Everyone loves a good story

Everyone loves a good story. We see it all over our culture and in our society. We get inspired by stories about people who have overcome, we feel connected to stories that tap on shared sentiment. Even in movies and other entertainment, sure some are memorable for their visual effects or their soundtracks, but the movies we want to watch over and over are the ones that tell a good story. Stories are especially important when presenting an idea or persuading for change in an institution, like a school district. Those with the authority to enact change so often operate in the realm of logic and systems. But stories are humanizing. They help remind all of us that organizations are made up of people, each with their own story of struggle, hardship, dreams, and victories. It is such an interesting aspect of our nature and I have especially noticed this in my own life over the past several months. Due to my family's circumstances, we have had to be extra careful due to the current pandemic we are all facing. My wife and I often talk of our craving for human interaction with friends, colleagues, even strangers. I think all of us have felt that to some degree at some point recently. We are social beings and our stories help connect us.

After viewing Nancy Duarte's TED Talk, where she analyzes the structure design of motivational speeches, I was fascinated by the common flow of Dr. King's speech and Steve Job's keynote. It was interesting to see how they both creatively bounced from describing the current reality to their vision of what "could be." I was so interested that I actually went and found Dr. King's infamous "I Have a Dream" speech and reread the entire thing. Let me tell you - it was good for the soul, I have not read that entire speech in a long time. I think what I appreciate about it the most is his authenticity of heart. It would be easy to take Duarte's algorithm and try to overlay it onto some agenda I want to push in our school system, but Dr. King didn't do that. I didn't feel that he was trying to convince me of anything. That's what I want to keep before me as I create a "call to action." I want to believe so deeply in the changes I want to see happen, that it comes across as authentic, genuine and pure.