Show Your Story

Stories shape how people make sense of the world. Good storytelling is more than just facts and figures; it is a compelling narrative that is personal, authentic, and inspires action. Your journey as a school has the potential to influence others, incite change, and impact the world. You are the HERO of your story, and you have the opportunity to MENTOR others by sharing your reflections and wisdom.

The best stories make an emotional connection to the audience. In essence, our stories are the truths that reflect our experiences. To know our stories requires us to look beyond our content to uncover what makes our stories personal and unique. Once we identify and understand our stories, we can weave them into a compelling narrative.

• Who is your hero team? Who is your leadership team?
• What is your vision? What is your why? What makes you different?
• What was the team's call to adventure? How have you pursued continuous innovation?
• What emotional investment has your team made to the journey?
• How can you mentor and guide your audience with your story?

The purpose of a story is to be heard, shared, and passed on. Woven into our stories are the challenges, obstacles, and mountains we have climbed to grow and transform as a learning community. A compelling narrative includes the conflicts that shape our stories and hold our audience's interest. With storytelling, you have the luxury of looking back and reflecting on your experience. From that reflection, conflicts and the resolution of those conflicts may serve as a driving force in your story.

• What challenges did you face in your journey? How did you overcome them?
• Who helped you along the way? How did you engage with experts and others to grow and learn?
• In reflecting, what truths and gold nuggets of wisdom did you discover?

Good stories spark action, share knowledge, and help lead others. Stories should be delightful to read, steeped in reflection and replete with ideas to pass on to others.

• In what ways did you transform along your journey?
• What reflective wisdom can you share with your audience?
• How can you show areas of continuous innovation to spark action in others?

Digital storytelling is when art and science meet emotion. With visuals, data, and information, people's memorable stories demand an emotional investment from the hero team and the audience. Digital storytelling allows you to consider what medium you want to use to share different parts of your story. Consider video, words, graphics, photos, and animations. Consider how to creatively connect the pieces of your story to bring surprise and delight to your audience.

Be bold and show your story!