Telling the team’s story
Week 14
Telling the team's story
Draft the story of this 30-Day Challenge
Begin to sketch out the unique story of this 30-Day Challenge team:
- What are the “memorable moments” of the teams: these could be moments of success or moments of great difficulty?
- For each of these moments, fill in the structure of a story that makes the experience of the team as vivid as possible.
- Decide how best to bring each story to life: this could be through a short video where the protagonists of the story describe the experience, a news article or a blog with quotes from the protagonists, or some other way to memorialize the experience of this team.
Why stories matter
Every 30-Day Challenge is unique. Your team’s journey – filled with collaboration, innovation, persistence, and new relationships – deserves to be shared so others can learn. Your last gift to the team is to help them tell their story in a way that inspires others.
This is an easy-to-apply, practical guide that will help you share your story compellingly.
Elements of a great story
Characters that feel real
- Create a main character people can relate to. Give them strengths, weaknesses, desires, and fears.
- Make them feel like real people, not superheroes. They should have their own motivations and backstories.
A journey that matters
- Have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Provide context (why you must be doing this), be descriptive, and aim to ‘paint’ a full picture with your words. Imagine having a conversation with a close friend on a topic that you were extremely passionate about.
- Include challenges that make the story interesting. What obstacles did the team encounter? Show how things didn’t always go as planned.
- Describe how the team had to pivot and respond to something unexpected.
A world that comes alive
- Describe the story’s setting in detail – what did you feel, what emotions came up?
- Describe the environment in which your story took place. How did the environment support / not support the team?
- Add quotes that capture the team’s / team members’ authentic expressions, and things they said so people hear the real voices of you, the team.
A message that touches hearts
- What did you learn – as a team and on a personal level?
- What makes your story important?
- What would you want others to understand?
Emotions that connect
- Share feelings honestly – use language and scenarios that elicit emotions
- Help people understand how you felt during the challenge (‘Overwhelmed, excited, motivated, stressed, supported….’)
- Use real moments that show human experience and moments of connection.
How to tell your story
Show, don't just tell
- Instead of saying, “We were tired”, describe:
- ‘Cups of coffee shared at midnight’
- ‘Tired eyes but determined smiles’
- ‘Moments of breakthrough after long hours’
Make your story flow
- Use different sentence lengths. Avoid using very long sentences.
- Keep one idea/point per paragraph.
- Build excitement and reflection.
Tips for different formats
Video stories
Blog posts
News articles
- Keep it short (3-5 minutes)
- Don’t over-edit the video – your audience is most interested in the actual story/conversation – not the production.
- The video can be team members talking directly to the camera or
- Recording of two or more people having a conversation with each other.
- You can also record a video in a ‘selfie’ format.
- Start by providing a short bit of context (why this story is important)
- Follow with a powerful opening (the hook), What was the main result, major finding, main impact…
- Use subheadings
- Include personal reflections
- Focus on key achievements
- Quote team members
- Explain the broader impact and link it to other key developments and relevant news within your community.
Final advice
Your story is powerful because it’s real. Don’t worry about being perfect. Share your authentic experience, and people will connect with you.
Your story matters. Your challenge made a difference.
