1 Know your audience

Before you start writing or speaking, you need to understand who you are trying to reach and what they care about. Think about their interests, needs, challenges, and motivations. How can you relate your story to their goals and values? How can you capture their attention and curiosity? How can you address their questions and concerns? Knowing your audience will help you tailor your message, tone, and style to suit them.

2 Define your purpose

Next, you need to clarify why you are telling your story and what you want to achieve. Do you want to raise awareness, educate, persuade, or inspire? Do you want to showcase your impact, share your learnings, or invite feedback? Do you want to call for action, collaboration, or donation? Defining your purpose will help you focus your story, structure your content, and craft your call to action.

4 Use storytelling techniques

Your social impact story should not be a dry report or a boring list of facts. It should be a engaging and memorable narrative that connects with your audience emotionally and intellectually. Use storytelling techniques such as setting the scene, introducing the characters, creating a plot, building suspense, and delivering a resolution. Use vivid language, sensory details, metaphors, and anecdotes. Use humor, empathy, and passion. Use storytelling techniques to make your story come alive and resonate with your audience.

5 Choose your medium

Your social impact story can be told in various ways and formats, depending on your audience, purpose, and resources. You can write a blog post, a newsletter, a case study, or a report. You can create a video, a podcast, a slideshow, or a infographic. You can deliver a speech, a presentation, a workshop, or a webinar. Choose your medium based on what suits your style, message, and goals best.

6 Seek feedback

Finally, you should not tell your story in isolation. You should seek feedback from your stakeholders, partners, beneficiaries, and peers. Ask them for their opinions, suggestions, and questions. Ask them how they feel, think, and act after hearing or reading your story. Ask them what they liked, disliked, or misunderstood. Seek feedback to improve your story, validate your impact, and build relationships.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?