In House: JAC Patrissi on Storytelling for Change

Stories help us connect. They move people to action, get them invested, and create meaningful relationships between ideas and people. JAC Patrissi has dedicated her life to the art of storytelling, and has seen the power that stories have to affect change first-hand. This spring, she will bring her unique and heartfelt approach to storytelling to the Art of Living Retreat Center. Here, JAC touches on what she’ll be sharing this upcoming May.

No one tells the whole story. Whether we are in an interview for a job or making a toast at a wedding, we all edit; we adapt to the goal at hand, choosing which parts to focus on, which parts to leave out. If our whole life is a tree, the story we tell is a bonsai, carefully pruned and shaped. It is impossible, and not even respectful, to tell everything we know about a thing (though, goodness knows, some of us try).

Storytelling for Change is a creative workshop aimed at strengthening your ability to tell the story of the work you do in a way that is brief, natural, and compelling. An idea that is not shared is lost. Your unique insights, the lessons of your life and work, the things that inspire you, are meant to be shared in a way that speaks to others. You can learn to tell moving, funny and essential stories without reading from a script. You can give the toast that comes from the heart and you can move new supporters to join the social causes that give your life its direction.

In this workshop, we explore how audience, character, conflict, and calls to action impact our message and shape the story we choose to tell. We clarify our own understanding of the kind of change we seek through the work we do and the message we wish to impart. I also teach simple ways to use your voice and body to convey your message naturally.

During our three days, we tell our stories to one another in small learning groups in a supportive, safe environment. We employ a method to giving and receiving feedback that is supported by research on how we learn. Most importantly, you will feel seen and understood as you are coached by others who want you to do well. We learn tell stories more easily to help people “get” us. Finally, you will leave with two stories ready to tell and the skills to tell many more. This retreat is open to all levels of expertise, all gender expressions, and is appropriate for people in all physical conditions. Please contact us using the form here if you have any special requirements.