1) Relationship to speakers. Learn to hold people close and offer them guidelines for effective storytelling. People who have stories of traffic fatalities, homicide, drug overdose, suicide or war have experienced LIFE changing events. The trauma restructures and reorganizes the brain – ways people organize thoughts, think of the world express and allow love. Be a support an ally. Show them other speakers, affirm their existence, wisdom and authentic relationship to the topic they will be speaking about.
...2)Be a LISTENER. Listen to the person who has something to share. Listen and listen and listen. Meet and plan for them to share, just by meeting and discussing their story. You have to hold, HAVE TO HOLD peace, love, compassion. You can’t twinge, hide or respond with your needs (okay balance this with being real). Know the person well and know their story, you will hear hours, and they will give 20 minutes of this story. Affirm all of it, reflect back what is impactful and helpful.
…3)Know the process. At SCVRJP we use 4 bases Intro/Incident/Impact/Reflection. This works so well. I can explain it forward and backwards if I have to. I have taught it, used it, heard it, felt it, lived it, observed it. I can’t help speakers unless it is a part of me. I need to have it understood and create an understanding that speakers and I can talk about these stages and help them when the story changes.
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