Doreen Can't Dance - making stories feel real

Two weeks ago, I shared a story. I admitted that when I hit send, I was scared. 

I told you about what it meant to me to be a gay fundraiser - and how, for the first few years of my career, I felt held back by my sexuality. That I had to choose between pursuing results and pursuing safety.

Part of the reason it scared me is it felt so real. I want to thank all of you who responded: over 40 of you reached out with love, solidarity and kindness - I cannot tell you how much that meant to me.

When reflecting with our Head of Client Experience Lisa as to why, she said she thought it was because the story felt so real.

And that got us reflecting on what makes powerful stories. For many of you, my story felt real because we’ve met - at a conference or a coffee shop, you’ve seen me somewhere. But there are times we’re telling stories about people we won’t meet - but they need to feel real still.

So then we thought about the stories that stuck out from the last year.

Doreen is a woman living in a women’s shelter in Uganda, being supported by Awamu. When good things happen, she loves to break out into song - but by her own admission, she really can’t dance.

Charlotte loves her twin sons - even when they’re pretending to be each other. She knows that their clothes having holes in them makes it easier to know who’s who, but she also knows they deserve to be warm. The Mental Health Foundation’s programmes were there for her. 

Fiona had always loved Rapunzel, and could tell you pretty much every line of the film Tangled. Even though she was blind, she always spoke about Rapunzel’s long, glimmering locks. When she was diagnosed with a critical illness and she was offered to Make A Wish, her family knew it wasn’t a classic Disney wish: she wanted to brush Rapunzel’s hair. 

The thing that makes these stories so memorable is that they, too, feel real. It’s the random facts within them - that Doreen can’t dance - that makes her real. Suddenly she’s not just the victim of domestic violence: she’s a fully fledged human. It’s little bits like this that make a story stick in your mind.

If you need help making your stories less like case studies and more like fully fledged humans, we’d love to help. We have capacity over the summer and autumn, though we’re starting to book up, so do get in touch soon!

PS: While these stories are real stories we’ve worked on with our clients, the names above have been changed from real life, as we know how important permissions are to this work!

PPS: Well… Rapunzel’s name hasn’t been changed. But I reckon she’d be cool with it.