How to Engage Listeners With Experiential Storytelling With Megan Finnerty

Professional Listening Matters

Not only is Megan Finnerty the Engagement and Features Editor at Gannett Newspaper, The Arizona Republic, she is also a storytelling consultant and the founder of The Arizona Storytelling Project, for which she won the National Headliner Award for Journalistic Innovation.

The Arizona Storytelling Project has started a nationwide trend toward community-based storytelling with pro-social values, and Megan joins the podcast to share her expertise on identifying your value proposition and translating that into a story that will grab and engage listeners.

 In This Episode

• How to tell a story to get resources for your business or nonprofit organization
• Why storytelling is a lot like cooking
• Creating space for diverse voices
• Legendary traditional storyteller Donald Davis and his “Five P’s”:  People, Place, Problem, Progress, and Point
• Why great leaders need “a pocketful of stories”
• Do’s and don’ts of storytelling to sustain your audience’s emotional balance
• Experiential storytelling for millennials
• The Arizona Storytelling Project and affiliated workshops

Quotes From This Episode

“Vulnerability is the emotional shortcut to empathy, and empathy is what makes us want to be with others or participate in what they’re doing. It’s the bonding feeling. Vulnerability doesn’t have to be too much. It can just be admitting to the conflict.” —@MeganMFinnerty (highlight to tweet)

“I think that’s what storytellers can do most in service of each other: actually own the work and don’t be shy about it.” —@MeganMFinnerty

“We create a space for a diversity of voices, for all kinds of identities and narratives to be shared and all kinds of people to tell their stories.” —@MeganMFinnerty

“People think you’re born charismatic or you’re a born storyteller. You’re no more born a storyteller than you’re born a great writer. And anybody who says writing is easy is a liar, and anyone who’s good at it says it’s a great deal of labor.” —@MeganMFinnerty

“Stories have to be in service of the community, not in service of the teller.” —@MeganMFinnerty (highlight to tweet)

Resources

• MeganMFinnerty.com
• Arizona Storytelling Project workshops
• Attend an Arizona Storytelling Project
• The Jonesborough Storytelling Festival
• Master storyteller Donald Davis
• The Moth Podcast
• “Long Story Short,” by Margot Leitman
• “Wired for Story,” by Lisa Cron
• Local First Arizona
• BusinessofStory.com