In this presentation, I outline the 5 elements of a powerful story, and how we can make an impact on those around us. The presentation was given to a group of staff at Camp Rockmont for Boys.
14. How You Can You Share
a Powerful Story This
Summer?
Editor's Notes
\n
They inspire, lead, and wreck us. Stories open up new worlds and possibilities, change our thinking, and re-frame important topics.\n
At Rockmont, we encourage every one to be able to tell their own story, the one God has placed them in. Our stories involve happiness, success, sadness, pain, anger, and many other experiences. \n
How can we tell stories (including our own) that allow people to develop their life story, and be unafraid of what defines them? The biggest challenge to allow people the space to tell the unsavory parts of what makes a person who he/she is. \n
We all have this level of brokenness to us, and to ignore our cracks is to be untrue. People will not align with what is a lie. We need the light and the dark to become whole people, able to bring out the wholeness in others.\n
A story will find common ground in your soul. We’ve all read or been told stories where the actions (or lack) of the characters have stirred something inside of us. We identify with the heroes and the villains, because we all have those tendencies inside of us. We can also find purpose in the landscape, animals, or anything in a story. Look for ways where your story shares a common thread with the story of humanity.\n
Whether you are telling a personal story, or a fictional one, it’s tempting to make the hero invincible and the villain a definition of evil. But this is rarely the case, and something people cannot relate to! \n
Maximus believed in the glory and purpose of Rome, despite having never seen it. What purpose do you live and work for, despite it only being a whisper in your soul?\n
To speak the truth, we can easily put together a chart, graph, collection of numbers, or bullet points. Those have their place, but we usually go to those first, instead of using them to support the narrative of why a story is powerful. You could list the numbers of how many people died in the Haitian earthquake, or you could show pictures like this. \n
\n
We don’t have to explain everything! This is such a temptation in our culture, which wants quick answers we can easily file away. Remember when you explain, it’s simply your interpretation, which becomes an embedded part of the listener’s interpretation. \n\nBy not explaining, you allow room for the listener to interpret on their own, and decide what the story means to them. This allows for continued dialogue and development of a new relationship, while working over the meaning in your own mind!\n
Jesus was a master storyteller, using parables to give context to his message, without being overt. He also used stories to rip holes in the established order, and call out the people who held on to power at the expense of others. The Prodigal Son is a classic example, showing the love of a Father to his son, the forgiveness of sins, and also the danger of becoming a prideful “older son”.\n
We desire this for every single staff member at Rockmont, to feel an openness to their true self and the stories that follow. This honesty and generous spirit will encourage the campers to begin to tell their own story, and know in their soul that this is good. Ultimately, we all desire for each person to tell their story in lens of God’s love. You do not need to fix it, embellish, or pretend. Be secure in the life God has placed you in, because your true story is the one the world needs to hear!\n