NYAVA Workshop: Transformative Storytelling

Lee-Sean Huang / ls@foossa.com / @leesean
Transformative Storytelling
From Data to Delivery
ABC & the Elephant
New York Association for Volunteer Administration
Lee-Sean Huang - ls@foossa.com
November 2015
FOOSSA @foossa_com / @leesean

2
Lee Sean
@leeseanFOOSSA @foossa_com / @leesean

@leeseanFOOSSA
Foossa is a community-centered
design and strategy consultancy
@foossa_com / @leesean

@leeseanFOOSSA
Why are you here today?

WHAT?
Lee-Sean Huang / ls@foossa.com / @leeseanFOOSSA
HOW?
WHY?

WHY
STORYTELLING?

@leeseanFOOSSA
“The #1 business skills for the next 5 years”
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20130802112108-7374576-this-will-be-the-1-business-skill-of-the-next-5-years
- LinkedIn
“A strategic tool with ‘irresistible power’”
https://hbr.org/2014/03/the-irresistible-power-of-storytelling-as-a-strategic-business-tool/
- Harvard Business Review
“The major business lesson of 2014”
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/239142
- Entrepreneur Magazine

Stories
help us make sense of the world
help us deﬁne our identity
help us connect with each other
are the building blocks of culture
{http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201106/the-power-stories/direct-hit
Lee-Sean Huang / ls@foossa.com / @leeseanFOOSSA @foossa_com / @leesean

http://www.journeyofhearts.org/kirstimd/tellstory.htmLee-Sean Huang / ls@foossa.com / @leesean
Clay Shirky
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyeihMTB2mE feature=share t=19m35s
“Stories organize our sense of reality.
Stories are how we process facts.
Stories are like food we consume that
helps us turn into who we are.”
@leeseanFOOSSAFOOSSA @foossa_com / @leesean

Dr. Kirsti A. Dyer
http://www.journeyofhearts.org/kirstimd/tellstory.htm
“Storytelling is a part of life, intrinsic
to most cultures. They help people
make sense of the world--life's
experiences, dilemmas and hardships.
Stories can educate, inspire and build
rapport. They are a means of
communicating, recreating, and
helping preserve cultures by
translating memories into a more
concrete manner that can be handed
down verbally or in written form.
Telling the story can provide the
opportunity to gain a deeper
understanding of one's experiences
and oneself. “
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201106/the-power-stories/direct-hit
http://www.journeyofhearts.org/kirstimd/tellstory.htm
@leeseanFOOSSAFOOSSA @foossa_com / @leesean

@leeseanFOOSSA
“Storytelling comes naturally
to humans, but since we live
in an unnatural world, we
sometimes need a little help
doing what we’d naturally do.”
- Dan Harmon, Writer

@leeseanFOOSSA
What is the story behind
an artifact you have?
Jewelry, clothing, photo,
item in pocket/purse, etc.

FROM DATA
TO DELIVERY

What is the diﬀerence
between data/information
and a story?

When was the last time
you experienced a
transformative story?

What makes a story
transformative?

How do we bridge the
gap between empathy
and action?

Stories have:
Characters
Structure
Metaphor/Symbolism

@leeseanFOOSSA
The Pop-Up Activist of the Lower East Side
MILES Founder Eric Ho in the New York Times

NYAVA Workshop: Transformative Storytelling

1
strong
start
2
emotional
climax
3
desired
outcome

‘If a picture is worth a
thousand words, then
a metaphor is worth a
thousand pictures’
- Daniel Pink

NYC produces 12,000
tons of trash every day

NYC produces enough
trash to ﬁll the Empire
State Building every day

TRANSFORMATIVE
STORIES have a
Call-to-Action

ABC + Impact

Lee-Sean Huang / ls@foossa.com / @leesean@leeseanFOOSSA @foossa_com / @leesean
ContentFramework
Action - Beneﬁts - Champions

Your mission in action

Who beneﬁts from your mission?

Who makes your work happen?

+ Impact
Call to Action: how can we help?
Provide a full capoeira uniform
for a student on scholarship
$50
Sponsor capoeira classes for a
month for a student on
scholarship
$100
Sponsor capoeira classes for a
semester for a student on
scholarship
$500
Provide capoeira classes for a
school year for a student on
scholarship
$1,000
Enable 2 teaching artists to
provide 1 semester of classes at
a school
$10,000
Underwrite 2 teaching artists to
provide 1 year of classes at a
school
$25,000

THE ELEPHANT

44
500K-1 million people killed

45
500K-1 million people killed
Population of San Francisco

How do we turn
profound emotional
experiences into action?

EMPATHIC 
FEELING
COMPASSIONATE 
ACTION
BURNOUT 
RISK
SHUTDOWN 
RISK

The Inzovu Curve maps a
prototypical journey of a
person going through the
transformative experience of
a museum reaching a state of
motivation and action.

INZOVU CURVE 2.0
ACTIONHOPEPAINPREPARATION
EMPATHY
COMPASSION
HERO
BURNOUT / SHUTDOWN
REFLECTION

MAPPING THE JOURNEY TO ACTION
PAIN PAIN ACTION

PAIN PAIN ACTION
At the beginning
there’s a neutral state
before being slowly
introduced to the
context.
If the beginning is too
brutal, people could
feel disoriented and
unable to establish
an emotional
connection.

PAIN PAIN ACTION
A genocide memorial
is meant to trigger a
profound personal
reaction.
This is a moment of
suffering and creates
a strong emotional
connection to what
happened.
At the beginning
before being slowly
introduced to the
context.
unable to establish
an emotional
connection.

PAIN PAIN ACTION
A genocide memorial
profound personal
reaction.
This is a moment of
a strong emotional
connection to what
happened.
At the beginning
before being slowly
introduced to the
context.
unable to establish
an emotional
connection.
This moment should
happen multiple times
during the experience
itself.
It’s meant as a way to
decompress for
sensible people, and a
space to
think for everyone.

PAIN PAIN ACTION
A genocide memorial
profound personal
reaction.
This is a moment of
a strong emotional
connection to what
happened.
At the beginning
before being slowly
introduced to the
context.
unable to establish
an emotional
connection.
This moment should
itself.
decompress for
space to
think for everyone.
While genocides are
terrible events, there
are always heroes
that shine through.
These people are
often highly relatable
because are normal
people that do
positive acts.

PAIN PAIN ACTION
A genocide memorial
profound personal
reaction.
This is a moment of
a strong emotional
connection to what
happened.
While it’s difﬁcult to
generate action in
each and every
person, this moment
is made possible by
the ones before.
Hope gives examples
to follow and show
how others acted
positively.
At the beginning
before being slowly
introduced to the
context.
unable to establish
an emotional
connection.
This moment should
itself.
decompress for
space to
think for everyone.
While genocides are
terrible events, there
are always heroes
that shine through.
These people are
often highly relatable
because are normal
people that do
positive acts.

68
How do you want visitors
to tell your story?
WE ASKED GENOCIDE SURVIVORS AND AEGIS / KGM STAFF

69
“The people of Rwanda died  
but the struggle for the spirit  
of a dignified and peaceful country
is now promoted, sustained, encouraged.”
SURVIVOR

“Beauty from ashes.”
KGM STAFF

71
How can the memorial
experience be improved?
WE ASKED GENOCIDE SURVIVORS AND AEGIS / KGM STAFF

“This is a place of teaching peace.”
KGM STAFF

“We need a quiet space for survivors
to reflect and write messages.”
SURVIVOR

IDEAS FOR SURVIVORS, VISITORS AND AEGIS/KGM

PAVILION &
REFLECTION GARDEN
Give Survivors a
dedicated place for
remembrance and
reﬂection. A private space
for fellowship and a place
to share messages of
hope and love.

COUNSELING &
SUPPORT SYSTEM
AND INTEGRATED
FACILITIES
The Counseling Support
Program will provide Survivors
with much needed services
and facilities necessary for
continued recovery and
guidance.

REST POD
A private space that provides
grief recovery, comfort and
respite for those Survivors
overcome by the emotional
strains of their visit.

SCHOOL OF
PEACEBUILDING
How might KGM serve as a
place for training future
multidisciplinary
peacebuilders?

EXPERIMENTS
ANATOMY OF AN EXPERIMENT
EVOLVING THE KGM EXPERIENCE 81
1. HYPOTHESIS
• A hypothesis is a question
and a possible idea for
solving that question.
• “What if we changed X to
improve Y?”
2. TEST
• What are metrics for
success?
• Test the hypothesis for a
set period of time. One
week, one month.
• Observe what happens and
gather data.
3. EVALUATE
• What worked? What didn’t?
• What should we start
doing?
• What should we continuing
doing?
• What should we stop
doing?
4. ITERATE
• How can we reﬁne the
hypothesis?
• What happens if we try
something diﬀerent?

Dear Friend,
We are all angered by what happened in Rwanda, but we can channel our energy into
action and prevent it from ever happening again.
Be heroic. Help save lives by taking action. Injustice happens around the world. The
Central African Republic has been descending into ethno-religious violence, with thousands
of people fleeing their homes. The UN is warning that the country is at high risk of genocide.
Learn how you can raise awareness about this issue. Volunteer to spread the word in your
community, on campus, or at events.
Be a partner. Pledge your support and helps us fund our life sustaining social programs,
youth and teacher education programs and commemoration work. Our youth programs teach
the new generation about Rwanda’s history and how to move forward in peace and unity.
Be a resident artist. Create work to tell the story of Rwanda through artistic expression.
Visit our website at www.globalumuganda.com/toolkit to learn more.
Together we can build and sustain peace.
Amahoro,
The Aegis Trust team

inzovucurve.org
kgm.rw
uxforgood.com
ls@foossa.com

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NYAVA Workshop: Transformative Storytelling

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NYAVA Workshop: Transformative Storytelling