Professional Development Spotlight: Storytelling and Pound Cake

I have always loved to tell stories. When I was first learning to write them, I learned the typical five-paragraph method of composition: intro paragraph, three points and a conclusion. The middle three paragraphs have always been my favorite part to write, but the conclusions were always short and sweet because I didn’t understand the need for additional repetition. My classic closing sentence was always something along the lines of, “and that’s all I really have to say about that.”

Fast-forward a few years and thousands of words later and I’m now blessed with a career that gives me room to not only create with words but help others do the same. I love working with the students and faculty at Darlington and sharing the story of this amazing school through social media and our website.

I still love to tell stories.

Earlier this year I was looking for a way to take the wonderful stories that come through the Communication Office at Darlington and help tell them in a meaningful and more visual way while also streamlining the creation process. It was then that I nearly simultaneously learned of Darlington’s Thatcher Faculty Development Fund and a digital storytelling workshop put on by StoryCenter. I submitted a grant application, waited a bit and was thrilled when I learned that I’d be given the opportunity to attend the workshop in Denver, Colo.  

In true marketing style, I began to craft a story that actually seemed more like a commercial. I wanted to be able to use the story that I produced at the workshop for my job.

I quickly learned, however, that it didn’t work that way. The first instruction I was given as homework to complete ahead of the workshop was to find a story to tell that “only I could tell.” I knew that if I was going to learn the process of digital storytelling I would need to tell a personal story.

On day one, I made the trek from downtown Denver to the Lighthouse Writers Workshop where the StoryCenter Digital Storytelling Workshop was held. Capped at less than ten people per session, I joined a small group around a huge table. We watched examples of digital stories and discussed how they made us feel, what made them work, what didn’t. We shared boxes of Kleenex as our own stories began to come to life during a story circle exercise where we were given 15 minutes to share the story we were considering and then enjoy feedback and suggestions from the others around the circle.

By the end of the first day, I knew the story that I had to tell. I had to tell a story about pound cake.

My first draft had nearly 1,100 words. I was limited to 400. I quickly learned that this was going to be harder than I thought.

Show, don’t tell.

That was the advice that our facilitators said again and again. Telling was my forte. Telling was my favorite part.

Drop us into the action. Don’t introduce your story.

This advice I could relate to. I always hated the redundancy of intros and closings that simply re-told the story in a more watered-down fashion.

Anchor your story in moments.

I began to believe that I could do this.

Use images that say what your words do not.

This was the trickiest part of the process for me. My previous video editing experience allowed for the imagery to drive the words, not the other way around. I didn’t have any pictures that would work with my story, so I did what I always do, I called my mom for help.

As our stories began to come together, the time came to record our voiceover and then assemble the story through the use of video editing software. This I was familiar with. This I could do.

At the end of our final day, we gathered around a huge bowl of popcorn and watched each other’s stories. We again passed around the box of Kleenex and gave each other the space to tell our stories. They were all so different. We were all so different. But through hearing the stories of my new friends I learned that the differences among us had disappeared. There wasn’t a single story told that I couldn’t relate to in some way.

I can’t wait to begin to use this method of storytelling at Darlington. It is something that can be used in classrooms and with our faculty throughout the year. It’s a powerful tool for capturing words and creativity in a new and very visual way and it fits perfectly with the design thinking methodology that is utilized in every single classroom from pre-k to 12th grade.

Why was my story about pound cake?

Cooking was always something that terrified me as a young adult and now I love to cook. Through cooking I learned that sometimes the hardest things we try to do end up being the thing that we cherish the most, and that’s the story that I had to tell. Well that, and I truly love pound cake.