What Makes a Good Story?

Since I was super little, I loved to read. I loved getting lost in a story. It was an escape for me. I would spend hours at the library and then on the way home, hide out in a small clearing behind a little church near my house and read for hours.

Now I see my little granddaughter falling in love with stories. Her favorite these days is Dragons Love Tacos.

I loved Little House on the Prairie (Not Nancy Drew), the Narnia series, poetry, and history.

If you know me, you know I believe data is a means to an end. I think data is fascinating, but like I always say, no one ever marched on Washington D.C. because of a data point.

That is why using your data to tell your community or nonprofit story is so important. To really make a difference, we have to dig into the Why of our communities in order to understand the What we need to do so we can help tell the story.

We need to set the stage (your community situation), talk about compelling characters (your fabulous community members), develop a good storyline (your strategy), and focus on a great ending (show those outcomes!).

That is why I am offering a free guide to help community leaders be more effective. It will help you get from stuck to action in four manageable steps.

Thanks, everyone, and have a great week!

Ann

P.S. Last thing before I let you go. Remember how I said I loved history? I still do. I recently took a class from Christie VanHorne, a public health expert passionate about the history of health disparities. Christie joined me on the most recent episode of Community Possibilities. The episode launches this morning and I hope you will give it a listen. And would you help me out by liking, reviewing, and sharing?