Services

I help organizations develop practices to ensure that the stories they tell are shaped by and benefit people directly impacted by the issue(s) those stories are about. I also help organizations craft powerful, engaging resources and trainings that communicate complex topics simply and passionately and build skills to talk more effectively and strategically about their work. Are you ready to dig deeper? Explore the services below. Then contact Kate about rates or book a free 30-minute new client consultation.

Storytelling training & strategic consulting

ABOUT YOU

You’re all-in on your organization or group’s mission, but something about telling stories to raise money or change policies feels “icky,” and you can’t quite put your finger on what or how to fix it. You believe deeply that people are the experts on their own lives and communities are the experts on what they need. This value drives service-delivery, but it hasn’t yet shaped your storytelling and communications practices. Your team is ready for an honest exploration of current storytelling and communications practices as well as how to align your resources and efforts with these values.

WAYS WE CAN WORK TOGETHER

  • I lead trainings to help people better understand and practice informed consent, partner with communities, cultivate community-led storytelling groups, and tell empathetic, person-centered stories. Every training and training series is customized to meet the type of work an organization does, the organization’s goals, where they are starting from, and the people who will be participating. Read my custom trainings for groups FAQs and sample training descriptions.

  • I facilitate interactive processes with staff, clients, and community members to help them:

    • Determine their collective storytelling values and goals;

    • Identify their unique challenges and barriers to partnered storytelling; and

    • Select and implement specific community-driven policies and practices that reflect their values and challenges.

    For foundations: I help them modify the guidelines they use to ask grantees to report stories. Together, we’ll ensure a foundation is encouraging community-driven practices and empathetic narratives.

  • Sharing a personal experience publicly is a brave and vulnerable process. For groups and individuals who want to share their own stories, I lead workshops with two goals in mind. First, to help people think through the potential consequences of sharing, what they feel comfortable sharing, and what they need to feel supported during the process. Secondly, to help them tell their story in a way and format that feels authentic and compelling to them. Read my custom trainings for groups FAQs and sample training descriptions.

  • Although I am a storyteller, I don’t write, record, or craft stories for organizations. I believe those closest to an issue should tell their own stories.

    I do take on projects to help organizations and communities design specific storytelling campaigns and story gathering processes.

Resource & messaging development

ABOUT YOU

You know your work like the back of your hand and you’re passionate about what you do. However, you struggle to get others to understand and care about it in the same way. Whether you’re translating complex research, leading a training, advocating for change, or trying to create plain-language community resources, you want to inspire others to take action, but need tools to help you do it better.

WAYS WE CAN WORK TOGETHER

  • I work with teams to build powerful, engaging trainings and resources that communicate complex topics simply and passionately. I focus on who an organization is training or trying to reach, how that group learns best and accesses information, and “meeting people where they are." Read more about my approach to developing effective trainings. I’ve worked with organizations to develop self-help and community resources, program implementation toolkits, statewide and national training series, and case studies.

  • I help teams:

    • Break down complicated information in accessible ways;

    • Align their delivery with different groups’ learning styles and knowledge bases;

    • Inspire different audiences to take action by connecting what an organization does to an audience's values; and

    • Frame action steps in clear, transformative, and achievable ways.

  • I work with individuals and teams to develop skills to talk more effectively and strategically about their work. For example, I regularly lead, “Ditch the (Elevator) Pitch” trainings with boards to cultivate persuasive messages for different scenarios they find themselves in. Teams also learn strategies to increase both a person’s interest in and understanding of what is being shared.