What I learned from the storytelling masterclass

Today's personal highlight is definitely the Masterclass of Storytelling delivered by Paulina Tamborrel from Citizens UK, with Vitória Russo Gaino, Maya P., Erin Dorsey and Camilla ?stergaard Kristensen shared their amazing stories.

The whole session was divided into three main parts: stories of SELF, stories of ACTION, and Strategic storytelling.

Why do we tell stories? My fellow students and colleagues gave fantastic answers: to bring truth to the narratives; a personal, intimate way of connecting with others, even strangers; discover parts of ourselves; communicate across cultures and languages, and realise how we have in common; to level the playing field; to build community; to understand and empathize; to allow those who don't really have a voice to be heard; to experience shared triumphs and shared pains...

The powers of stories not only important to others, but also to ourselves. They give a hint to people about who we are, and what our values are, meantime, it reveals to ourselves part of our essence.

The first useful structure of storytelling is character - challenge - choice - outcome - moral.?

For example, three things about me: I came from a socially advantaged family, so I don't feel the entitlement of lots of things; I quit my job last year and came here to be a student again, I really want to make the most of college life; I feel strongly about equality, social justice, and fundamental human rights.

The challenge I faced: since it's been a long time since I studied English, I felt uncomfortable and unconfident in using English in the academic environment. This inner barrier prevented me from contributing in my seminars, and because all classes were moved online, I felt I lack the opportunity to engage with my classmates and become safer to interact in classes. Therefore, I was anxious and stressed, and was underperforming in my study.

Choice: I could struggle alone, and silently make do of everything, just manage to get my master degree; or, I could seek help, and actively participate in all kinds of activities to get to know people, boost up my confidence, and try my best to write a satisfying dissertation. I chose the latter, I talked with a professional therapist for 12 weeks, signed up for Principle's Leadership Award, Beginners' French class, Masterclasses like today, and volunteered to help others.?

Outcome: I feel more comfortable and more certain about my life and my study in London.?

The moral implications: don't feel bad about your vulnerability and weaknesses, you are not alone; ask for help if you feel you can't handle it yourself, there's always somebody who can help you; the process of helping others itself is empowering.

The second useful structure of storytelling is self - us - now.?

For example:

Self: my own struggles I mentioned earlier. When I wanted to speak in my classes, I felt my breath become heavy, and my hand that was going to raise the virtue hand trembling, and my heartbeat was super strong and intense.

Us: according to King's website, there are 3,715 students from mainland China. From my observations and communications with other Chinese students, we suffer from this same kind of struggle to some degree. They stuck with their Chinese friends, rarely make contact with students from other lingual and cultural backgrounds. I can hardly see a Chinese student in the union or student society,?except for the King's Chinese student union.?

Action: I feel if the school could provide more support to students whose first language is not English, and whose culture is not close with Europe, we might feel more belonged and perform well in both study and extracurricular activities. For example, besides the personal tutor system, students could be offered the choice of a country-specific tutor who shares the same language and culture, which would help them more easily and quickly adapt to the new environment.

Why this is important? Because King's is a world-leading academic institution that has committed to be more inclusive and sustainable, no student should be left behind.

Why it has to be now? The tuition fee for international students is almost three times of UK students, they deserve the same opportunity to be inspired and included as a student of King's. Even if I might not personally benefit from any reform King's would make in the future, I wish future students from China would receive more support, feel more belonged, and perform better without struggle silently.?

The third part of storytelling is to tailor how you tell your stories to different audiences, and you must be clear about what responses you expect them to give since people have different positions and have different interests.

As for my story, I could tell it to other Chinese students with my fullest honesty to check whether my story resonates with their own stories; I might tell it to relevant student organisations, specifically about the solutions I think of, to ask for their feedback on my idea, and how they approach similar issues; I would tell it to the staff at King's, to convince them to adopt my proposals and pay more attention to support students with different ethnicities.?

Well, that's what I learn from today's masterclass. I hope it will help you tell your own stories. If you like, you could tell your story to me, and I'm ready to listen.