I recently had the distinct pleasure of serving as a plenary speaker for the 2012 USA Funds Symposium, “Building the Capacity to Enhance Student Success.” I was given the topic “It Matters How you Tell Your Story,” which allowed me to share my thoughts on how to mine stories on campus.
Having said that, I believe the strongest stories we can tell are those that involve our students. In other words, we need to spend our time sharing success stories for those we impact.
We talked through the importance of telling tales to appeal to our own internal constituents, funders, donors and granting agencies. The key, I suggested, is that the stories have to be personal and true.
Imagine my surprise when I received the following appeal from the American Red Cross in my inbox this past week. Having a great story has universal appeal.
So, my charge for you today is to ask your peers about the difference they make or ask your students about the opportunities they treasure most. I can only imaginthe great experiences they will share. Feel free to share what you hear with me—I love a great story!
