What's the best way to get community stories?

1 Identify your purpose

Before you start looking for stories, you need to have a clear idea of why you want them and what you want to achieve with them. Are you trying to raise awareness, build trust, recruit volunteers, or influence decision-makers? Your purpose will guide your choice of stories, sources, formats, and channels. For example, if you want to highlight the impact of your work, you might look for stories of transformation or success from your beneficiaries or partners. If you want to challenge a dominant narrative, you might look for stories of resistance or alternative perspectives from your allies or critics.

2 Find your sources

To find people who can share their stories with you, you need to consider the context and resources available to you. Asking for referrals from existing contacts, conducting surveys or interviews with your target group, hosting events or workshops, inviting submissions through your website or social media, and browsing online platforms are all potential methods. Through these methods, you can gather valuable information related to your purpose.

3 Build trust and rapport

Gathering community stories requires more than just collecting data or information; it is a relational process that requires trust and rapport between you and your sources. It is essential to respect their privacy, consent, and ownership of their stories, as well as demonstrate genuine interest, empathy, and appreciation for their contributions. To build trust and rapport, you should be transparent about your purpose, goals, and expectations. Additionally, actively and attentively listening to their stories and feedback, asking open-ended, relevant, and respectful questions, acknowledging their emotions, challenges, and achievements, and following up with them throughout the process are all important steps.

4 Craft your stories

Once you have collected your stories, crafting them to engage and influence your audience is essential. Consider the tone, style, format, length, key messages, themes, and takeaways you want to convey while balancing the authenticity and accuracy of your stories with the clarity and impact of your communication. Some tips to craft your stories include utilizing storytelling techniques such as hooks, conflict, climax, and resolution; highlighting the personal, emotional, and human aspects of your stories; using quotes, anecdotes, examples, or data to support your points; editing and proofreading for grammar, spelling, and coherence; and seeking feedback and approval from sources and audience.

5 Share your stories

Finally, you need to share your stories with your audience and measure their effectiveness. You should choose the best channels and platforms to reach and engage your audience, as well as the best timing and frequency to distribute your stories. Additionally, it's important to monitor and evaluate the responses and reactions to your stories, making adjustments to your strategy if necessary. There are several ways to share your stories such as using multimedia formats such as videos, podcasts, or infographics; creating a dedicated website, blog, or newsletter; posting and promoting your stories on social media, email, or SMS; incorporating your stories into presentations, reports, or campaigns; and encouraging your audience to share, comment, or act on your stories.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?