Leading Through Stories: Unveiling the Impact of a Story Screening

The latest episode of our podcast, “Unveiling the Power of Personal Narratives: A Deep Dive into Digital Storytelling,” delves into the fascinating realm of digital narratives. Esteemed guests Cindy McDonald, Kristie Oswald, and Kathleen Shearer share their unique experiences and perspectives, highlighting the profound moments that inspired their stories and the art of crafting these into impactful narratives.

The episode begins with an engaging discussion about the creation of their digital stories. The guests discuss how they came to digital storytelling and the significant moments that inspired their stories. They highlight the importance of focusing on a specific transformative moment to craft a powerful narrative. This part of the conversation underscores the immense potential of digital storytelling to resonate with audiences, stimulate empathy, and forge connections.

Next, the podcast delves into the process involved in sharing personal stories at a screening. The guests discuss their experiences of the exhilaration, nervous anticipation, and deep sense of fulfillment that engulfs a storyteller when their narrative resonates with the audience. The discussion illuminates the integral role of family and friends in bolstering the narrator’s confidence, the bond of trust with the host, and the heartwarming effects of sharing stories with a larger audience.

The profound impact of digital storytelling is further explored as the hosts and guests dissect their own experiences and the ensuing conversations from these narratives. They unveil the potential of digital storytelling as a powerful tool for advocacy and initiating dialogue, emphasizing its effectiveness in bridging gaps and sharing meaningful experiences. This part of the episode underscores the transformative potential of digital storytelling, highlighting its capacity to initiate dialogue, foster understanding, and build connections.

Towards the end of the episode, the conversation pivots towards the power of digital storytelling and its ability to create meaningful connections through personal experiences. The guests share their own stories, underscoring the impact of digital storytelling on building confidence and providing a platform for individuals to share their experiences. They emphasize the importance of hearing stories from a family lens, adding a human element to the facts. The episode concludes with a discussion on the value of storytelling and encourages everyone to share their own unique story.

The podcast episode provides an enriching exploration of digital storytelling, emphasizing its power in facilitating dialogue, fostering empathy, and bridging gaps. It serves as a testament to the transformative potential of personal narratives and encourages everyone to embrace their experiences and paint them onto a digital canvas.

About Common Language DST

“I came up with a methodology that was fluid enough to work in any setting but also provided a form that could be followed to ensure that the best practices of digital storytelling were still being used. It’s based around four phases finding, telling, crafting and sharing and this is sort of the foundational form of digital storytelling that we teach at Common Language.”

~ Mike Lang

Click here to download the Free Digital Storytelling Methodology Publication

About Leading Through Stories

Everyone has a story to tell—and what we do with that story can create lasting impact. Every episode, Leading Through Stories, helps unravel the how and why of digital storytelling with host Kristy Wolfe.

Life is made up of meaningful moments—which ones do you want to share?

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Digital Stories in Community-Based Research with Carolyn Brandly – Co-Created

A single well-told story can do what a stack of reports cannot: make someone feel the reality of living in a body, a system, or a diagnosis they’ve never had. We sit down with Carolyn, a newly trained Common Language Digital Storytelling facilitator and PhD student, to unpack how digital storytelling becomes a practical tool for health research, quality improvement, and stigma-breaking conversations.Episode Key Messagesrecreation therapy roots and building community programs for older adultsresearch and quality improvement as tools for systems change in long-term carediscovering Common Language through MAID digital stories and stigma reductionchoosing a more personal story and learning facilitation through vulnerabilityliving with disability, wait times in Canada, and rebuilding identity after surgeryKilimanjaro as a turning point for confidence, aging, and capacityadapting digital storytelling for people living with dementia in a PhD protocolco-research, simplified materials, slower pacing, and practical accessibility tweaksmaking a first volunteer story with her mom and deepening connection through memoryrecording voiceover many times and small changes that amplify a storyteller’s voiceinformed consent, sharing implications, and the ethics of public storytellingchallenging ethics board assumptions and shifting to assumed capacityrights-based approaches to dementia in public spaces and collaboration invitationsOther Links MentionedRead this episode's blog postWatch Carolyn's StoryWatch Marg's StoryLearn more about Fostering Inclusion for People with DementiaLearn more about Carolyn's work with Dementia Connections and PhD researchOther Episodes MentionedEpisode 37 Disrupting Death: Stories of MAiD with Kathy Cortes-Miller and Keri-Lyn DurantEpisode 52 The Storyteller’s Yellow Pages with Lisa JoworskiEpisode 57 What Changes When We Treat Stories Like Data with Dr. Katharine SmartAbout Our GuestCarolyn Brandly has worked with and for older adults and people with dementia for 20+ years in care and community settings – designing, implementing, and evaluating health promotion programs, and facilitating community development, knowledge translation and quality improvement initiatives and research. Carolyn has achieved an MA in health leadership, as well as completing graduate-level education in dementia studies, gerontology, and entrepreneurship, and is currently undertaking doctoral studies through the University of Victoria’s Social Dimensions of Health Program. Her aim is to contribute to global efforts shaping inclusive health and social systems that uphold the human rights, autonomy and dignity of people living with dementia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1. Digital Stories in Community-Based Research with Carolyn Brandly 30:02
2. Using Digital Stories in Clinician Training with Dr. Tricia Williams 30:41
3. Digital Stories Belong in Curriculum & Communities with Dr. Mike Lang 29:05
4. What Changes When We Treat Stories Like Data with Dr. Katharine Smart 26:36
5. Through Her Lens: Cameras For Girls with Amina Mohamed 24:36