Story Booth: Behind the Camera

It's scary to be in front of a camera. It's even scarier to tell a deeply personal story to someone you've just met. But while videotaping story booth sessions, I've been amazed at people's willingness to come and share their stories.

The concept behind the story booth is simple. We set up a camera at a gathering of people (conference, training, etc.) who are passionate about healthy communities, then invite them to tell a story. Sometimes we ask them to tell us why they do the work that they do. Other times the participant is asked to tell a story about a success or a pivotal moment that keeps him or her going.

From those simple prompts I've been amazed at the stories I've had the honor to hear. Everyone has a story to tell and it's incredible to see how many different types of them people share. Stories that made me laugh, which is annoying when I have to edit out my giggles in post-production. Stories that made me cry. Stories of amazing success. Stories of failure, but the kind of failure you learn from to shape future success. Stories that inspire.

I know it can be scary to tell your story, but it is important. Your story is powerful and can help others. It's a great joy and responsibility to record people's stories and is not one that I take lightly.

If you want to learn more about the benefits of telling stories or if you want to set up your own story booth, please email us and we can help you out.

Written by Alan