By Luis C Cano
(Photo by Matheus Bertelli)
I was very young when I was introduced to the concept of storytelling. I was in primary school and some of my teachers organized a visit to an indigenous community in Venezuela. We were bringing some medicines and water to few communities living in extreme poverty on the Venezuela-Guyana border. On the way there, one of the teachers warned us that some of the kids in the community are quite introvert and that we could reach them better if we would use storytelling. He told us to use stories from our lives to inspire them. He emphasized that we should share stories from our day to day life that explain why it was so important for us to go there
Now, let us recap on that. I was not even a teenager, I grew up in the city, my family had two maids and I lived in a 3-floor house. I remember thinking on the 7-hour drive: “If I say something about my day to day life, I would make these kids feel worse!” Instead, I valued the words of my grandma who always reminded me that if I don’t have much in common with someone, the best thing is to ask the other about their life. “People like to talk and be heard” she said.
"PEOPLE LIKE TO TALK AND BE HEARD!"
Since the TedTalks became a thing, we all got to learn about the power of storytelling. And in fact, storytelling is valuable, it is a skill I got to develop and it has been useful to me every step of the way. However, storytelling is not a tool to project “salvation.” Storytelling is a tool to engage, create relationships and empower others to also tell their story.
I started this entry by reflecting on a childhood experience where the term “storytelling” was told to me. However, it was told to me without context and without an understanding of how valuable was my story at the time. As an adult and since I started working in public causes, I keep meeting people telling me to share my story. I understand now that my story has the power to engage people in certain causes. Yet, not many people told me to ask back and have a conversation instead of having a monologue.
Social and political leaders are also told to use storytelling. But many times as a tool to “lead” others, not as a tool of engagement. I recall meeting a “public speaking and storytelling” coach around 3 years ago, he came to me to offer his services training a social leader in the organisation I was working for. He was quite strong on emphasizing that he had been training politicians and social leaders for around 15 years. We ended up not working together after he said:
“Your colleague has to stop talking to people individually, that is weak, she needs to enter a room and make her presence felt and remembered with a wonderful speech.”
We decided to go in a different direction and to find someone who could help our colleague embracing her story with the idea to empower others. We decided to go with someone who did not use the word “weak.” Especially, because by having those individual talks, my colleague was using storytelling to create something more powerful than a story about herself, she was creating a common story with those individuals.
However, it is worrying that so many politicians are hearing these type of messages from their coaches. A short reminder to the reader, memorable speeches are genuine and happen when the time calls. One does not learn storytelling dreaming to have that “I have a dream” moment in front of thousands. Many social leaders and politicians think that the journey is about themselves, that the story is about them. In a world of millions, in a world of votes, in a world that cries for change, the story is about all of us. Moreover, in a world of apathy, if the story is not about us, the people might not be willing to take part of it.
(The green movement is a good example of a story where we are all protagonist)
Revising some recent campaigns, those individuals sharing their story are wonderful to engage people. Campaigns putting in front the faces of people are the most successful. Storytelling used to emphasize how the individual met with others and got their motivation from them works!
Think of the green movement and how Greta’s action and story engaged so many. Think of Malala and how her pain moved so many to take action. Even not being a fan of AOC, her humble origin story is an inspiration for many to engage. They are masters of storytelling. But if we check out their way they address issues they barely say “I did this,” instead they talk about “us,” they talk about “our problems,” they talk about “our solutions and our power.”
By the end of this short entry, I aim to share the traps of storytelling. In social and political causes it is easy to fall into the trap of believing one is the new messiah. It is easy to use storytelling to do political and social theatre in the despair to be remembered. Yet, we need to stay close to those on the top to help them and remind them that the story of “us” is always more powerful than the story of “I.” Ultimately, the despair to be remembered will disappear, because our colleagues can understand that the story to be shared in the future will be the one of many, not of one.
People are most likely to engage in a story where we are all the protagonists and all the authors.
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