PERFORM — Field Guide to Facilitating With Story

Storytelling is not recitation. It is the re-creation of experience.

You do not need to become an actor. You do need to become more available.

That requires:

Authenticity
Purposeful vulnerability
Trust
Awareness of your body
Willingness to show events rather than only describe them

Field tool: authenticity check

Before using a personal story, ask:

Have I made enough sense of this experience to tell it without asking learners to take care of me emotionally?

YesNot yet

Am I comfortable with learners interpreting my behavior differently from the way I do?

YesNot yet

Does revealing this part of the story serve learners?

YesNo

Am I sharing because it is useful—or because I need to share it?

Purposeful vulnerability supports learning. Unprocessed disclosure can shift the burden to learners.

Field tool: stage the story

Sketch the physical space in words.

Where are you?

Where is the other person?

Is there an important object?

Is there a movement worth showing?

Where will you face the learners?

Avoid turning away from the audience for extended periods simply because the original event happened that way. Re-create the experience for the room you are in now.

Show and tell

Instead of “My manager was angry,” consider what learners could see or hear. Instead of “I was nervous,” consider what nervousness made you do.

What did the other person do?

What did the voice sound like?

What words mattered?

What did my own state make me do (avoid eye contact, talk quickly, grip something)?

Do not add behavior that did not occur. Use what you remember to make the experience visible.

Field tool: delivery markup

Mark your story notes: [PAUSE] allow a moment to land · [ASK] invite learners in · [MOVE] use the room deliberately · [SHOW] portray an action · [VOICE] shift to represent another person · [OBJECT] establish an object physically · [SLOW] do not race through an important moment · [LOOK] reconnect with learners.

My marked-up telling notes

Invisible object rule: establish its size and location, interact with it consistently, and complete the action. If you pick up an imaginary coffee mug, the mug does not vanish when you finish drinking. Put it down.

Field tool: rehearsal ladder

Rounds completed

Round 1 — Tell it. Do not edit. Notice where you stumble.Round 2 — Cut it. Remove unnecessary context.Round 3 — Show it. Add physical and vocal elements.Round 4 — Interrupt it. Insert learner questions.Round 5 — Time it. Know approximately how long it takes.Round 6 — Let it breathe. Tell rather than recite.

Approximate length when told aloud

PERFORM: field check

Before using the story:

I can tell it without reading a script.I know where to pause.I know what can be shown.My gestures support rather than distract.I can portray other people respectfully.My vulnerability is purposeful.I can remain connected to learners while telling it.

7 still unchecked.

Move to SAVE