Have I told you the story of how we discovered the power and magic of story-sharing? 🪄⚡
When Google 's Experience Institute asked us to research the term belonging, they wanted to know if belonging could be defined with consistency - and designed as a consistent outcome of an experience. 🫶
Our research method asked people to tell us a story about a time they felt a sense of belonging. We started with one on one interviews, and it became clear fast that this wouldn't scale. Time was part of it, but emotional capacity was the bigger issue. We left every interview deeply connected to the person who'd shared their story with us. It was so wonderful - but it was not so sustainable. 💖
We moved people into small groups instead, four or five at a time. Instead of interviewing, we could sit in facilitation mode, listening for the keywords and themes connecting all the stories in the room - the touchpoints that formed the Wheel of Belonging. 💬💭 🎡
🔮 That's where the magic manifested. The people in those groups left deeply connected TO EACH OTHER. People would ask how they could come back and do it again. I had to explain that isn't really how research works. But it told us something real: being seen, being heard, having your story understood by others, is so cathartic, we feel it immediately - we will seek it out. ✨ AND THEN - in addition to being good for everyone in the room - it unlocked an energy and a desire to 'do something' with the connections created.
💡So, that research method became the framework behind the story sharing workshops we now run for teams, leaders, and communities. We've now supported Story-Sharing on the topic of leadership at Deloitte Australia, on collaboration with Google's Workplace Experience team, and next week with a Management team on the topic of conversation. Whether it is for corporate teams, communities of practice or event pop-up's and it's always one of my favorite things to do.
🎓🧙♀️🧙♂️ Most recently, we trained a new cohort of belonging facilitators through Storycraft Lab. They'll join our existing facilitator team at the upcoming Summer Storython. The prompts are simple: Where have you found belonging? Where have you felt empowered? Which spaces have you left feeling inspired and energized? What places have you discovered that you feel driven to share with others? Pick a prompt that sparks a story, and hop on in.
I hope you'll join us. Bring a friend, or come solo and make a new connection. We're hosting this one with the team at Braindate, whose spaces have always been built for connection and belonging. I can't think of a better partner.🥰😍🤗 Link to join in the comments.
