9/23/2023 0 Comments Storytelling activities for adultsUsing the terms “experiences” and “examples” can sometimes produce better stories than the word “story” which can seem intimidating (“I’m not a storyteller!”) If your group wants more guidance, you can start off with your own story-your brief, yet detailed story in answer to the question. Help the conversation take off by saying, “Think about…” and then asking a focused yet open question that invites a spectrum of emotion to make people feel welcome to talk about the things that are good about the town or need changing. Have small groups open with an overview of the purpose, the ground rules, and a brief introduction of each person “What brings you here tonight?” (You can also help this along by handing out numbers when people arrive) Reflect back to the full group PLUS collect the postcards, photograph them together in a large quilt.ĭivide large gatherings into groups of six-eight people who do not know one another well. Have them draw an image on one side, and write the card on the other. Tell them that they are writing postcards to their home community with a wish for that community in the fairly near future–and that the community will receive that card in ten years. (This exercise is a good one for online groups as well, using a mapping tool.) You can also ask participants to take photos that suggest the NOW of the community and then photos that point to what they hope for the community in 20 years Have the group add their own stories prompted by seeing the photos and hearing the stories. Take photos of places that suggest the heart of the community share the photos & their stories. Have them discuss what draws them to these places–what they notice in common, and what is individual. In pairs, have them tell a story about that place and compare maps. Then give them a minute to locate story hotspots on it. Have participants draw a one-minute map of their hometown/neighborhood/street/wherever-you-are. If you have a group at ease with storytelling and a skilled facilitator, you could ask people to place a Color A dot on a place they want to stay the same, and a Color B dot on a place they would like to change, Color C on a place they’d like to know more about.ī. Have them stick their dots on two places they consider “story hotspots”-places that hold important stories about the community, stories without which the full community story could not be told. Pin up a large map of the geographically-bounded community and give each person two sticky dots. In a circle, one by one, share the objects and related stories following the story-circle approach.Ī. Participants bring an object that represents something they value about the community. Pulling away some of that language, or accompanying the language with a concrete, visual symbol can shake up our understanding, make things fresh, give us new insight, open our eyes, help us to listen deeply. What has to change? What can continue on the same way?Įxpress experience through visuals-we often get into ruts of thinking when we tell the same stories again and again, using the same words. Build on the actual details of that story to recast it in the future. “What Could Be” Tell a story about a specific moment from the past that inspires you in your work for change. Pass the headline to a partner, have the partner complete the story. “Headlines.” Write the headline of the newspaper in five years telling the story of what you’ve accomplished. Participants build a story of the future (from practical to wildest dreams) in a quick, fun, pass-the-story exercise. I take this one from the world of improv. Share and compare, even assemble a larger community portrait from the individual versions. Ask everyone to draw the community through color, symbol, abstraction. Hand out several crayons per person (or put a large assortment of crayons in the center of the table) and ask participants to draw the map of their community. Pass the photo and metaphor one person to the right that person extends or deepens or responds to the original metaphor. a quality of the community or a challenge within the community. Each person writes down a metaphor suggested by that image for the topic at hand: e.g. Pass out photos (landscapes, macro-shots, people shots-it almost doesn’t matter what images you choose), one to a person. In the spaces around your name write five words that suggest what you value about this topic, or five places where you see this topic at work, or… To pull away the buffer of language’s padding & point directly to what matters, write your name in the center of the name tag. stories about what drew them to the community, or an experience with the heart of the community). Open a training/workshop/gathering/meeting with participants sharing one-minute stories of an experience with the topic (e.g.
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