Do you have difficulties to quantify the impact of your program ? Our special guest, storyteller pur sang Simon Hodges (UK) leads you through the world of possibilities in storytelling in showing impact for NGOs! But before that he is the facilitator of the masterclass ‘the art of storytelling!’ “It seems an era of the 'Power of Storytelling' is upon us. Storytelling can be used as an instrument for social change. It can be used for humanizing experiences or telling about a reality.”

A question like “Why do I have to tell my story?” is important. It could be because others have a similar personal experience. So it becomes an exchange of experiences. It is also a way to quickly know each other. Another reason could be that you introduce somebody to your culture.
When you want to be a storyteller you have to ask yourself “Why do I want to be a storyteller?” This of course can have different reasons: to have fun, raise questions, give answers, etc.

Some important elements for effective storytelling are:

1. (Ritual) Space between teller & listener(s)

2. Eye contact and body language

3. Being non judgmental

4. To be your whole self  and to have your personal voice
After this short introductory in the masterclass, we very briefly learned about the differences about storytelling in Poland and Mexico. For instance in Poland the storytelling was more static and people would listen closely. In Mexico storytelling was much more with action (theatre). Think about a clown who mostly doesn’t speak, but his body and facial language tell the story. It was discovered that language was not a problem: storytelling in Mexico while the audience didn’t speak Polish was not an obstacle. For instance when you use an animal as character… One of the main questions in the masterclass was: how about storytelling on social issues? This is mainly about morality. What are the ethics of storytelling? For instance if you look at the Reconciliation and Truth Commission in South  Africa, people were telling their (terrible) stories. Personal stories as a medium for liberation. Should you politize these stories in order to change a situation?

https://emotiveprogram.org/projects/storytelling-in-education

Facilitator: Simon Hodges

Storytellers: Daniel Gutierrez Sanchez (Mexico) and Aneta Cruz-Kąciak (Poland)