Good Story Telling

Something about story telling and community from the conference Catalyst from Learnings@Leadership Network

Jon began by posing the question, "Why don't we use our best creativity to celebrate the Creator?" In his talk, he outlined seven things that a good story needs in order to create community. Here's a brief rundown:

1. SPACE - every story needs space to let others tell their story within it. Give your audience a chance to step into your story and fill in the gaps.

2. BRIDGES - every story has a hook and a core message. A good story keeps those close together (bad stories have a disconnect between the two).

3. SURPRISE - we are an overcommunicated society, so you need to break through the clutter by being surprising, otherwise your brain will file something away as, "oh, I know what this is..."

4. HONESTY - in a world where we are obsessed with talent, people are looking for honesty. It's really easy to find talent on the Internet. Honesty is scary, and it's our job as Christians to go first.

5. PATIENCE - a following doesn't happen overnight. Instead of asking, "How can I get more readers/followers?" ask "How can I give more of me to more of them? How can I lead generously?"

6. COMPASSION - Jon uses humor in his writing, but he said there's a fine line between mockery and satire. Satire has a purpose. Seed conversation for ideas - but don't chum the water for sharks.

7. MEANING - if you don't have something that matters, people won't stick aroudn to build community. Something can be viral, but that's not the same - to change the world, you have to be bigger than yourself.

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