Powerful stories are ones that lead people to change the way they think about their lives. This session will discuss the common elements found in powerful stories and will provide the hands-on, practical tips to tell a compelling story. In addition, Telling Powerful Stories Online will look at effective ways to harness the power of the social web to not only share your story, but to engage people and get them ready to take action! Attendees Will Walk Away With: • The common elements found in powerful stories • Hands-on, practical tips to make stories compelling • How to translate stories for the social web Jaime Woo Jaime works with nonprofit and community organizations such as Toronto Community Foundation, the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives, and Pride Toronto to share their stories. His writing on the impact of technology and social media has been featured in Torontoist, Xtra, Financial Post, and The Mark News.

1. TELLING POWERFUL STORIES
ONLINE
Jaime Woo

2. An Introduction
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3. The Story of Me
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4. The Story of Me
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5. The Story of Me
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6. The Story of Me
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7. The Story of Me
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8. The Story of Me
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9. The Story of Me
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10. The Story of Me
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11. The Story of Me
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12. The Story of Me
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13. The Story of Me
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14. The Story of Me
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15. What Are We Going To Accomplish Here?
• The common elements found in powerful stories
• Hands-on, practical tips to make stories compelling
• How to translate stories for the social web
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16. What Are The Elements of A Powerful Story?
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17. The Elements
• Structure (Composition)
• Theme
• Character
• Conflict (Tension)
• Voice (Tone)
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18. Three Examples: #1 - The Oil Spill
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
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19. Three Examples: #2 - Pixar’s Finding Nemo
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20. Three Examples: #3 - Apple’s iPhone ads
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21. Structure (Composition)
• Most stories are
– Put a man up in a tree
– Throw stones at him
– Get him down
• But this doesn’t quite work for nonprofits and charities!
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22. Structure (Composition)
• Instead... ask why this? why now?
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23. Structure (Composition)
• Instead... ask why this? why now?
• OIL SPILL:
• FINDING NEMO:
• APPLE ADS:
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24. Theme
• What is the message behind your story?
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25. Theme
• What is the message behind your story?
• OIL SPILL:
• FINDING NEMO:
• APPLE ADS:
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26. Character
• Who is at the heart of your story and why does they matter?
• In addition, what matters to them? We relate to motivations.
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27. Character
• Who is at the heart of your story and why does they matter?
• In addition, what matters to them? We relate to motivations.
• OIL SPILL:
• FINDING NEMO:
• APPLE ADS:
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28. Conflict (Tension)
• Conflict, or tension, is what draws us into a story.
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29. Conflict (Tension)
• Conflict, or tension, is what draws us into a story.
• OIL SPILL:
• FINDING NEMO:
• APPLE ADS:
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30. Voice (Tone)
• Voice or tone gives us a perspective to view the story in.
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31. Voice (Tone)
• Voice or tone gives us a perspective to view the story in.
• OIL SPILL:
• FINDING NEMO:
• APPLE ADS:
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32. The Elements
• Structure (Composition)
• Theme
• Character
• Conflict (Tension)
• Voice (Tone)
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33. What Makes A Story Powerful?
• We can relate to it.
• Some stories have characters we can relate to
• Some stories have a setting we can relate to
• Some stories have conflicts we can relate to
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34. How to tell your story
• How good is your storyteller?
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35. How to tell your story
• How good is your storyteller?
• A good storyteller is passionate about stories
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36. How to tell your story
• How good is your storyteller?
• A good storyteller is passionate about stories
• A good storyteller knows his or her audience
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37. How to tell your story
• How good is your storyteller?
• A good storyteller is passionate about stories
• A good storyteller knows his or her audience
• A good storyteller delivers the unexpected
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38. Where To Tell Your Story?
• The medium is important
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39. Where To Tell Your Story?
• The medium is important
• Think about length
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40. Where To Tell Your Story?
• The medium is important
• Think about length
• Get the technicals right
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41. Where To Tell Your Story?
• The medium is important
• Think about length
• Get the technicals right (crisp visuals, fresh copy, clean sound)
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42. Okay, Let’s Take A Break
• What have we talked about so far?
• Know how stories work
• Know how to tell stories
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43. The Key Is To Start Telling Stories
• Practice, practice, practice
• Consume lots of stories
• The technology is there
• Be honest with each other
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44. Moving Online
• What’s great about online?
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45. Moving Online
• Affordable
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46. Moving Online
• Quick
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47. Moving Online
• Easily accessible
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48. Moving Online
• So many different tools
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49. Moving Online
• What’s not great? Limit on time and attention span.
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50. Rules of The Medium
• Be human
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51. Rules of The Medium
• Be human
• Be concise
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52. Rules of The Medium
• Be human
• Be concise
• Be interesting
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53. Rules of The Medium
• Be human
• Be concise
• Be interesting
• Be visual
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54. Rules of The Medium
• Be human
• Be concise
• Be interesting
• Be visual
• Be interactive
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55. Example: The Girl Effect
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56. Example: The Girl Effect
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57. Example: The Girl Effect
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58. Example: The Girl Effect
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59. So, Whoa, That Was A Lot Of Info
• You can tell powerful stories
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60. So, Whoa, That Was A Lot Of Info
• You can tell powerful stories
• There are seeds to powerful stories all around us
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61. So, Whoa, That Was A Lot Of Info
• You can tell powerful stories
• There are seeds to powerful stories all around us
• You must practice
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62. So, Whoa, That Was A Lot Of Info
• You can tell powerful stories
• There are seeds to powerful stories all around us
• You must practice
• Seriously, practice
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