The power of a story told well
I love a well-told story. And when the story itself has clout, even better. A good story, supported by creative storytelling, can move us from a place of “compliance” to a place of “commitment”. By-and-large, storytelling is a missed opportunity for organizations.
Kiva is the “world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world. The Kiva mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.”
Here’s a great 11 minute video about the Kiva story…
A Fistful Of Dollars: The Story of a Kiva.org Loan from Kieran Ball on Vimeo.
And…. here’s some reasons why I like this story/video:
- It communicates a vision
- It makes it easy for people to feel good about the organization, and what it stands for
- It addresses basic human needs – to feel connected, to help others
- It’s serious, passionate, and humorous, all at once
- It speaks of collaboration; and coordinated, innovative action
- It conveys a sense of how structure influences behaviour; i.e., how Kiva’s infrastructure makes it easy for people to connect, engage, and commit
- It exemplifies the potential of storytelling, and digital storytelling in particular
- And…. let’s not forget about the music!
What’s your organization’s story? And, how are you communicating that story?
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Susanna, Glad you enjoyed the video. Good observation about the stories within a story. Ben.
What a lovely video. There are so many stories within this story – and each one is a gem in itself.
Thank you for sharing it!