The opening keynote of the New Jersey conference I’m attending was Andy Goodman, a communications consultant to nonprofit organizations with a previous life as a television scriptwriter and radio syndicator. Goodman reminded us of the power and humanity of storytelling when communicating a nonprofit’s message, and he showed painfully familiar examples of how far many of us have strayed from the craft (complex powerpoints, numbing statistics and charts, dry detail).
There are lots of helpful thoughts on the subject in Goodman’s monthly newsletter, but the heart of his message was this: every organization should strive to discover their core stories, the stories that define them, and ensure that everyone in the organization (staff, board, supporters) know these stories by heart. Among them might be:
- the ”nature of your challenge” story
a personal story that explains why you exist - the ”how we started” story
what personalities and barriers led to your beginning? - the ”emblematic success” story
a success story that exposes your unique impact on the world - the ”performance” story
a story of your staff or leadership in action - the ”striving to improve” story
a story that explores your efforts to get better at what you do, or remove barriers to being better - the ”where are we going” story
a vision for the future, told in a personal narrative
It’s ironic that arts organization, which are creatures of compelling human stories and engaging narratives, should have to be reminded of the power of stories. But take a critical look at your own communications, presentations, and mission statement, and you may discover you’ve drifted a bit from the path, as well.
As a public school music educator, Goodman’s thoughts hold true as the first step when advocating the arts in public schools. The second step is reminding the school board, the city council and state administrators, that public education in art, is necessary to maintain the local economies in tourism and the live audience base.
I could not have said it better… so I didn’t!
Great to have you here in NJ. Thanks for your great insights and your challenges to all of us!
Bob Morrison