When Peggy Sue Deaven started teaching SE101, CSI’s eight-week introductory course to social entrepreneurship, in 2018, she noticed that most participants loved one segment in particular: Crafting Your Personal Narrative.
With this in mind, Peggy Sue created a dedicated course designed to help CSI members and the public improve their professional storytelling. CSI had its first taste of the program and it’s taken off since, recently opening to the public with plans for more sessions in the near future.
For Peggy Sue, the beginning and end of these sessions are perfect bookends: “When participants first sign on, there is trepidation and a bit of low-level anxiety co-mingled with hopeful excitement. Who is in here? What stories are we going to share? I love the looks on everyone’s faces and the ease that begins to crest over the crowd with each introduction: this is who I am, why I am here, and what I am hoping to talk more about.
And I love the closing. Again – everyone has a look of peace and excitement. Like, they just peeked into a portion of themselves and have opened up a new space of exploration and opportunity.”
Feedback on these workshops has been positive: people leave the sessions feeling seen and heard, that they have a story worth sharing, ideas worth delving into, and the means with which to begin. Breakout rooms are especially popular because they get to have curated feedback and a safe space to share their work. In the midst of physical distancing participants say that this kind of connection has been incredibly valuable and uplifting.
Peggy Sue notes that the most challenging part of this course is finding places and spaces for these stories to go further. Right now, so many events, gatherings, professional forums, and shows have taken a pause or are adapting into meaningful digital offerings while sorting through huge amounts of digital fatigue and added stressors people are facing.
As Peggy Sue says, “I want to find spaces and places to share our stories – the invisible portions of ourselves that are in need of place and community.”
CSI’s Crafting Your Personal Narrative workshop looks to bridge the gap created by the loss of physical story sharing spaces. If you’re interested in learning more about professional storytelling and how it can help you, join one of our workshops or peer circles!
