The first time I spoke on a big stage I was worried about this and it took a while to say yes.
The last thing I wanted to do was talk about mental health and take people to their hard stuff and have them traumatised.
I’ve seen sharing that is well intentioned but is not safe and that’s why it was important to have a vital conversation on Monday night at Professional Speakers Australia – PSA around storytelling and communication of lived experiences of mental health and trauma.
We heard from the Mental Health Commissioner for South Australia Taimi Allan (she/her) before stand-up comedian The Beautiful Bogan marc ryan joined us on the panel in how they use lived experiences to share important messages about mental health, whilst exploring ways we as speakers, presenters, educators and performers can maintain a safe space for both ourselves and our audiences.
The list of Ah ha moments were extensive and reminders that you need to
– Ask for what you need to support you – boundaries and creating support networks are important
– Understand your end message and build your story around that, there needs to be a point to the sharing
– Telling just enough of your lived experience to build a connection with your audience – you dont need to share everything and it’s not about your catharsis.
– Never reveal a method of suicide.
– Mention that you are talking about hard stuff but not use trigger warnings as that pikes interest and takes people deeper even if they wouldve decided not to engage
– Allow space for your audience to see themselves reflected in your story and modify your story to suit different audiences
Throughout the evening Taimi generously shared some of the knowledge and tools she has gained from extensive experience working in and consulting on film and theatre including staying in control of your narrative, strategies to protect the wellbeing and mental safety of your audience as well as ways to reframe how we describe and depict traumatic events in film, images and stories.
Taimi also shared the power of bringing hope and illustrating solutions as an alternative to the traditional narrative of fear and predijuce.
So much good stuff to take into sharing safely.
If you attended the event I would love to know what were your take aways that you will use in your work.
pic. Panel members Marc, Taimi and Bel with PSA SA Chapter president Kate Burr
Sharing Stories Safely
