Last week I had the joy of participating in #12NTC (the 2012 NTEN—Nonprofit Technology Network—Conference), with so many incredible peers in the nonprofit sector. I learned a ton, from one-to-one conversations and from the formal sessions, and will be sharing those insights and guidance out with you over the weeks to come.
Four storytelling superstars and I jointly presented Say It in Pixels: Visual Storytelling in the 21st Century (12NTCSIIP). Cara Jones of Storytellers for Good and I kicked off with some must-dos for every successful story, narrative or visual:
Invisible Children’s (IC) Kony 2012 is the poster child of nonprofit video storytelling. It got attention (50 million YouTube views in the first week of release) and generated some level of understanding of the atrocities of Joseph Kony, the Ugandan rebel leader, and his LRA army.
Although the video will be remembered forever as a way to scale awareness at the speed of light by going viral, it also highlighted the challenges of visual storytelling. Kony 2012 generated widespread skepticism for its simplification of a complex situation, the infeasibility of the proposed solution, and the sensationalism of its storytelling. That, followed by the public and extreme breakdown of Invisible Children’s co-founder Jason Russell, raised a lot of eyebrows. READ MORE
Guest blogger Kim St. John-Stevenson is the communications officer at the St. Luke’s Foundation of Cleveland, and a dedicated advocate for funding nonprofit skill building in Communications.
“To be or not to be, that is the question.” Most people recognize that as a classic Shakespearean quote, from Hamlet. But did you know the following quotes also come from Shakespeare’s pen?
A foregone conclusion. (Othello)
Come full circle. (King Lear)
Eat me out of house and home. (Henry IV)
Come what may. (Macbeth)
The fact that these and hundreds more everyday phrases were penned more than 400 years ago is absolute validation that Shakespeare knew a thing or two about telling a great story, and there’s lots for us to learn from this.
Video, infographics, still photography, and even a t-shirt or cap featuring your call to action are all examples of visual media nonprofits are using to tell stories in powerful ways! When executed well, they cut through the clutter and leave a mental image that resonates and is remembered. Take this:
I had several meetings in the city (New York City, that is) yesterday, and was astonished to walk up to this compelling infographic on the side of a bus shelter. Wowza! BoostUp, an organization that promotes the impact of mentoring and engage potential mentors, uses the Empire State Building, one of the iconic NYC images, to illustrate it’s point). And because they’re conveying magnitude, it’s an ideal image—especially when used giant-sized like this.
I’m happy to welcome guest blogger Kim St. John-Stevenson. She is the communications officer at the St. Luke’s Foundation of Cleveland and a powerful advocate for funding nonprofit skill building in Communications!
“He was splashing…enjoying the jungle’s great joys…when Horton the Elephant heard a small noise… Just a faint little yelp, as if some tiny person were calling for help.”
And so begins the children’s book Horton Hears a Who, in which Horton the Elephant happens upon a small world on top of a dust speck. READ MORE
Chapter 1 begins with learning how to tell a good yarn from America’s favorite storyteller, This American Life host Ira Glass.
Storytelling is such the rage, and most nonprofits do it in some form. But I hear so many stories that don’t move me an iota. Ira explained what it takes to weave a tale that’ll fully engage your listeners, and stay in their minds and hearts: A Good Story…
Builds momentum, slowly but surely. Listeners will hang tight when you build suspense, sequencing one event or step after another. We’re all hungering for surprise (the media too).
Features multiple characters. Use different voices (with all their intonations, accents, and other specs) to highlight interplay among characters; otherwise you’re doing a monologue — much less interesting than multiple points of view.
Casts the right storyteller. Whose perspective will shape the most compelling tale?
Is specific. The details — like the minutia that make up your life — make it real. Like it or not, that’s what 90% of our daily life is made of.
Connects pieces and voices in an overall theme. Make sure to step away here and there to frame events in a context that ties them together. That’s your theme.
Uses music to build suspense. For greatest impact, stop the music for a few seconds of silence before your revelation. But make sure the music doesn’t overwhelm the teller’s voice or distract from the story.
Take a look at these two takes on Ira’s how stortelling how tos, from the Knight Foundation’s Marc Fest and Rebecca Arno, VP of Communications with The Denver Foundation.
What can you add to the list?
P.S. Learn how to craft the shortest and most compelling story for your org.Download the free Nonprofit Tagline Report for must-dos, don’t dos, case studies and 1,000+ nonprofit tagline examples!
Last week I had the joy of participating in #12NTC (the 2012 NTEN—Nonprofit Technology Network—Conference), with so many incredible peers in the nonprofit sector. I learned a ton, from one-to-one conversations and from the formal sessions, and will be sharing those insights and guidance out with you over the weeks to come.
Video, infographics, still photography, and even a t-shirt or cap featuring your call to action are all examples of 
