Worksheet: Public Narrative

Objectives:

Align individual stories with the shared values of the movement to sustain collective action.
Build Power With others by identifying a shared purpose and strengthening the “us” to act together. </aside>

Time Required: 60-90 minutes

Resources Needed: Pen and paper

Audience Setting: Individual

The Story of Self

To start developing your Story of Self, reflect on the following questions:

Why am I called to leadership?
Why did I decide to tackle this specific injustice or problem and work on this organizing effort?
What values move me to act? Have these values always been important to me? If not, when did that change? How might these values inspire others to similar action?
What stories can I tell from my own life about specific people or events that would show, rather than tell, how I learned or acted on those values?

Write your thoughts and reflections:

</aside>

Now use the table below to dig deeper into who you are and why you are called to this work. Write down thoughts or draw pictures to illustrate your thoughts.

Where you come from	Who you are	How you got involved
• Where were you born, and where did you grow up?
• Are there people who made an impact on you while growing up (family members, role models, friends, community members)?
• Are there significant childhood experiences that stick out for you (early memories, coming-of-age experiences)?	• What are you passionate about (interests, talents, hobbies)?
• Are there significant experiences that have had an impact on your choices (school, travel, work, family, or partners)?	• Are there people or significant experiences that stick out for you (social movement leaders, role models, books, or knowledge) or that spurred you into taking action for the first time?
• What was your first experience of getting involved in organizing (volunteering in your community, supporting an organization, voting, attending a protest or rally)?

Next, based on your reflection, use the table below to write out the details of one choice point – a specific experience when you faced a challenge, made a choice, experienced an outcome, and learned a lesson.

Challenge	Choice	Outcome
Why did you feel it was a challenge? What was so challenging about it?	Why did you make the choice you made? How did it feel?	How did the outcome feel and why? What did it teach you?

Draft your Story of Self. In crafting your story around the choice point you’ve chosen above, focus on the story moment and the values that moved you into action. Create a setting for your listeners – paint a vivid picture of what you experienced (what you felt, how it sounded, what it looked like). Feel free to draw pictures too.

<aside>

</aside>

The Story of Us

To start developing your Story of Us, reflect on the following questions:

What values do you share with this community? (Note: ‘community’ here is the ‘us’ in your story)