“This is the story of a drop of rain that became a glass of beer.” The first presenter in our first workshop began her story this way after a 3-hour conversation about the craft, process and outcomes of well-designed storytelling. We still use it as an example of Better Stories by Design.

Responding to needs communicated by nonprofit community leaders, Rotary Charities of Traverse City asked us to design and deliver a workshop about storytelling process for their professional development series, the Leadership Learning Lab. This was our opportunity to not only research and facilitate, but also learn from others as they developed creative approaches to story design.

Since that time, Mark VanderKlipp has delivered the tailored workshop to leaders across the country and across market verticals. Each of these were searching for a process to tell Better Stories by Design; each of them left the session with a draft narrative they could continue to refine and deliver to their constituents.

Mark has created an engaging and entertaining format to help participants discover the heart of their stories, clarify their language and create a finished product. Most importantly, he helps support them through the process and prepares them to confidently share their work with the world. The ripple effects of an engaging story can be incredibly powerful for our region's nonprofits - supporting fund development, board relations, volunteer engagement and more. I would highly recommend this workshop for any organization interested in increasing their impact and outreach by crafting Better Stories. 

— Colleen Masterson-Bzdok, Rotary Charities Director of Capacity Building & Operations

Nothing was ever designed that didn’t start with a story: a product, a society, a movement. And the best stories, the ones we tell over and over again, contain a basic structure that makes them “sticky” - they interrupt, surprise, convict and spur to action.

Storytelling is an art, for sure - but like any other artistic endeavor, it takes a process and good work to begin developing stories. The goal is to create common landmarks around an issue or idea that help to influence behavior.

Rotary Charities Professional Development Series Invitation

Research, Facilitate & Implement

We researched storytelling techniques and models from Pixar to Joseph Campbell, collating those into a presentation and workbook that participants write in (by hand, if they choose), and take with them to their workplaces for further refinement.

We begin by encouraging each participant to get to the Core Narrative, the thread that runs through all of their organizational storytelling. Four basic questions, shared with a partner, then presented back to the group by that partner so that each has the opportunity to critique and bring clarity to the other’s narrative. As the stories are written down, we reference the language and concepts presented in each person’s Core Narrative.

Then we work through a brief series of presentation and working sessions. We reference a number of resources in the workshop curriculum, including TED talks. The workshop typically runs from 3 to 4.5 hours, generally from 9am to or through the lunch hour depending on the size of the group and their budget.

Here's a quick peek into some of the workshop content. 

FIRST, IT'S ALL ABOUT CHEMISTRY
Design thinking puts the audience at the center of any story. When writing to inspire, educate or entertain, think in terms of the brain chemistry you are working to elicit in your audience. In order to set the stage for the discussion, Mark tells three stories about himself:

• One to elicit endorphins (laughter)

• One for oxytocin, (empathy) and

• One for dopamine (cliff-hanger).

These three chemicals comprise the “Angel's Cocktail” for the storyteller: if at certain points in your story you can elicit all three, so much the better! The workshop participants feel, in a visceral way, how those three chemicals move them to pay attention to the stories being told.

If, however, you are designing a story to enlist support for your organization, you may be reaching out to people at the wrong time, when their brain chemistry has them experiencing the “Devil's Cocktail": adrenaline and cortisone. This means that they'll be unreceptive and maybe flat-out hostile to your message.

Learn more about The Magical Science of Storytelling by David JP Phillips.

SECOND, THE DEVIL'S IN THE DETAILS
Counteracting the chemicals that lead to rejection is the key to designing a compelling narrative. The second part of the workshop centers on thinking through the essential elements of a story as you develop it. 

Stories are inevitable. But they're not predictable. What follows are guidelines, not rules for storytelling:

• Storytelling is joke telling. It's about knowing your punch line, your ending; knowing that everything you're saying, from the first line to the last, is leading to a singular goal.

• Make your audience a promise that the story is leading somewhere and will be worth their time.

• Make your audience care. There isn't anyone you can't learn to love after you've heard their story.

• Drama is anticipation mingled with uncertainty. Your audience wants to 'work for their meal,' they just don't want to know that they're working!

• A well-organized absence of information draws us in. The elements you apply, and the order in which you apply them, is the key to a well-designed story.

In this TED talk, Pixar alumnus Andrew Stanton gives us The Clues to a Great Story. [Fair warning: the session starts out with a bawdy joke!]

“This workshop isn’t only about telling your story; it’s about finding your voice.”

— Healthcare Foundation Executive Director

FINALLY, UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE THE TOOLS YOU NEED
From birth, you've been telling stories, undoubtedly with varying levels of success. But effective storytelling is all about developing confidence and writing your stories down. Understand first that you don't BECOME a great storyteller: you ARE a great storyteller! If you take time to write them down, you'll notice you have your best stories at the ready.

The workshop is designed to help storytellers clarify their Core Narrative, choose their topic, adopt an appropriate point of view, and focus on the details that make the story worthy of attention. Each of these requires a thoughtfully designed process. At the end of each workshop, ample time is given for each participant to tell their story and receive feedback from the audience, if they choose. This is by far the most exciting and rewarding part of the day; the participants never fail to amaze us with their insights and knowledge, proving once again that storytelling is the basis of human connection.

Check our events page to see when the next workshop is scheduled. Hope to see you there!