and part of the whole group simultaneously.
Give time and space for your participants to roll out their stories in a way that they want. For those who wish to be prepared, not to present their stories spontaneously, leave time to get prepared.
After the story telling part, lead a discussion about the feelings and emotions the stories brought up in all attendees.
Let the participants give feedback and talk, then lead the discussion with deepening/helping questions.
- What makes a story interesting? Inspiring?
- Which are the skills of a great storyteller?
- What else is needed beside words (non verbal communication, music, lights, etc)?
- Is it better to actively involve the audience in a story?
- Was the content well organised? Easily understandable?
- Did the storyteller challenge his/her/its comfort zone?
- Was the flow and the rhythm of the story good?
- Did the storyteller manage to hold up the attention of the audience?
- Was the intensity and the variety of the voice tone likeable?
- Were there any messages? Lessons to learn, or could you relate to any of the stories told?

The Identity of a Leader
https://www.practice-space.org/storytelling_guide/resource-1-storytelling-the-identity-of-a-leader/

Sharing the Stories of Others
https://www.practice-space.org/storytelling_guide/resource-11-sharing-the-stories-of-others/