The following is a shared post with the Social Enterprise Alliance blog.
How do you explain something that your listener doesn’t understand? Put it in their own terms. Relate to their wants, needs and desires — what they know. Tell them a story.
What I’m most looking forward to at the Social Enterprise Summit are the stories. I’ve talked to a plethora of changemakers and almost all have had an inspirational experience that led them down the path to create social change. Many times over I’ve heard about travels to other countries where a soon-to-be social entrepreneur witnessed a missing link, a lack of something.
Blake Mycoskie of TOMS saw kids without shoes. Scott Harrison of charity: water saw people without clean drinking water. Jeremy Hockenstein of Digital Divide Data saw communities of smart people without 21st century opportunities. All of them came home and did something about it.
It may be second nature to them, but telling their stories inspires and empowers. It allows others to follow, or blaze their own paths. Telling their story helps us understand a region we’ve never been to, a problem we don’t know about, and a people we’ve never met.
In addition to talking to people at the conference, there are two great breakout sessions that I’m looking forward to. One is Happily Ever After: The Art of Cause Storytelling led by Suzanne Smith of Social Impact Architects. Smith will explain the importance of telling your story and how to leverage it to create the most impact. The second session, Stories from Australian Social Enterprises: Key Learnings from the Journeys of Practitioners, is headed up by Joanne McNeill of the Parramatta City Council and will focus on direct findings from social entrepreneurs telling about their journeys. Both will feed my need for stories.
What’s the most inspiring story you’ve heard lately?
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