Three Critical Elements of Storytelling
Hi Friends! I’m in Fort Worth, TX for a meeting with my friends and colleagues from Horizons Stewardship.
Because Advent is such a great time to tell stories, take a look at this post from 2018 for some tips as you prepare to tell your story. And let Aretha Franklin inspire you.
Last Thursday the Queen of Soul (and gospel, rock and roll, and a little opera), Aretha Franklin, passed. The world will never be quite the same without her.
Aretha could tell a story like none other. Take a listen to her nearly eleven-minute version of Amazing Grace. If that doesn’t move you to tears, have you on your knees, or believing in a Higher Power, I don’t know what will.
Stories are critical to making your congregation or organization come alive to your people.
Ron Arnold, the former Charity: Water COO also knows a thing or two about storytelling. When the experts point to an organization that tells its story well, Charity: Water rises to the top. In a recent article, 3 Secret Storytelling Ingredients to an Irresistible Nonprofit Arnold says:
“Stories are a fundamental device that we humans use to communicate and process information. We think in metaphors and learn through stories. Which means that every time you communicate to your audience – whether through your website, email, videos, social media, events – you are telling people a story about your nonprofit.”
Arnold writes about the three “secret ingredients” to storytelling. As you’ll see in my comments following each word, you can learn a lot about these ingredients from the Gospels and Aretha.
1. Transformation. Think of the transforming Gospel stories. The woman at the well. The feeding of the 5,000. Jesus calming the storm. Think of Aretha Franklin’s transformation story: she was pregnant with her first child at 12. She had her second at 14. She beat the odds to become an icon. People love knowing that their gifts of time, talent, and treasure contribute to transformation. They – your givers - want to know that they can make a difference in someone else’s life.
2. Emotion. Think of the emotion-filled Gospel stories. Jesus on the cross. The Last Supper. Jesus letting the little children come to him. And go back and listen to the raw emotion in Aretha’s version of Natural Woman at the Kennedy Center Honors. Emotion moves us – sometimes to tears of sorrow or to tears of joy.
And it’s based in science: Arnold quotes Omar Jenblat,
Scientists have uncovered that humans feel first and think second. When confronted by sensory information, the emotional section of the brain can process the information in one-fifth the time the cognitive section requires.
3. Simplicity. Think of all the Gospel stories. They generally take place within five-six verses. No muss, no fuss and yet, we remember them clearly. The woman who was to be stoned. Nicodemus. Peter’s betrayal. There’s clarity when Aretha sings, Baby, I Love You. One or two cues conjure up the entire story. You want people to remember your story? Keep it clear and simple.
As Aretha would say, Think when it comes to story telling…but don’t over think it. Who in your congregation or organization is being transformed? Why are they being changed? And how can you tell his or her story in a clear and simple way?
Learn from the Gospels and Aretha just how to inspire your people by following these three “ingredients” – transformation, emotion, and simplicity. By doing so you will avoid getting twisted up in a (forgive me) Chain of Fools. RIP Aretha Franklin.
Originally posted August 22, 2018
Photo Credit: Quangpraha @ pixabay.com
Cesie Delve Scheuermann (pronounced “CC Delv Sherman,” yes, really) is a Stewardship Consultant for the OR-ID Annual Conference. She is also a Senior Ministry Strategist with Horizons Stewardship. For 25 years, while working as a volunteer and part-time consultant, she has helped raise over three million dollars for numerous churches and non-profit organizations. If all else fails, she recommends getting fired up with a little “R-E-S-P-E-C-T.”
You can reach Cesie at inspiringgenerosity@gmail.com, at CesieScheuermann.com, or at cesieds@horizons.net. Want to schedule a meeting? She’s got you covered!
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