Group storytelling is a great way to bring people together. Using games like Storybox (link to: https://onestorycloser.org/), helps to gets people comfortable enough to share true and meaningful stories about their lives. Use the session to identify those you want to follow up with one-to-one interviews (link to: /run-your-own/interviews).
The Nitty Gritty
Process phase
Discover
Suggested time
2 hours
People
Facilitator, note-taker, participants
Steps
01
Decide your parameters
Identify the sort of group you want to bring together. If you’re trying to learn something specific (e.g. role of women over time), choose the group so that you have the best chance of uncovering relevant stories.
02
Block a date
Find either an existing group who meets regularly and arrange a date with the group leader to host your group storytelling. Or organise a once-off event using an event platform like Meetup (link to: https://www.meetup.com/) and circulate the link to people you would like to come. If you’re organising a once-off event, host it in a ‘neutral’ space that people of all ages, races, genders and abilities will have access to and feel comfortable in.
03
Open up your Storybox!
Order a Storybox game online (link to: https://onestorycloser.org/). Storybox has been designed for easy group storytelling and includes everything you need – materials, storytelling prompts and a step-by-step facilitation guide, so you can just pick it up and go.
04
Identify individual storytellers
Lots of stories will be uncovered during group storytelling, so keep an ear out for the ones you may want to capture through interviews later (link to: /run-your-own/interviews). Chat to these people at the end to see if they’re interested.
05
Rinse and repeat
You can repeat this process several times throughout your project using the same Storybox game with different groups.
