One of the reasons I love working with non-profits is variety. It allows me a unique focus in terms of the kind of the clients I work with, but wide variety in terms of the stories they have to tell. Now here is a personal story, it’s a little long, but if you stick with me I promise to relate it back to non-profits.
Back the 90’s (sorry, I love saying back in the 90’s), I took a class at FIT called Integrated Marketing Communications. Cutting edge stuff at the time;). What I didn’t know was this class would impact me very deeply and go on to change the course of my career. One Wednesday evening during class, I received a rare compliment from my professor. He had asked us to assemble in groups for an activity, which he often did. As many of the “heads of the class” scurried toward their group and the BFFs from Long Island assembled in theirs, he mentioned under his breath… “if I were you, I’d want her in my group” and nodded towards me [INSERT DOUBLE-TAKE]. What? Me? So, in pure Aimee fashion, I thought deeply about this compliment. Afterall, if I knew why I was getting it, there might be more where it came from. Why was I doing so well in this class? I wasn’t doing this well in my other classes. [INSERT FOOT] There was no book. Lord knows I wasn’t studying. Really, I was just absorbing everything he was saying in his lectures and communicating with my own creative spin. BINGO! Is listening the key to being good at this stuff?
For me, I’ve found the answer is yes. A recent brand identity engagement had me getting “deep” about listening, its part in storytelling and in the process of effecting change. These are the things I’m thinking about:
Stories start with other stories just like this one did.
There is almost always something good that I get from listening to a story.
The best stories give the end away and then fill in the details.
Part of my job is to know and have a wide variety of tools to help me weave an organization’s story.
The best stories are authentic and not recycled.
I can’t tell a story about something I know nothing about.
My best brand stories happen when at first I know nothing and end up knowing something.
The best stories have pictures and words.
Organizations effect change by listening and engaging.
I effect change by listening & engaging.
I am actually really bad at telling personal stories, but luckily that’s not my job. Telling your story is.
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