Your Best Story Yet: Get It With Our Personal Storytelling Tools
First off, we have something very important to say: we get it. Sharing a story can be hard, no matter if it’s your first time or your 100th. Our team runs the full gamut of storytellers, from seasoned pros like our Founder and CEO James Warren to those that feel they’re more of a novice, like me. The point is, it doesn’t matter where you are in terms of your storytelling experience, sometimes the words will flow and other times they just won’t want to. Of course, we don’t want to let those times stop any of us, because we strongly believe that every story must be told. So if you’ve ever wanted to share your story – whether it’s themed insights for one of our branded communities or a personal story for the wider platform – but have found yourself thinking I have no idea how to do this, you can relax! For we have a range of tools that will make getting your story out into the world a cinch.
Story Templates
One of the things we love most about stories is just how personal and unique they are, so our templates have been made with this in mind. We’ve built these to enable the storyteller to use it in the way that best suits them, and that will uncover their story in the most effective way possible.
The first method is to use it as a way to gather and sort your thoughts. Use the prompts to jot down your memories, experiences and feelings, then use these notes to feed into your whole story. This a great option if you like to start with bullet points or an outline, and then write more cohesive prose in a separate document.
Template example from ‘I Like The Kitchen’
Alternatively, you can use the template as the sole place to create your story. Open up a new template and under each heading, write fleshed-out paragraphs. Once you’re satisfied that you’ve got everything you wanted to say, simply remove the bolded headings, copy and paste your content into the ‘Create a New Story’ page, hit submit, and voila – your story is shared and ready to be heard.
Template example from ‘I Like The Kitchen’
And if you are opting to contribute to one of our brand communities, such as WaterAid America’s WASH Equals, we’ve got great news. These communities often have their own themed storytelling template, so if you’re worried about whether you are providing the right kind of insights, our themed templates have got you covered. Of course, you can always use our general template, too.
Storytelling Guide
Okay, okay, so we did hint that our templates make story sharing pretty easy, but we understand that at times you might need a little more guidance. Which is why we developed our Storytelling Guide.
Recommended to be used with our storytelling templates, the guide delves deeper into each section of the template, providing more explanation, and therefore more opportunities for inspiration. At times you’ll find you can whiz through the template without a need for the guide, but other times you’ll find you can’t do without it – that’s just the nature of storytelling, it’s always surprising and delighting us.
Similarly, if you have your own method of getting your story down instead of our templates, the guide can still be used as a gentle prompt. A simple read-over is a great way to get yourself into story-sharing mode.
Our Team (and yours!)
Finally, there is one tool whose usefulness can’t be denied: our very own Share More Stories team. Think of us as your ultimate real-life storytelling tool. If you are stuck or uncertain on how to proceed, reach out to us, and we’ll help you through it. As mentioned earlier, we’ve all been in the position where we’re unsure how to get our story out, so we are more than happy to guide you, give you suggestions and listen to your feedback or details about your storytelling experience.
Similarly, engaging in storytelling as a group is a surefire way to get the narrative juices flowing, which is why we run our interactive storytelling workshops. When people with a common interest or connection are brought together – such as colleagues, customers or members of a community – the challenge of sharing a story doesn’t seem so scary, especially when you have the guidance of a Share More Stories facilitator to lead everyone through it. There is something comforting about not ‘facing the unknown’ alone, so if you are dying to get a story out there, consider bringing a team together for an enjoyable and insightful storytelling experience.
Our master storyteller, James Warren, leading an interactive storytelling workshop
So don’t be a stranger! Email us at info@sharemorestories.com or get in touch via our Contact Us or Social Media pages, and we’ll be more than happy to help you on your storytelling journey.
