packard foundation fellows presentation may 9, 2008 digital public health storytelling anita verna...

Packard Foundation Fellows Presentation May 9, 2008

Digital Public Health Storytelling

Anita Verna Crofts

May 9, 2008


Presentation Goals

• Introduce storytelling as a leadership skill

• Define “digital storytelling”

• Outline our tools

• Discuss the power of photographs

• Review examples of public health storytelling


Why do we tell stories?


“Stories are about survival.”


What makes a good story?


What makes a good story?

• Moves people emotionally

• Substance

• Conflict and Resolution

• Vivid Images

• Perfect for the audience

• The story is loved by the storyteller- From Chris Keys, Editor of Storytelling Power

www.creativekeys.net


Why is storytelling an important leadership tool for leaders in the

field of public health?


Stories and Leadership• Stories inspire/motivate

• Stories persuade

• Stories are memorable

• Stories create a connection to a cause

• Stories link the past and focus on the future

• Stories appeal to the different “modes” of listening and learning


Storytelling seems to imply a one-way relationship -- "I tell the story and you are to listen." An adept use of narrative and storytelling takes place with in a two-way, interactive relationship. Successful leaders are not just good at storytelling -- they generally display strong narrative intelligence.

- Stephen Denning, The Secret Language of Leadership


What is Narrative Intelligence?

• The capacity to understand the world in “narrative terms”

• Familiarity with successful narrative components—what makes a strong story

• Ability to choose the right narrative at the right time

• Understanding the audience: their own stories and their reaction to your narrative


The ability to think narratively—that is, narrative intelligence—reflects a recognition that the narrative aspects of the world matter because human goals matter, and narratives encapsulate human goals.

- Stephen Denning, The Secret Language of Leadership


Building a two-way story

• Identify the goal of the story

• Know your audience

• Use language that is best suited to your goal

• Frame the story to the goal


Why do we frame stories?• The frame impacts how the audience

understands the story

• Listeners focus first on what is in the frame, but not what’s outside of it

• Listeners interpret your story through their own frames.

People’s minds rely on frames, not facts. - Michael Shadow


How to frame a story

1. Pick a value as your frame (“This story is about…”)

For example:

• Do not say, “This is a story about my teacher.”

• Instead, say, “This is a story about courage/love/compassion.”


What is a digital story?

• A story that uses digital media to enhance its effectiveness

• A story that can be shared through many mediums: on a screen (computer, theater)

• A story that combines audio and visual components


Digital Storytelling Tools

• Digital cameras

• Audio recorders

• Slideshow software

• Video software

• Websites

• Blogs


Digital Cameras

• Portable

• Relatively easy to use

• High resolution

• Flexible

• Many can use with simple training

• Capable of moving images with sound

• Contribute images to your story


Audio Recorders

• Portable

• Can record voice to give your digital story its “voice”

• Can be used by many with simple instruction

• Create an oral record of thoughts and feelings


Slideshow Software

• Relatively inexpensive

• Able to use with basic computer skills

• Allows users to collect and store digital stories easily

• Can combine photos and audio without expensive movie making software

• Creates a file that can be shared widely


Websites

• Websites can “host” digital stories

• Websites can provide relevant information to accompany the digital stories

• Websites can link visitors to information and resources beyond just the digital story


Blogs• Blogs allow for day to day updating and

can be more “dynamic” than websites

• Blogs are often privately hosted

• Easy uploading digital stories, maps, photos, audio, and other attachments


“A picture is worth a thousand words.”


Photographs and Stories

• Visual images compel us to look

• Visual images connect us to the subject

• Visual images create context

• Visual images can humanize complex stories


Visual images get our attention

• Color

• Shapes

• Light

• Texture

• We are curious!


Photo by Anita Verna Crofts


Photo by Jed Conklin


Photo by Lexey Swall


Visual images link us as people

• Human connection / “That could be me.”

• Recognition

• Identity

• Emotion


Photo by Kristy Leissle


Photo by David Butow


Photo by Goran Tomasevic


Photo by Jed Conklin


Photo by David Guttenfelder


Photo by David Butwow


Photo by David Ahntholz


Photo by David Guttenfelder


Visuals create context

If you do not create

the context for your story,

the reader/viewer/listener

will create it for you.


Visuals create context

• Context is part of the frame you create

• Context sets the tone

• Context sets the mood

• Context places it culturally


Photos by Vincent Winter


What values framed

that story?


Values

• Renewal

• Triumph

• Integration

• Hope

• Others?


Photos by Paul Zoeller


What values framed

that story?


Values

• Perseverance

• Acceptance

• Love

• Others?


Photos by Romain Blanquart


What values framed

that story?


Values

• Hope

• Love

• Courage

• Loss

• Others?


Participatory Photography

- Darlene E. Clover

From Out of the Darkroom: Participatory Photography as a Critical,

Imaginative, and Public Aesthetic Practice of Transformative Education

“Participatory photography places the medium of the camera into the hands of learners to democratize the image-making dynamic and give them the power to show and speak their own realities.”


Participatory photography means that there is community

involvement and ownership in the documentation process


Camera Tips

• Think about the frame of the photo

• Consider the angle (up high, below, to the side, from behind)

• Get in as close as is culturally appropriate

• Take many photos even of the same person or event—film is not an issue

• Use light and color

• Be brave. Take risks.


Audio Tips

• Speak less, listen more

• Ask open ended questions

• Let there be silences, do not feel you need to fill them

• Ensure the comfort of the interviewee

• Make eye contact as they speak—encourage their story


Framing Photos

• What do you leave in the frame?

• What remains outside?


Photo by Tamas Dezso


Photo by Josh Meltzer


Photo by Kyle Green


Frame Exercise

If you had to take a self-portrait of yourself or your family, but without any people in the frame, what would you photograph?


What story does this picture tell?

Photo by Josh Meltzer


The photo tells a story of…

• Integration

• Isolation

• Youth

• Language

• Friendship


Digital stories and public health

• Highlight your work

• Share best practices

• Draw attention to an issue

• Offer solutions

• Appeal to the wider community

• Advocate for change

• Document


Current Examples• EngenderHealth India has created two 6 minute videos

on violence against women• African Medical and Research Foundation (AMFREF)

has created an 8 minute video on malaria education activities in Ethiopia

• Bridges to Understanding has produced digital stories in South Africa, India, and Guatemala

• International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA) The Netherlands has a 2 minute video on nutrition from a workshop in Mundri, Southern Sudan


Who is the audience for digital public health stories?

• Your community

• Your funders

• Your government/legislators

• Your colleagues in Ethiopia

• Your colleagues in other countries

• Others?


Digital Storytelling Assignment

• Identify a “human goal” of public health that matters in your community

• Frame that story

• Photograph that story

• Record audio of that story

• Invite colleagues to participate


Questions to ask• Who is your audience for the digital story?

• What is the frame for your story?

• What images are important to tell your story?

• Whose voices are important to include in this story?

• Who are other members of the community or my workplace that you can involve?

packard foundation fellows presentation may 9, 2008 digital public health storytelling anita verna...

Documents

good story

audiencethe story

effectivenessa story

right narrative

narrative aspects

narrative termsfamiliarity

strong narrative intelligence

adept use of narrative