When President George Bush was about to give a speech to thousands who would gather at Federal Hall in New York City, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the inauguration of America’s first president, his speech office needed some good stories. They heard about our expertise in finding and telling stories surrounding New York City’s rich history and asked for our help.
SUICIDE RESCUE, STOCKHOLM
Challenge.
The founder of Suicide Rescue, Johan Sjoholm, was on a personal as well as a professional mission: to prevent people from taking their own lives as his older brother had. Despite his monumental efforts, he was having trouble raising money to support his wonderful organization, which provided counseling and support services to young people in danger of committing suicide.
Solution.
We created a new presentation for donors that used storytelling as a vehicle by which to move donors to action. We also coached Johan in delivery skills. Although this new paradigm—utilizing deeply personal stories—was initially uncomfortable for him, he quickly grew to understand its efficacy. Not only did it generate new sources of revenue for the organization, but it inspired audience members to share their own stories too.
“You were right to push me to share personal stories. After my talk in Oslo this week, three people cornered me to tell me stories about their own family members and to thank me for sharing my story. I also was approached by a handful of young entrepreneurs who want to support Suicide Rescue.”
Johan Sjöholm,
Director
Challange
Solution
We reached in to our existing storehouse of rich material and we combed historical archives for rarely heard anecdotes about George Washington’s tenure in New York City, during the nations first two years. The White House Speech office was thrilled with the unusual, humorous, and imaginative material, which they had never run across. The new stories were included in the president’s opening remarks.