Storytelling

Thought leadership is not used to its true potential in public affairs. With so much noise out there, engaging thought leaders to build a public campaign around a policy or public affairs goal can be really important. Especially these days, separating your issue from the rest and making it a priority is a necessity. Similar to storytelling , thought leadership is about engaging community stakeholders to tell their reasons behind moving an issue forward.

During the time of COVID-19, getting together and sharing stories is an impossibility. So, when my mom turned 80, my sister came upon an easy user-generated content tool to organize friends to send a message to my mom for her friends and family. Five days and a few tutorials later, using Video Hug, we had organized a couple dozen 80-year-olds to send a message to my mom you can see the finished product here.  

Gavin Edwards is a three-time New York Times-bestselling author and public speaker. Throughout his career, he has written twelve books and made appearances on NBC’s Today show, VH1’s Behind the Music, and NPR’s All Things Considered. The common thread between Gavin’s praised writing and skilled public speaking is his ability to tell a story in an effective and engaging way.

Video storytelling is an “it” topic in advocacy and advertising circles. The strategy of delivering a story in the digital age that will get people to engage seems to be the latest goal for many nonprofits. But how can you do it in a consistent, scalable way that achieves your goals? Here are our tips to make an impact with advocacy video storytelling:

Kevin Simowitz is the National Field Director at Caring Across Generations and an expert on advocacy storytelling. He has worked on political and grassroots organizing campaign across the country. Kevin was nice enough to answer six question about advocacy storytelling. Here are his thoughts on using advocacy to get your story out.

Can public speaking with vulnerability be a good thing? Every time I do any type of public speaking, I get nervous. When I was younger and I was nervous, I would stutter. Even today, I sometimes hear myself repeating a word as I get animated. Throughout my life, I work hard to conceal these flaws, but the reality is that it is a part of who I am.