“THE STORIES WE TELL:
CONNECTING WITH YOURSELF AND WITH OTHERS”
in collaboration with Synergy Bulgaria NGO
Stories are more than entertainment: they can be a tool to express yourself, achieve a goal and inspire or create connections with others.
For this reason, Alice and I were very interested to join this event organized by Synergy NGO, in Bulgaria. Actually, this event was structured in two different sessions and we appreciated the fact that it wasn’t online. We met with the other participants in a big room localized in a building called MOVE.BG, very near to the Central Mineral Baths and, to be safe in this pandemic period, we wear masks all the time, keeping the necessary distance. The facilitators of the sessions were two young women: Zoi Driva, a psychologist from Greece with experience in organizing and delivering non-formal events, and Paula Aragoneses, a pedagogue from Spain with experience in the field of social work and therapeutic education.
The focus of the first meeting has been storytelling. I liked how the activity was structured: little steps to arrive at the final point, this allowed the anxiety or the stress connected with the public speech to decrease. Usually, we are afraid to speak in front of other people but, in this case, there was a good atmosphere characterized by both funny and challenging aspects. We all had handouts to be guided in the experience and in the construction of our little story: I took them to my apartment and probably I will use them for future activities with my team.
The second meeting was about another very interesting topic: active listening skills.
I had real fun at the beginning when we did a little game as ice-breaking pretending to be little Martians and calling each other in a strange way: it was like we were returning children! Throughout this activity, I improved my awareness above all about the non-verbal aspects of the communication and about my personal resources or limitations regarding my listening skills.
In my opinion, it was worth joining this event: it challenged me to tell my story in front of strangers, breaking down the fear of failure and it was a very good occasion to reflect on both my speaking and listening skills in an interactive and unusual way.
“Speak in such a way that others love to listen to you. Listen in such a way that others love to speak to you.”
Ilaria Staltari, intern@ICDET
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