Telling stories is a powerful way to capture attention, engage an audience, and motivate them to act. Generating impact for your cause is not simply about telling a powerful story—it is about telling that story in a strategic way.
Everyone loves a good story. That’s why stories are so effective for engaging an audience, and inspiring action. However, translating complex issues, goals, and ideas into good stories can be daunting. Add new technologies—PowerPoint, the web—and we often ignore our natural inclinations to tell a compelling story. Join us as Andy Goodman explains why storytelling is the most powerful communication tool you possess, and offers specific ways your organization can use stories to advance your mission.
You will leave this fun, interactive session with your own great story to tell.
Learning Objectives
- Understand why storytelling is the most powerful form of communication available to you
- Understand the structure and qualities that make stories engaging, memorable, and motivate to action
- Understand the six kinds of stories that every nonprofit organization must tell
Level
Introductory/Intermediate
Audience
Board and staff of large and small nonprofits charged with recruiting and working with volunteers, writing proposals, working with media, running a website, raising money, training staff, inspiring action…and more.
Presenter
Andy Goodman is a nationally recognized author, speaker and consultant in the field of public interest communications. Along with Storytelling as Best Practice, he is author of Why Bad Ads Happen to Good Causes and Why Bad Presentations Happen to Good Causes. He also publishes a monthly journal, free-range thinking, to share best practices in the field.
Best known for his speeches and workshops on storytelling, presenting, and strategic communications, Andy has been invited to speak at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs at Princeton, the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, as well as at numerous nonprofit and foundation conferences.
Andy has been consulting good causes since 1998. In 2008 he co-founded The Goodman Center with Lipman Hearne to reach more nonprofits, foundations and government agencies through online classes.
When not teaching, traveling, or recovering from teaching and traveling, Andy also serves as a Senior Advisor for Encore.org and is on the advisory boards of VolunteerMatch and Great Nonprofits. He also served on the teaching faculty of former Vice President Al Gore’s Climate Project in 2007 and 2012.
Presented by U.S. Bank
This is a free event.