Telling Your Story

Jackie Traynere, President Illinois Democratic Women of Will County

Have you ever wondered how to move people to action? Maybe you just want to build trust or inspire hope. IDWOW members had the opportunity last year to learn how stories can help us communicate who we are and why others should trust us. We learned that you can tell a story to illustrate what is at stake and why we need to act together.

IDWOW was fortunate enough to have an organizer from Organizing For Action train its members on how to tell an great story. We learned how to connect our story with the stories of others to create common ground. It was amazing how similar our stories were when we started working in pairs and sharing with the larger group.

Effective organizing starts from our own interests and values, this program helped us to learn how to shape our personal stories. It was amazing toward the end when we saw themes and values in common even though most of us didn’t know each other or our backgrounds. It was great to spend time actually practicing what we were learning. Watching the women’s stories and experiences come to life in story telling was an amazing process and we were truly blessed to have Chelsey Wininger (OFA Org. deputy directory) guide us through the process. Her training was of great value to the women that attended. A big shout out to Illinois Women’s Institute for Leadership for sponsoring this great experience for all.

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