Building Blocks for Sharing Your Story: A Guide by Forcibly Displaced People for Impactful Storytelling
Why Does Storytelling Matter?
Despite negative political and media rhetoric that can feel like the dominant narrative, the truth is that people who have experienced forced displacement are resilient and make our communities stronger. Building connections among people who have experienced displacement and longstanding community members helps to reduce misconceptions and fortify a more positive, truth-based portrayal of who people seeking safety are, why they come here, and the many ways they enrich our communities nationwide. One way to do that is through storytelling.
Sharing your story, perspective, and experience in a way that makes it tangible is crucial to widening public support for a future where people seeking safety in the United States are welcomed in their new communities.
But it takes courage to start telling your story. Below are key recommendations from seasoned leaders and communicators who have experienced forced displacement on what to consider when preparing to tell your own story in a way that is impactful—while making sure that your story remains genuine to your experience. This guide also includes important tips on self care and a Storytelling Workbook to help you get started.
Getting Started
As you are preparing to share your story, there are a few things to keep in mind. First ask yourself: what is motivating me to share my story? Is it to educate people in my community? Inspire them to action? Or to raise awareness about a certain cause? Keep these goals in mind as you think about what information to share and how and where you share it.
Next, think through who your target audience is and where you can best reach them. There are many places where you can share your story. You can consider sharing first among friends or on your social media platforms. If you would like to share more widely, you can look for opportunities to speak in your community or faith group, with the media, or in meetings with your elected officials.
Once you have decided what is motivating you to share your story, who you want to share it with, and where you want to share it, keep in mind the below tips for impactful storytelling.
Building Blocks for Sharing Your Story
1. Elevate shared values and aspirations that will help create empathy and connection with your audience.
No one refugee story is the same. And many people who have not experienced forced displacement themselves may have a very limited understanding of what it is really like to be forced to flee your home. But even if your audience cannot identify with the specific circumstances you have faced, they can connect with shared values that we all hold.
Think about who your audience is and what motivates them. Are they also parents who want to keep their family safe? Are they proud community members who want to give back to their neighbors? Are they people of faith? Do they value living in a diverse neighborhood? Identify the shared values you hold with your audience and lead with those values when sharing your story. People can always connect on values of family, gratitude, welcome, generosity, faith, safety and security, perseverance, diversity and cultural exchange.
“[One] thing that has worked [for me in storytelling] is future-driven narratives – common values and future dreams.”
“It’s about humanity, and it’s global. Values like love for your neighbor; caring about one another… They will find themselves in what you’re saying.”
2. Add key details that help to fill in knowledge gaps that your audience might have about what it means to be forcibly displaced or the systems and processes that help bring people to safety.
While your audience may not understand on a personal level what it means to be forcibly displaced, they may also have significant gaps in knowledge – or misunderstandings – about what systems and processes allow forcibly displaced people to seek refuge in their new communities. They also may hold flawed assumptions about why people seeking safety have arrived in their communities and what circumstances may have forced them to leave. It is helpful to fill in those knowledge gaps in a constructive and proactive way.
Think about what your audience may not understand about your story. Do they know that people seeking safety often spend years or even decades in refugee camps before being resettled in the United States? Do they know that there is a long and legal asylum process for people who came across the border? Do they know that you had a full life in your country of origin before leaving, and that forced displacement is not a choice?
Consider offering your audience details about your journey to safety: What was your life was like before you were forced to flee? What do you miss? What forced you to leave? What was the process like to get here? These details help your audience have a fuller understanding of the displacement experience and the systems in place for people to seek refuge in the United States.
“I emphasize the screening process for refugees, and I always talk about the process and how long it takes and which agencies are involved in that screening because there are a lot of myths about the process. I try to focus on that part and provide more details about it.”
“Know your audience – this helps you decide what to share and what will be most effective or impactful.”
“I didn’t come here because I felt like it, but because I had to.”
3. Paint a picture for your audience of the barriers or challenges that you may have faced.
The journey to rebuilding your life in safety does not end the moment you arrived in your new community. It is a long and hard process, and there are structural barriers that make that even more difficult. It is important that you explain to your audience what barriers and challenges you have faced rebuilding your life so that they can understand what needs to be done to reduce those barriers in your community.
You can consider sharing that you initially had a tough time accessing services or advancing your education because of a language barrier. Or perhaps you can share that you wanted to continue practicing your profession but found that you could not recertify as a doctor, engineer, teacher, lawyer, or other career in your new home. Perhaps you can share small moments about what it was like to learn about your new culture and navigate your community. These details can help your audience understand your experience and become more sensitive to the work that is still left to be done to make our communities more welcoming—and ultimately bring them on board as allies and advocates.
“Paint a picture of the barriers you faced: it is so important to share some statistics, you can bring some statistical evidence that can help inform your audience.”
4. Describe moments when you have shown resilience and persevered despite these challenges.
Your audience may not understand that while people who come to their community seeking safety face numerous barriers and may initially need support, they go on to contribute to their new homes in a multitude of ways. It is important to remind your audience of the many ways forcibly displaced people make our communities and our economy stronger despite the challenges they may face.
Consider sharing details about who you are now—not just in your darkest moments. You can share, for example, what you are doing professionally or personally, what it means to you to set an example for your children, how you are living up to your values, and what your aspirations are for the future. These details help confront the flawed assumptions your audience might hold about forcibly displaced people and the impacts of welcoming newcomers.
“I share my success stories so that they know what I have gone through and where I am. Sometimes I just say, can you imagine if there were more of me? Because all we want to be is this. What this country give[s] us, we can bring more people who can do this.”
“The media talks so much about the negativity about immigration, but they do not talk about the many ways we enrich the community.”
“Americans love the ‘comeback’ story.”
5. Remind your audience that there is not one refugee experience.
Your audience might have a picture in their mind of a person who has experienced forced displacement, which may include false assumptions or stereotypes. It is important to emphasize that no two experiences are alike and that there are people from all walks of life who have been forced to flee their homes – mothers and daughters, teachers and pharmacists, students and activists. By sharing those diverse stories, you help to unmake the stereotypes and negative assumptions that your audience might hold and open them up to learning more.
“Diverse narratives really bring strength to our advocacy.”
“I was a prosecutor. I had a great job, I had everything I wanted in my country. I didn’t come here to get a great job because I used to have a great job. I try to connect with people and say imagine your life here today—you have a profession, you have a life, you have dreams. And now imagine that this life and those dreams disappear tomorrow.”
6. Think about a call to action.
It is important that your audience comes away with a fuller understanding of your experience and what it means to be forcibly displaced. It is also important to consider what you want them to do, think, or feel after learning more about your story. Do you want them to support a local piece of legislation that makes it easier for parents to communicate with their children’s teachers in their native language? Do you want them to donate to a refugee-led organization to help welcome people seeking safety? Do you want them to write a letter to their member of Congress calling on them to support the refugee resettlement program or access to asylum? Or do you simply want them to have more empathy for their new neighbors? Offer your audience a tangible action that they can take to continue their journey as an ally and supportive neighbor.
“Something else that works is having some sort of call to action so that people can continue to share or engage. Maybe direct them to another person’s story.”
“Sometimes we forget to speak about the solution. Call to action is the resolution we want to have on whatever the issue is.”
Self Care for Storytellers
Sharing your story can be difficult and emotionally taxing. It is important to be mindful of your mental and emotional health when sharing intimate details of your experience. The following are some tips from forcibly displaced people who are seasoned storytellers about what they do to ensure that they are investing in self care.
Practice spirituality
Do breathing exercises
Get physical exercise
Put yourself first
Speak to your friends
Create a routine
Ensure that you are being properly compensated for your work
Consider getting a counselor or therapist
Expand your community through activities, charities, and more
Additional Resources
Join the Refugee Storytellers Collective. The Collective is an initiative of people in the United States who have experienced forced displacement and believe in the power of sharing their perspectives, experiences, and stories for social change. Members of the Collective engage in events, workshops, media interviews, campaigns, and more, and receive monthly training sessions informed by their needs and interests that are designed to both sharpen existing storytelling skills and introduce new techniques and mediums for communicating. You can nominate yourself or someone you know to become a member today.
Check out these ten best practices identified by refugee leaders from our network to center displaced people in policy advocacy in a way that is meaningful and not extractive.
Learn from displaced leaders across the United States on how to use an economic contributions narrative in a way that uplifts the many experiences of people seeking safety and the diverse ways they make U.S. communities and economies stronger—while not losing sight of their rights and dignity.
Contact the Refugee Advocacy Lab to learn more about our strategic communications research and request a training or additional resources, including the report “A Beacon of Safety and Welcome: Strategic Messaging to Expand Support for People Seeking Refuge in the United States.”
Our Thanks
This guide is informed by strategic communications research conducted by the Refugee Advocacy Lab in partnership with Goodwin Simon Strategic Research and the Open Society Foundations and through consultations with leaders with lived experience of forced displacement from Refugee Congress and the Refugee Storytellers Collective. The Refugee Advocacy Lab would like to thank Refugee Congress Delegates and members of the Refugee Storytellers Collective who contributed their expertise to this guide.
