Slide Finding our Stories We can do this!
Dec 03, 2014
Slide 1
Finding our StoriesWe can do this!
Slide 2
We can all do this!
Slide 3
What The HHS Network wants from you
• Be a resource
• Engage in the on-going public dialogue/debate
• Localize & make the cuts real
• Find local stories to illustrate the impact
Slide 4
Three things you can do
• Learn the Key Messages – and Use Them
• Find stories you can use now, and in the future
• Work the media & social media in your community– Raise awareness – Earn media coverage– Earn legislative attention
Slide 5
What exactly are we up to???
• Our Goal:– Highlight the impacts of the cuts in our
communities
• Our Strategy:– Train leaders to find their stories (today)– Make these cuts “real” by putting a human
face on them– Engage coalition members in larger budget
discussions/media/community work
• Our Messengers:– Families & advocates, agencies & providers
Slide 6
What are we saying? Our 2010 Messaging
Family Recovery Budget / Plan• Create jobs, preserve the jobs we have and invest
in California’s workers
• Maintain a strong safety net where there are no jobs
• Find targeted revenue solutions to help our economy and families recover
• Bring home the federal funds intended for California’s economy and families.
Slide 7
Storytelling – The Importance of Anecdotes
Slide 8
Storytelling – The Importance of Anecdotes
• Storytelling is common thread through all cultures
• Humanizing. Anecdotes personalize the issue
• Impact - Anecdotes are a way for audience to understand your perspective – more powerful than text of your remarks
• Linkage – a story can personalize an issue much faster than reciting statistics, or historical facts.
• Credibility – anecdotes allow you to “borrow” someone else’s credibility Graeme Frost, SCHIP Kid
Slide 9
Storytelling – Budget Examples
• Finding new messengers
• County could lose $262 million loss in federal and state money (CCTimes 7/3/08)
• In the end, Nick Robinson just couldn't afford the Bay Area. And with pending state budget cuts threatening the foster care counselor's programs and salary, he decided to pack his belongings and leave Walnut Creek for Boston.
Slide 10
Storytelling – Budget Examples
• Just like me & my family
• Boy's special medical care
imperiled by state budget crunch (Sac Bee 5/11/08)
• Derek Longwell's wheelchair bears all the scars of rough handling by a fully charged 13-year-old boy: scratched metal frame, chipped paint, worn treads and a perpetual coat of dust on the footrest.
• The teen with dark chocolate hair and olive-tinted eyes suffers from spina bifida, a birth defect that has left him with an incomplete spinal cord and an inability to walk. But a committed team of doctors and his devoted parents, backed by a specialized state health care program, have enabled Derek to enjoy an active life outdoors.
• Now the state's ominous fiscal forecast is threatening to disrupt Derek's ability to see his doctors in a timely manner or get leg braces to fit his growing body.
Slide 11
Think about the many ways to use a story
Slide 12
Finding your stories
What stories do you have to share?• Tell me about ONE person? A kid, a
parent, a community partner. • Tell me a “win” and tell me a “loss”• What is the impact on our community
today? Tomorrow?• Why is this important
– Don’t lose sight of big picture & messaging– What does this story illustrate?
Slide 13
Sharing your stories
Who will tell your stories• Is this the right
messenger?• Can they tell it in a way
that is memorable?• How can you continually
refresh the story with new facts, new stories, new wins/losses?
Slide 14
Sharing your stories
How will you share your stories (e.g.)• Print/Booklet: Children’s Defense Fund• On-line: Mom’s Rising • Person to Person: You? • Legislative Advocacy: You and your
partners• Media: How can you ready your family &
storytellers to present to media
Slide 15
HELP reporters help you tell stories
• Make it real• Find a local face• Root the story in a
local place• Find an expert
(preferably local) • Go to the media &
legislators – don’t wait for them
Slide 16
PROVE IT! Here are the basics of some stories
• What have you seen that makes you proud? That makes you worry?
• How has/will this change lives?
• What will this mean for the things you care most about?
Slide 17
What Makes a Story?
• Controversy. Patients temporarily close clinics in protest
• Conflict. Local families confront electeds• Problem/Solution Dynamic. Advocates & families
provide a family recovery plan• Timeliness & competitive advantage – What are you
doing now to prepare for May Revise? July 1?• Access to & reliability of sources – Are you making
yourself available as a local expert?• People/Personalities. Talk about small investments in
people that can save big for the state – job training!
Slide 18
What Makes a Story?
• Dramatic Human Interest. Parent who works third job and doesn’t sleep to pay for aging parent’s homecare
• Trends. Three is a trend – Third local example of local families struggling with same bind (jobs, housing)
• New Announcement. Release of new numbers on those without access to services. Goal: Make it fresh.
• Localize national story (and vice versa). Take a nationally breaking story and emphasize its local impact
Slide 19
What Makes a Story?
• Anniversaries/ Milestones. – May Revise, July 1 are certainly important milestones. So is the end of the school year.
• Fresh angle on old story. Same budget challenges but we are missing access to federal dollars
• Stories. Impact on local family • Special event. Can you leverage an event, march or
forum to raise attention/awareness• Rapid Response. Being prepared on July 1• Celebrity. Is there celebrity who benefitted from child
health or IHSS programs?• Strange Bedfellows. Who is the least likely
person that you might be aligned with?
Slide 20
Maximizing the Power of a story: What People Need From You
• A quick synopsis of the situation as you see it• Honesty & Forthrightness• Clear and concise answers• Quotable quotes & a sense of humor• Access – are you available to tell it often• Positive & non-defensive attitude• Mastery of issue(s)• Become an on-going resource
Slide 21
Now What? Here’s a To-Do List
• Know your goal & find a few stories.
• Make communicating them an organizational priority.
• Don’t be afraid to learn by mistakes.