Stories About What We Do™

Stories About What We Do™ are some of the most important stories we tell.

Stories About What We Do™ are the stories we tell to bring people together around a collective solution to a shared problem. You hear them on TED stages, in investor and donor pitches, at rallies and fireside chats. They are:

  • Founder + CEO stories

  • Startup stories

  • Member stories

  • Movement stories

  • Impact stories

Every leader is expected to have — and tell — one., and every social change organization is expected to provide them as part of their organizational communications, including fundraising pitches, impact reports and public speaking events.

When your story works:

  • Your audience can predict what you might do next

  • You feel authentic when you tell your story

  • Your audience wants a role in the story, even if just as a supporter of your work

Stories About What We Do™ are real stories that connect a person to their work.

  • The plot consists of real world events

  • The story is about your work (not your life) — but includes events in your personal life.

  • The object of change is a problem experienced by others; it can also be experienced by the protagonist, but it can’t only be experienced by the protagonist.

  • The objective of the story is for the audience to take an action (strategic storytelling)

  • The timeline must include the past, present and future.

  • The story is unfinished — if it were finished, there would be no action for the audience to take.

Why are Stories About What We Do™ so hard to tell?

It’s not you — these stories are uniquely difficult, and literary techniques don’t help (because you’re not writing a novel.)

  • You’re telling the story while you’re experiencing the story; you don’t have distance for reflection.

  • You want your audience to be affected — but not feel manipulated.

  • You need to be strategic — and authentic.

  • The stakes are high: investment or donor funds could be on the line.

  • The story is unfinished — but it has to end: landing the plane can be difficult.

FAQs

  • No.

    A career story plots the events that impacted your career, including relevant education, promotions, and job changes. The object of change is your career.

    Stories About What We Do™ plot the events that impacted your work — whether it’s your career, paid work outside your career, or volunteer work. The object of change is the problem you are work to impact.

  • No.

    A memoir connects events in someone’s life and provides reflection on the meaning and impact of those events. Memoirs are usually not strategic, and there are no stakes.

    Stories About What We Do™ are unfinished, so the teller cannot provide reflection on that period of their life yet.

  • No.

    Organizational storytelling is always in service to the organization. Stories About What We Do™ can be in service to the teller or the organization.

  • If the story you tell about what you do isn’t having the effect you expected, you need a narrative analysis that informs a new version of your story.

    Take a look at “Personal Storytelling” in Services; reach out if you’d like to explore working together.