About this episode
Continuing the recent storytelling theme, and in solidarity with the #StartWithPeople event run by the Public Participation team of NHS England this week ...For the first time in the series, I'm picking up threads from our #dementiachallengers work, and where better to start than talking to my friend Pippa Kelly, award-winning, blogger, journalist, dementia campaigner, author and public speaker!Storytelling … and creating ripples ... BIG RIPPLES!!??? Enjoy! Lemon lightbulbs ???‘Wild Card – Whose Shoes’ podcast series is helping great people have a voice We don’t necessarily set out to become influential campaigners – our personal stories lead us thereGreat hashtags support storytelling to bring about change … think #HelloMyNameIs, #dementiachallengers, #MatExp!Personal stories help others feel they are not alone and help to build communities. Bolder together!Telling personal stories is hard. The emotion is bubbling under the surface and we are vulnerable Caring for others happens against a backdrop of your whole life and affects the whole familySpeaking out honestly about how you feel helps othersResentment. Do others feel like that? Well, yes, sometimes they do!Stories resonate. "Oh, my God, thank you for saying that!"Support people who generously share their lived experience – don’t have them as a token, tick-box on YOUR agenda!Acknowledge and plan for the fact that stories may trigger difficult memories for the storyteller and the audienceWe have to be authentic – none of us is immune to getting emotional, even if we have told our stories many timesHuge, unpredictable ‘ripples’ happen when we share stories – some great examples here!Personalised care and dehumanising care are two sides of the same coin – learn from bothCynicism about the power of storytelling is dispelled when NHS leaders start telling THEIR storiesNHS language can be confusing - what do people do that don't have a relative who's a NHS consultant to explain everything?!There always needs to be a human connection, a relationship between the cared and the cared for The ‘battle’ for NHS continuing healthcare is a nightmare –a system that perpetuates health inequalitiesYou know your story has ‘landed’ when you see everyone nodding. Powerful stories grab people emotionally … 'by the short and curlies'! Don’t let your systems become dehumanised ... "The living before the deceased"; 'Certificate of Existence'?! Storytelling works! When data and talk about pathways failed … £3 million of public funding was secured by starting with the stories Poweful ripples happen and stories interweave when people connect and share As always, @Gills_Mum was influential!Anna Geyer’s graphic records capture the
