A presentation by Terrence McNally, MessageMatters, at NADO's Annual Training Conference (New Orleans, Oct. 27, 2015)

1. Terrence McNally
terrencemcnally.net
aworldthatjustmightwork.com
temcnally@mac.com

2. TAPPING THE UNIQUE
POWER OF
STORY AND NARRATIVE
We Are Our Stories

3. Stories are meant
to be shared.

4. Why is what you do important?
How can storytelling
and narrative strengthen
your work?

5. Tell compelling stories.
Credibility
Engagement
Trust

6. Share convincing data.
Challenges
Value
Accomplishments
What data can you use? What
one or two numbers are most
memorable and repeatable?

7. Close Up
The ultimate purpose of most
communication is to inspire a specific
individual to take a specific action.
The ultimate goal is that the sum
of specific individual actions adds
up to great positive impact.

8. Close Up
The ultimate purpose of most
communication is to inspire a specific
individual to take a specific action.
Make a Clear Call to Action

9. Story Package
Powerful
Story
+ Clear Call to Action
+ Great Piece of Data

10. Can you recall a time when you
heard or read a story
that communicated the
true value of an organization?

11. Can you recall a time when
you heard or read a story
that made the value of an
organization come to life?

13. Friends of the Children (Friends) is an intervention program for
the most vulnerable children living in seriously high-risk
environments
• Avoid involvement in criminal justice system
• Avoid early parenting
• Graduate from high school with a plan for the future
Outcomes for children
• Most vulnerable children are selected based on research-based risk factors
• Children receive early intervention starting in kindergarten or first grade and long-
term mentoring and support continuing through high school graduation
• Children spend one-on-one quality time with a “Friend” who is a full-time, carefully
selected, and trained professional
• Children are offered comprehensive services to meet their academic, social,
emotional, and physical needs
Service model
• Teachers, Firefighters, and Friends*—Friends will become part of the “social
fabric” of our communities; helping our nation’s most vulnerable children
develop the relationships, goals, and skills necessary to break the cycles of
poverty, abuse, and violence and become contributing members of their
community
Vision

14. Friends’ unique program is specifically designed to identify and support
our nation’s most vulnerable children
Identify the most
vulnerable children early…
• Proactive child selection
process
–Research shows that early
risk factors can identify
young children most likely
to fall victim to later serious
negative outcomes
–Friends works with schools
in high-poverty areas to
select children based on
risk factors and then
conducts extensive
outreach to families to
enroll children
• Early intervention
–Children enter by the end
of first grade
…and provide them
with a supportive,
qualified adult
• Supportive, qualified adult
–Professional Friends
• Full time, paid
employees
• College educated
• Are experience and
talented working with
high-risk youth
–Selected through rigorous
hiring process
–Receive extensive initial
and ongoing training
–Are highly supported and
supervised by program staff
… and holistic services
over a sustained period
of time
• Holistic approach
–Friends develop quality
one-on-one relationship
with child
• Meet with each child 8
times for 16
hours/month
• Develop and update
individualized goal plan
for child
• Engage in community
service and other
activities
–Friends and program staff
work to support each
child’s academic, physical,
emotional, social, and
mental health needs

15. 92/93 93/94 94/95 95/96 96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02
1 1 1
2 2 2
3
5
9
11
0.0
2.5
5.0
7.5
10.0
12.5
Number of sites
Number
of children
served 24 124 137 153 168 232 253 304 523 644
Source: Friends of the Children
Portland
opened
Washington DC
opened
Chester opened
National office, Klamath
Falls and Seattle opened
Cincinnati, New York City, San
Francisco, Wilmington opened
Demonstrated potential of the unique service model sparked
interest across the country and led to the creation of the national
network
Oregon Initiative (Salem & Eugene)
opened

16. To start the business planning process, Friends developed a comprehensive
Theory of Change for the network
Helping our most vulnerable children living in seriously high-risk environments develop the relationships, goals, skills, and resources necessary to thrive.
4.…needed to successfully
implement these strategies 
5.…to produce these outcomes among
children and youth
Qualified and Effective Personnel
with Expertise in:
 Management
 Business/strategy planning
Program Development and Quality
Assurance
 Management of quality, including
database and reporting system
 Curriculum development for child
and adolescent programming
 Training of supervisors and child
serving staff
 Evaluation management
 Developing and maintaining
collaborative partnerships
Infrastructure/Operations
 Financial and HR systems,
including hiring practices
 IT
Financial Sustainability/
Development
 Fundraising with national and
local major donors
 Developing/testing fundraising
strategies including new
products
 Marketing and Public Relations
 Grant writing (government and
foundations)
 Government Relations (lobbying)
 Developing and maintaining
corporate Partnerships
Board Members with
 Commitment to Friends of the
Children
 National connections (corporate,
foundations, individuals)
 Expertise in a substantive area
(finance, law, public relations,
national organizations)
 Willingness to help with
fundraising
Program Development
 Lead efforts to refine the program
 Provide assistance in addressing
ad hoc program questions
Quality Assurance
 Establish standards and best
practices for chapters;
 Review outcome data for children
and assist chapters in using data
to improve program
 Assist chapters in selecting and
retaining both children and
Friends
 Provide curriculum and training
for Friends, supervisors,
Executive Directors
 Conduct site visits, provide
coaching
 Assist chapters in identifying
gaps; suggest strategies for
addressing gaps
Infrastructure/Operations
 Provide support for hiring
qualified and effective Executive
Directors
 Establish standards for
accounting, HR, and insurance;
provide templates and free/fee-
based support for implementation
 Assist in Board development
(clarify roles, orientation, training,
support)
 Implement regular processes to
share information/lessons learned
through intranet, conference
calls, meetings
 Establish database system
including forms, software,
hardware;
Financial Sustainability/Development
 Coordinate donor prospects
 Provide marketing/PR strategy
and selected products, materials
(like sponsorship); train chapters
 Provide case statement,
framework and assist chapters in
developing strategic plans
including growth and
development plans; Board, ED
training
National Evaluation
 Provide leadership in seeking
funds for and in managing
High Quality Friends
 High quality Friends who remain in relationship for
a minimum of four years with a monthly minimum
of 6-8 contacts of 16 hours with each child
 Friends with an associates degree or more
(preferred); a minimum of two years direct
experience with children living in seriously high-
risk environments; safe driving record
 Friends who work with no more than 8 children
Selection of Vulnerable Children Living in High Risk
Environments
 Children served by each chapter meet specified
screening criteria (see risk and protective factors
chart)
 Children identified by the end of the first grade
 Children selected in collaboration with credible
and supportive community organizations
 A working relationship with child’s parents or
guardians
High Quality Program Resources and Support,
Directly
or through Partnerships
 A safe space for Friends and children
 Educational support services
 Physical, emotional and social services
 Caregiver support for basic needs and appropriate
interventions when necessary for child’s progress
 A strong working partnership with schools
 A commitment to program children through high
school and as they move within the service area
Financial Sustainability/Development
 Personnel with development expertise
 Engaged and effective board
 Sound and active development plan, including
local major donors
 Sound and active marketing and PR plan
 Adherence to national branding standards
 Diversified funding base
 In-kind and volunteer resources
An enduring high-quality
relationship
for each child with a professional
paid) mentor (the Friend)
• One-on-one long-term positive
relationship
• Individualized plans for success
for each child
• Review progress semi- annually
Friends who have the knowledge,
experience, and ability to provide
skill
building and/or resources for:
• Social development
• Emotional development,
including anger management
• Academic development
• Problem solving/making positive
choices
• Appreciation of own culture and
cultures of others
• Skills that build towards
independent living (i.e. hygiene,
nutrition, time management,
social courtesies, budgeting)
• Development of individual talents
and interests
• Participation in meaningful and
quality extracurricular activities
and community service.
Program resources and support,
directly or through partnerships, in
the following areas of need:
• Services for children, including
physical, emotional and
educational support, community
service activities, special talent
opportunities
• Services for caregivers, including
referral to social services
• A safe space for Friends and
children to gather
Intermediate
Social and Emotional
Development
• Strong relationships with adults,
peers, and community
• Improved mental and emotional
health
Making Good Choices
• Reduced aggression and problem
behaviors
• Avoidance of substance abuse
School Success
• Academic performance and
progress (attendance, appropriate
classroom behavior, progression
in reading/math/ computer literacy
and promotion)
Other
• Improved health care (both
physical and mental including
reproductive when appropriate)
• Plan and skills for the future (post
high school)

Long-term
• Avoid Involvement in the
Criminal Justice System
• Avoid Early Parenting
• Succeed in School with a
minimum of a high school
diploma (1st choice) or GED
2…..to provide these activities
and services 
1. National Friends needs these
resources 
3….so that chapters have these elements


23. TAPPING THE POWER
OF STORY
AND NARRATIVE
Sharing What You Do
Is Important

24. Is there a difference
between story and narrative?
Story usually follows a protagonist
and has a beginning, middle, and end.
Narrative is still unfolding,
and has a past, present, and future.
Narrative often provides the thread
that makes sense of stories.

25. Think of a story.
What is your purpose?
What effect do you want to have?
Where can a story help you
accomplish a goal at work?
Who is your target audience?
What piece of data will you link it to?
What call to action will you link it to?

26. Why is narrative so powerful?
How do you effectively
develop and deliver messages?
How do you build a story culture?
What makes a good story?

27. What do you think…
Why is story powerful?

28. Why is narrative so powerful?
A culture is the set of
stories a group agrees on.
CULTURE
To be in a viable
culture
is to be bound in a set
of connecting stories.
-- Jerome Bruner,
Acts of Meaning

29. We are the stories we tell
to others and to ourselves.
IDENTITY
Why is narrative so powerful?

30. We are the stories we tell
to others and to ourselves.
IDENTITY
Why is narrative so powerful?
We tell stories …not only so others can understand
who we are but also so we can understand ourselves.
Telling our stories allows us to compile our personal
mythology, and the collection of stories we have
compiled is to some extent who we are.
-- Roger Schank, Tell Me a Story: Narrative & Intelligence

31. “Stories are basic to human
memory process. The mind
establishes a story line, with the
memory of one event triggering
the memory of the next.”
Why is narrative so powerful?
MEMORY
Stories are how we remembered
enough to survive.

32. “”the primate who tells stories…”
-- Stephen Jay Gould
Why is narrative so powerful?
HISTORY

33. Humans are hard-wired to
respond to narrative.
How many of you can
recall an experience where
telling a story helped you
accomplish something?

35. What makes a good story?
What do you think?
What makes a good story?

36. “It’s going to
be okay,
Jennifer.”
What makes a good story?
Andy Goodman
thegoodmancenter.com
Linda & Richard Eyre
valuesparenting.com

37. GOAL
RESOLUTION
What makes a good story?
INCITING
INCIDENT
O
B
S
T
A
C
L
E
O
B
S
T
A
C
L
E
O
B
S
T
A
C
L
E
ACT I ACT II ACT III
PROTAGONIST

38. What makes a good story?
John LeCarre
The cat sat on the other cat’s mat is a story.
The cat sat on the mat is not a story.

39. What makes a good story?
Concise but colorful.
“A detail should be seen, heard,
smelled, tasted, or touched…
[and] the detail must matter.”
Janet Burroway, Writing Fiction
QUALITIES
Use telling details.

40. What makes a good story?
Readers experience action as if in real time.
We must stay until the end
to learn what happens
(and what it means.)
The opposite of journalism.
QUALITIES
As we listen or read, we feel
we are inside the scenes.
STORYTELLI
NG
Journalism
Storytelling

41. “People are not inspired to act by reason alone.
…A much more powerful way to persuade people
is by uniting an idea with an emotion. The best
way to do that is by telling a compelling story.”
-- Robert McKee in Harvard Business Review
EMOTION
What makes a good story?

42. What makes a good story?
“You can’t just have an anecdote.
It’s got to mean something.”
-- Ira Glass, This American Life
MEANING

43. What makes a good story?
Then this happened, then this
happened, then this happened,
and this is what it means.
MEANING
Then this happened, then this
happened, then this happened,
and this is what we learned.
-- Ira Glass,
This American Life

45. What makes a good story?
Protagonist?
Goal?
Obstacle?
How does he overcome?
Moral/Lesson?

46. Is this a good story?
Is there at least one
flesh and blood character?
Are there scenes? …with dialogue?
Does something change?
Does a question get answered?

47. What about when you can’t
tell complete stories?
The point is not simply to tell stories.
The point is to engage, inform,
persuade, motivate, inspire, etc.
Use the elements of story.
Go for engagement and vitality,
not just with stories,
but with everything you say.

48. What if you are removed
from the stories?
Create story communication channels.
Incentivize and reward those who notice,
share, collect, and deliver stories.
Demonstrate the value of stories
by putting them to use.

49. Can a Coalition Tell
Members’ Stories?
Coalitions and networks have
not only the right
but the responsibility
to tell members’ stories.

50. How do you build a story culture?
Identify them.
Collect them.
Craft them.
Share them.
Make sure people know them by heart.
CORE STORIES

51. How do you build a story culture?
• The challenge we face story
• Our founding story
• Emblematic success/performance stories
• Lessons learned stories
• “What if…?” stories
CORE STORIES
What stories can you tell?

52. What stories can you tell?
Central Arkansas
Planning
and Development District
April 27, 2014

53. What stories can you tell?
Central Arkansas
Planning
and Development District

54. What stories can you tell?
Central Arkansas
Planning
and Development District

55. What stories can you tell?
Central Arkansas
Planning
and Development District
April 27, 2014

56. What stories can you tell?
Central Arkansas
Planning
and Development District

57. Central Arkansas
Planning
and Development District
What stories can you tell?

58. Central Arkansas
Planning
and Development District
What stories can you tell?

59. Southwest Virginia
Cumberland Plateau Planning District
New River Valley Planning Commission
What stories can you tell?

60. Southwest Virginia
Cumberland Plateau Planning District
New River Valley Planning Commission
What stories can you tell?

61. Southwest Virginia
Cumberland Plateau Planning District
New River Valley Planning Commission
What stories can you tell?

62. Southwest Virginia
Cumberland Plateau Planning District
New River Valley Planning Commission
What stories can you tell?

63. How do you build a story culture?

66. Gala up 45%
Rancho Golf Classic up 63%
Foundation holiday appeal up 133%

67. All your individual stories
should reinforce one
consistent larger narrative.
All your stories should
communicate
an experience of who you are.

69. Why is narrative so powerful?
How do you effectively
develop and deliver messages?
How do you build a story culture?
What makes a good story?

70. When are you at your best
as a communicator?
Figure out what works.
Learn to do more of it.

71. Human beings want
to be seen and heard.

72. Be Yourself.
Be in the room and in your body.
Breathe.
Be in the present.
Be prepared.
Say what you need to say.
Express your excitement, energy, passion.

73. Be Personal.
Speak from your heart.

74. Share your self
and your experience as well
as your information.
Share personal stories that include
flesh and blood characters and
moments of dialogue.

75. Throw out anything
that doesn’t build
your message.

76. Be Clear and Concise.
Your presentation should be
as long as necessary
and as short as possible.

77. Write the Way You Speak.
Say all your words aloud to yourself.
Use words and images your audience
can picture in their mind’s eyes.

78. Offer them a meaningful role
in your vision, your story,
your challenge.
Invite your audience in.

79. Taking Story & Narrative
Home with You
and Putting it to Work

80. Putting story to work
What are you going to take away?
What are you going to do yourself?
By when?
What are you going to share with others?
How?

81. Free Resources

82. To read blog posts
aworldthatjustmightwork.com
terrencemcnally.net

83. To receive email newsletter
Email:
temcnally@mac.com

84. To listen to podcasts
aworldthatjustmightwork.com
terrencemcnally.net

85. To receive email announcements of podcasts
Email: temcnally@mac.com

86. Follow me on Twitter

87. Questions and Comments

88. If you remember and
act on nothing else…
2. Story + Data + Call to Action =
Ideal Communication for Impact.
1. Story and narrative are uniquely powerful
tools for connection and engagement.
3. Proactively collect and develop a supply
of stories that express who you are.
4. Actively use story and narrative in your work.

90. Terrence McNally
terrencemcnally.net
aworldthatjustmightwork.com
temcnally@mac.com