Executive Summary of the Focus Group
Successful Ideas to Grow and Maintain
Your Local Group
Ottawa, Ontario
July 5, 2013
The content of this report was taken from the raw data in the flip
charts and post-it notes created by the participants in each of the six topic
areas. The full report can be obtained by contacting Don Herald at the email
address below.
Prepared by the Session Facilitators
Don Herald and Betty Bennett
Email:
peterboroughstorytellers.cogeco.ca
The focus group was well-attended with 27 participants from
storytelling groups in rural, suburban and urban centres, including both
relatively new groups and more established ones. It was striking and affirming to note that
the issues shared were very similar from one group to another and that all of
the groups have met these challenges with innovation, creativity and
persistence.
We posed five specific questions and a wild card:
- · How do you recruit and retain members?
- · What have you found to be a successful meeting format?
- · How do you promote and develop skills among your members?
- · How do you market your group in your community and in local media?
- · How do you solicit revenue to sustain your activities?
- · Finally, are there any suggestions not covered in the previous questions?
In essence, the challenges are: getting them in, keeping them
interested, developing committed storytellers and creating a variety of
storytelling opportunities, marketing and funding.
There is some overlap in the ideas that were
shared. For example, marketing applies to both recruitment of members and
audiences, and is influential in obtaining funding. Of course, funding
certainly has an impact on the activities that a group can undertake.
Getting Them In and Keeping Them Interested
A welcoming atmosphere is crucial to recruitment and
retention (R & R). All agreed that pitching
the group at open meetings, welcoming new and returning guests, making introductions,
wearing name tags and having a social time (often around food) encouraged
people to visit more than once. It is
important to build upon the original welcome by phone or email contact. Some guilds have also followed up on old
phone lists to encourage lapsed members to return.
The location (transit and parking), ambiance and
accessibility of the setting is also important in retaining members and has led
some groups to meet in alternative venues, such as coffee houses, tea rooms and
so on that may attract a younger clientele.
A facility, such as a library or a school, with print and audio
resources makes it easy for new tellers to locate material, and some groups
have developed their own resources for sharing among members.
Groups have experimented with a variety of meeting formats,
but most agreed on the importance of telling shorter stories at swaps and
making sure that everyone who wishes to tell, especially newcomers, has the
opportunity. Sign-up sheets and time limits have helped with this. Games,
icebreaker exercises, mini-tells, and appreciations add to the story swap
experience and enhance the welcome.
Beginner workshops and coaching encourage new members and help develop
new storytellers.
Delegation of tasks within the group helps avoid volunteer
burnout, and newcomers often appreciate the opportunity to take on a volunteer
role.
To add variety, some groups have hosted story slams and tea
parties in alternative venues, or have invited other community groups,
musicians, poets and so on to broaden perspectives. Everyone recognizes that there
are many different ways to tell a story!
Developing Committed Storytellers
The newbie wants a safe, positive environment in which to
tell. Appreciations help to build
confidence for both new and experienced tellers, and beginner workshops help to
develop storytelling skills further.
Feedback at swaps should be limited, as new tellers can be overwhelmed,
and should be offered only if requested.
The social time within the meeting can provide an opportunity to
informally coach tellers if they wish it.
Mini-workshops at the beginning of the story swap give
experienced tellers the chance to explore a topic a bit more deeply using their
own skills while educating newcomers on different genres and styles of
telling. Established tellers should be
encouraged to share their skill in offering local workshops – this is often an
economical alternative to guest coaching where there may be a fee involved. Larger, formal workshops at an advanced level
can often become more affordable if a couple of groups in a geographic area
team up to make it happen. The Internet
is another source of storytelling material and tutorials, though care should be
taken to identify reliable sites. The
SC-CC web-site provides links to a variety of storytellers’ sites.
Creating Storytelling Opportunities
The story swap or open storytelling evening seems to be the
entry level activity of most groups, but as tellers become more experienced and
polished, they take on more events that showcase their tellers’ skills. At this level, groups have offered “story teas”,
house concerts and eclectic theme nights.
Participation in World Storytelling Day is a celebration
actively encouraged by SC-CC. WSD events
have ranged from simple concerts, storytelling events for/in schools,
multi-event, mini-festivals, often including tellers from geographically close
communities. Really ambitious and
established groups have undertaken two-day festivals, such as TALES, the Fort
Edmonton Storytelling Festival. The
Edmonton group has found that intensive strategic planning sessions are
essential to ensure the success of this type of event, as it involves a great
deal of volunteer work, but can prove useful to any group planning an annual
program. Many groups have also found
a year-end review to be helpful in discovering untapped opportunities and
celebrating their successes in the past year.
Marketing
Marketing is crucial to all of these concerns. It helps attract new tellers, it publicizes
the activities of the group and brings awareness to the broader public and
provides evidence of activity when storytelling circles are applying for
funding.
Most groups have used traditional media (press, radio,
community announcements and flyers) with some success, and now many are turning
their attention to new media, such as Facebook, blogs and Twitter
accounts. Some groups have found that
relatively low-cost promotional materials such as bookmarks, business cards,
rack cards and posters are quite successful, especially if the guild or group
has developed a brand image or identifiable logo and the materials are of as
professional a quality as possible.
Phone and email provide convenient ways to keep in touch with
regular members and anyone else who has expressed an interest. Partnering with community groups, tourism
offices and educational facilities has the added advantage of widening your
market by attracting a potentially untapped audience and sharing marketing
costs. Above all, identify yourself as a
storyteller. It gives the opportunity to
explain what storytelling is.
Word-of-mouth, especially an enthusiastic endorsement by someone else,
is one of the most effective marketing tools.
Funding
Funding is an issue for all groups, large or small, as it
makes further development possible. Revenue is used most often to pay marketing
costs, facility rental costs, and honoraria for tellers. Although it is sometimes a controversial move,
many groups are instituting a small membership fee or a modest admission fee to
attend a story swap. Putting a value on storytelling is important in gaining
respect for the art. Some groups have a
slightly higher level of membership at the guild level. Collecting fees or honoraria when performing
at museums or community centres as a group can build a nest-egg for the
storytelling group.
Grants are often available at all levels of government, as
well as SC-CC, provincial arts councils and the Canada Council. Many corporations will also provide
sponsorship for special events, but groups should be mindful that with grant
requests and sponsorships, a detailed plan, application and follow-up report
will usually be required. The
associations in Edmonton, Alberta have been particularly successful in applying
for grants from their provincial and municipal arts councils. Charitable or Not-for-Profit status may be
applied for but usually comes with community service stipulations and requires
meticulous accounting.
Conclusion
In conclusion, groups from one side of Canada to the other
face multiple challenges. There is the
problem of attracting a younger body of committed storytellers, while trying to
retain the older members who have contributed so much for so long and are
beginning to burn out. Without
sufficient commitment, it becomes increasingly difficult to host the
attention-grabbing events that help to bring the delight of storytelling to the
public.
There is the education/image problem of explaining yet again,
that storytelling is for all, not just for children. Perhaps some of the most promising
opportunities exist where storytelling, music, poetry and performance art
intersect, and in the strategic exploration of new technology and some of its
benefits.
We appreciated the generous sharing of ideas in the focus
group, the connections made, and the affirmation that, in spite of the
challenges, we all still feel a positive commitment to storytelling in our
local communities and across Canada.
Betty Bennett and Don Herald
Facilitators
Members of Peterborough Storytellers
Peterborough, Ontario
Re-printed with the permission
of Storytellers of Canada (July, 2013)
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