Storytelling in uncertain times

This webinar took place at the start of COVID-19 where I spoke about storytelling in turbulent times in a webinar for regional innovation hubs. It’s a useful conversation for anyone who holds communities together.

Some of the takeways:

1. In times of turbulence, we need to act swiftly, without barging in blind. Don’t push a story of optimism if people in your community are scared or anxious.
2. Listen first, for the stories that are already there before trying to create a new one. Tune in to the deeper narrative of meaning already being made about what’s going on.
3. Then, when you have listened enough to be ready to speak: there are three things you should pay attention to, which you’ll hear when you watch the video.

The talk draws on the fact that the uncertainty triggered by COVID-19 triggered people and organisations, in certain cases, to act faster and more inclusively than ever before. Centrelink implemented economic and technological changes previously considered impossible. Workplaces jumped layers of bureaucracy to facilitate working from home. Our government asked us to “work it out together”.

The event was spearheaded Andrew Outhwaite, who has scaled a heap of social ventures and pulled together within 3 days by Chad Renando and Dianna Somerville. With the support of Spacecubed’s Kali Norman, the webinar became a regular event – the swift but sensitive event the very embodiment of our overarching theme: right now, people who lead communities need to listen.