The 5W’s and an H of writing success story.

a) Who is the individual or group the intervention serves? Consider age, gender, ethnic group, poverty level, literacy, etc.

b) What change has come into this recipient’s life because of your intervention?

c) When (time period) did the change occur? Consider the length of the program or the time the individual or group participated in the program.

d) Where did this occur? Pinpoint the location of the program?

e) How did the intervention provided through the program cause the change?

f) Why does the recipient feel that his/her life is better or has been changed?

Storytelling DOs and DON’Ts

• Do use powerful statistics that show an outsized, specifically defined change; show the change over a selected period of time; and what’s achieved at a coffee cost per unit.
• Don’t use statistics that present percentages or numbers with no sense of context or scale.
• ∙ Don’t lead with $$ amounts. Telling what percentage vaccinations were provided, or what percentage lives were saved may be a far more effective metric than what proportion was spent.
• ∙ Do tell stories that showcase a sustainable change.
• ∙ Don’t tell stories that could represent a one-off success or that aren’t connected to a larger narrative or solution.
• ∙ Do create emotional/personal connections that bring viewers into the scene.
• ∙ Do FEATURE REAL people and quote them.