Storytelling training

Case Study – Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)

Climate change, biodiversity loss and deforestation are three of the world’s greatest challenges. The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) exists to help combat all three. Working with governments, businesses and forest owners (especially smallholders) PEFC helps ensure that the world’s forests are more sustainably managed. Yet because certification as a tool for change is primarily concerned with process, the impact of PEFC’s role as an agent of positive change can be missed.

In the latter half of 2023, I was commissioned by PEFC to develop and execute a series of storytelling training sessions for PEFC’s national offices. This began with an introductory session for non-communications staff, an exercise that focused on the purpose and impact of storytelling, on its power to illuminate through empathy and relatability. Three further sessions with the communications’ teams examined all aspects of successful storytelling, such as message development, interviewing techniques and the Hero’s Journey.

The techniques these teams learnt are transferable to audio-visual, social media and speechmaking contexts, as well written stories. As a result, they were able to expand PEFC’s communications’ outreach with a series of compelling and inspiring stories drawn from their membership base and areas of operation. Each participant was now able to break storytelling down to its constituent parts and to help PEFC attract new members and beneficiaries.