Overview
- Time Frame: 2.5 or 3 hours. Longer time for more participants.
- Suggested number of participants: 6-18
- Materials needed: Blank thank you notecards [do I include worksheets here?]
- Room Setup: tables of 4-6
Storytelling is an important leadership skill if you’re interested in science, policy and having an impact. This workshop will help you understand others’ stories and get better at telling your own. You’ll be able to answer the questions: Why do you do what you do? Why does your work matter? You’ll even gain a few ideas about how you can practice telling your story and so grow your leadership.
- What is the value of a community and network for leadership?
- Who is in your network? How are you connected to them? Why do you value these relationships?
- What skills/competencies/perspectives are you interested in developing, and who can help you do so?
- How do you keep connected and be of help to people in your community and network?
| Facilitator Outcomes | Participants will be able to: |
|
Describe why relationships matter for leadership, careers, and impact and express understanding that generosity in relationships is helpful in this work. |
|
Visualize their own key relationships and networks and recognize important connections, missing links, and useful patterns. |
|
Articulate skills/capacities they would like to develop and identify potential people who could be mentors for developing these skills/capacities. |
|
Discuss ways to keep vibrant network connections and use the tool of writing a thank you note. |
|
Recognize that they have many things to offer others in their networks and community and practice doing so. |
|
Propose an action step or two to improve network relationships. |
Workshop Materials |
Sample Agenda
| 1:30 – 2:00 | Introductions & Icebreakers
|
| 2:00 – 2:30 | Connecting the Dots of Your Cultural Background
|
| 2:30– 2:40 | Break |
| 2:40-3:00 | Presentation |
| 3:00-3:50 | Case Study: Why Diversity Can Lead to Better Ideas |
| 4:10-4:30 | Reflection & Integration
Ask students to share what actions steps they will be taking. |
Pre-Workshop Email
We recommend sending out the pre-workshop email one-week before and a short follow-up two days before the workshop. This workshop does not require any pre-work before the workshop, but you could include a link to a TED Talk to help prime students for the workshop experience.
Here’s an example:
Dear Workshop Participants:
There is no pre-work required for this workshop. You will need a pen. If you do have 18 minutes to spare, we recommend watching this TED Talk, “The Magical Science of Storytelling” before the workshop.
We look forward to meeting with you soon,
Post-workshop handout
Post-workshop email
We recommend sending out the post-workshop email within a day or two of the completion of the workshop, to remind participants of any actions they planned to take on going forward, and to get feedback while experience is still fresh.
Here’s an example:
Dear Workshop Participants:
If not, what did you hope to learn that you would like to see in a future workshop?
What were the most valuable take-aways?
Do you have a better understanding of what others might be hearing when you speak about yourself and your work?
Do you feel more able to speak about why you do what you do and why your work matters?
Please use this space to offer any other feedback you feel would be useful for the facilitators and for future workshops.
McLean, K. C., & Pasupathi, M. (2011). Old, new, borrowed, blue? The emergence and retention of personal meaning in autobiographical storytelling. Journal of Personality, 79(1), 135-164.
Singer, J. A. (2004). Narrative identity and meaning making across the adult lifespan: An introduction. Journal of personality, 72(3), 437-460.
Brown, C., & Augusta-Scott, T. (2006). Narrative therapy: Making meaning, making lives. Sage.
Sommer, K. L., Baumeister, R. F., & Stillman, T. F. (1998). The construction of meaning from life events: Empirical studies of personal narratives (pp. 143-161). na.
Videos
