Aim for a 5-minute introduction, 30 minutes to tell stories, and 10 minutes to wrap up. Explain how much time each person will have to tell a story. State the prompt and begin! You may ask for a volunteer to begin or you may begin.ģ. Explain that you will share the prompt in a moment.ĥ. Tell the rules of the story circle (see below) and answer any questions. Ask participants to quickly name the typical elements of a story – narrative, plot, characters, etc.Ģ. Describe the story circle’s purpose (to find new ways to be in relationship with other members of the Emory community and/or beyond).Ĥ. Suggestion: Tell a story that illustrates how the events during this time have affected you or changed your life.

Think about your story prompt ahead of time (regarding life in the time of the pandemic) but do not share the prompt until you are about to start the story sharing.

If you create the meeting through Emory’s Zoom account, you will not encounter a time limit.

Create a Zoom, Google Hangouts, Skype, or FaceTime meeting invitation or agree on how to meet.

Form your circle: talk to people about the idea and schedule an hour for the circle with no more than 15 people 6-8 people is ideal.Please do not record your story circles, to encourage authentic participation and connection. This recorded story circle serves as a demonstration. For this reason, please do not ever record a story circle.Įmory Telling and Hearing Our Stories (ETHOS) has adapted and modified for online use these guidelines for story circle facilitation from Roadside Theater, which uses them for in-person community story sharing. Importantly, what is shared in the circle stays in the circle unless there is explicit permission to share more widely.

A story circle is a group of people who share stories in response to a particular topic in a structured way that encourages full and authentic participation in both listening to and telling personal stories.

The story circle