Lauren shares what CASE APAC 2023 session has left the biggest impression.
Reflecting on Cameron Pegg’s session ‘The Storytelling Strategies & Secrets of Great Cases of Support’
Like Team Gembridge, this was my first Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) conference. It was an exciting whirlwind of meeting new people, sharing knowledge and learning. There is something special about ‘in-person’ events that you can’t quite capture via Zoom, and we all felt energised by our interactions.
As a (fledgling) writer, I was particularly impressed by Cameron Pegg’s session The storytelling Strategies and Secrets of Great Cases for Support. He is an award-winning communications professional who has ‘expertise in telling stories about education, philanthropy, the arts, First Peoples, science and technology, and travel’.
In this session, Pegg focused on storytelling being key in building compelling Cases for Support in service of fundraising campaigns. That story is an important part of human existence and that we spend an extraordinary amount of time storytelling in our day-to-day lives.
Through a combination of academic research, his own experience, and a dash of humour, Pegg taught us the importance of finding the intersection of where yours and/or your institution’s story fits between:
being genuine
being different from your competitors, and
being engaging to your target audience.
We then explored various narrative frameworks and how to choose that which best serves the story and purpose, and how to find your tone of voice. We learned about thinking laterally when choosing the heroes of our stories, and that the most obvious choice is not always the most compelling. We also heard about techniques for encouraging buy-in from your stakeholders; and how to communicate visually for stronger impact.
It was a truly insightful session, during which I madly scribbled seven pages of notes to try to capture the many pearls of wisdom. Knowing how important stories are for many of Gembridge’s clients and candidates in the For-Purpose space, I was grateful for the opportunity to learn more about the ‘nuts and bolts’ of what makes a great Case for Support.
Michelle Varcoe and I at CASE APAC23 Conference’s Gembridge exhibitor stand.
Info: CASE Conference