The Story of Me

Inspired by Marshall Ganz & Public Narrartive

The Basic Process 

1. Take some time for personal reflection and prepare what you are going to say (your 2 min story of me) 

2. Partner with one other person and take turns… 

a. Share your story (2 mins)

b. Receive feedback and coaching from your partner (3 mins)

c. Swap roles

3. Find another partner and repeat step (2)

4. Find a third partner and repeat again (if time permits)

5. In front of the whole group, everyone shares their 2 minute story of self

Guidelines 

The story of me communicates a key formative experience that shaped you and the values that are calling you to act.

A clear story of self is built around one or two key “choice points,” moments where you faced challenges of some kind, had to make hard decisions, and chose based on your core values. When this happens, we experience a shift, and learn something of basic importance – “a moral” or something you know to be “true” to you.

Though it is difficult, squeezing your meaningful lifetime of experience into 2 minutes requires deep introspection and self-awareness. The point of this exercise is to create intensity and awaken a temporal shift in your perception of yourself.

You are not being asked to tell a pre-rehearsed permanent life story; but, rather an authentic story of you that express your essence to the others in your ‘circle’ - those who are you at the moment.

Before you decide what part of your story to tell, think about these questions: 

• What is the change I seek to create in the world?

• What will I be calling on others to do?

• What experiences inspired me to create this change?

• What values move me to take action and might also inspire others to similar action?

  • Ask yourself, what story can I tell from my own life about specific people or events that would show how I learned or acted on those values? Think about times in your life, choices you made. This list may help trigger ideas: 

    Some basic starting points…

    • Family & childhood: parents/family; growing up; your community; roles models; inspiration from key books or people; school

    • Life choices: education; career; partner/family; hobbies, interests; passions; overcoming challenge

    • Business: best/worst experience in business; an experience that inspired you; an experience that frustrated you; role models

    Try drawing pictures here in addition to using words. Powerful stories leave your listeners with images in their minds that shape their understanding of you. 

    To narrow it to 2 minutes, select 1-2 key moments or “threshold decisions” in your life. 

    Challenge: What was the specific challenge you faced? Why was it YOUR challenge? 

    Choice: What was the specific choice you made? Where did you get the courage? 

    Outcome: What happened as a result of your choice? What hope can it give others? 

    Focus on challenges you had to face, the choices you made about how to deal with them, and the satisfactions – or frustrations – you experienced. What did you learn from the outcomes and how you feel about them today? What did they teach you about yourself, about your family, about your peers, about your community, about your nation, about the world around you, about people – about what really matters to you? What about these stories was so intriguing? Which elements offered real perspective into your own life?

    Remember: Being vulnerable is hard. But trust demands we give something of ourselves for the other to truly see and experience us. In Sufi tradition it is said that the ‘only gift that counts is the one that hurts you to give’. Trust and deep bonds emerge from such reciprocal offering, it is the humane way. When done correctly, nature’s laws alchemize our shared vulnerability into powerfully liberating and creative forces that we can use to do the work we need to do. No meaningful duplication can ever crystalize without this occurring as a foundational step.

COACHING TIPS

COACHING TIPS: 

Coaching in this case is being a mirror to the other - a key transformation that is core to the process. It is important to do it well, and for it to feel a bit like work. The key here is to be of service to one another, to objectively reflect on the subjective experiences of the exercise.

As a coach, listen to the way the story is told and think of ways that the storytelling could be improved. 

DON’T simply offer vague “feel good” comments. (“That was a really great story!”) 

DO coach each other on the following points: 

THE CHALLENGE: 

What were the specific challenges the storyteller faced? Did the storyteller paint a vivid picture of those challenges? 

“When you described ________, I got a clear picture of the challenge.” 

“I understood the challenge to be ________. Is that what you intended?” 

THE CHOICE: 

Was there a clear choice that was made in response to each challenge? How did the choice make you feel? (Hopeful? Angry?) 

“To me, the choice you made was _______, and it made me feel _______.” 

“It would be helpful if you focused on the moment you made a choice.” 

THE OUTCOME: 

What was the specific outcome that resulted from each choice? What does that outcome teach us? 

“I understood the outcome was _______, and it teaches me _______. But how does it relate to your work now?” 

THE VALUES: 

Could you identify what this person’s values are and where they came from? How? How did the story make you feel? 

“Your story made me feel ________ because _________.” 

“It’s clear from your story that you value _______; but it could be even clearer if you told a story about where that value comes from.” 

DETAILS: 

Were there sections of the story that had especially good details or images (e.g. sights, sounds, smells, or emotions of the moment)? 

“The image of ________ really helped me identify with what you were feeling.” 

“Try telling more details about _______ so we can imagine what you were experiencing.”