A Story Bank Pays Off! How to start and grow your own

The great thing about banking your stories, is that the equity grows the more you spend. [Photo: Micheile Henderson on Unsplash]

Why bother setting up a story bank?

Stories are a precious resource for any organization or business.  And not just for the communications staff! At the risk of repeating myself, I will take a moment to remind you that stories can build connection, illuminate concepts and values, communicate impact, inspire action, orient new staff, or simply get someone else to pay attention. No matter what your role is, you can use stories.

I always think I am going to remember where to find a story when I need it for a workshop or a keynote, but when it comes to a time crunch, I am often left scrambling. A simple story bank has saved me tons of time I would have spent looking through the piles of paper on my desk, searching random key words on my computer, or fruitlessly jogging my memory. 

What goes in the story bank?

Stories from your own life and work experience. These could be fully realized stories or a few short notes about a key moment that you have experienced or witnessed that could be used for a story that illustrates vision, values, impact, lessons learned (or if you have studied the Marshal Ganz method with me: Self, Us or Now.) 

If you write down a few sentences about the experience when the moment is fresh, you will be surprised how easily your memory is jogged later, so you can fill it out into a more complete story. Throwing in a few concrete details is always a good idea. Where you were, who you were with, a few sentences from a conversation you had, how you felt when you had an ‘aha’ moment!

Stories you have heard from others and have the permission to tell. This could be a post or newsletter you wrote that includes a relevant story you could use in another situation. Or this could be as simple as a note about a challenge or change that you heard about in conversation or a meeting that you want to come back to, to flesh out the story details. Don’t forget to add the name and contact of the person who related it.

An article or story someone else in your organization wrote or told that is relevant to your work. This could come from a funding report, your website, or your newsletter.

An article or video from outside your organization that tells a related story that you could use as an example of shared values, source of hope, or an impact that has parallels to the work you do. For example, another province makes a policy change that has a big impact that is a concrete example of community development. Or, you read a strong personal story that shows how someone has overcome a difficult challenge. 

Two easy ways to keep a story bank

1.   KEEP A CLEARLY LABELED, EASY TO FIND FOLDER ON YOUR COMPUTER DESKTOP

This is my preferred method, which suits my organizational tendencies (I am a piler, not a filer!). It includes: 

·    PDFs, videos, word docs of stories I have found that are relevant to my work.

·    Word docs with rough story notes or fully edited stories I have written.

·    Word docs with a link that I want to keep track of. It could be to a blog post, a video or an article. I title the doc with a few key words, like the name of the main character, name of organization, or relevant themes. 

I also throw in a list of key words at the top of word docs that will make searching the story bank easier. For example: Key words – Nonprofit, trades, seniors, social enterprise, entrepreneur, leadership as practice.

Of course, this method works with Google drive as well, and that’s an easy way to share a story bank with other staff.

2.   GO OLD SCHOOL WITH A REAL LIVE PAPER FOLDER

I cover my bases by keeping a file folder that I can stuff with index cards, ripped out articles, and printed stories. Sometimes the tactile experience of paging through that folder is a great way to slow down a little, contemplate the stories I’ve collected, and see the possibilities and connections in a new light.

Making the most of your stories: The strategic, high interest savings plan

This is a little higher maintenance, but it can really pay off internally in terms of knowledge sharing and measuring successes as well as externally, for communications, marketing and outreach. 

Select key areas and themes that are top of mind. These should relate to current projects, strategic plans and growth goals. Put a priority on discovering and telling stories related to those themes.

Plan to use each story in more than one way. For example, a story of a client who overcame a big challenge through their own resourcefulness could be used both internally and externally. With the support of your organization or business, this story could be used internally to convey vision and values to new staff, or as a way to share knowledge with other staff who may come across a similar client. Externally, this story could be used an annual report or newsletter, a presentation to the community, or as a blog post. 

It is way more efficient to find one impactful story that can be used 3-5 ways, than to find three stories to use once. 

To make this method really visual, create a table with all the possible ways you and your organization will utilize stories. 

Keep track of where you have used the stories, and where you could use them in the future. Check at the example below of how a mid-sized non-profit I worked with set up their bank. 

It’s never too late to start saving!

And the great thing about banking your stories, is that the equity grows the more you spend. In fact, the more you withdraw from this bank, the more you can raise interest. That’s the power of story.