Choosing Your Stories
Step 1: Choosing Your Stories
There are many purposes for WAP success stories. Among them are:
- Introducing the WAP to the general public;
- Teaching others about how energy efficiency and energy poverty affects low-income individuals;
- Raising awareness of job opportunities and training through the WAP;
- Raising awareness about technology and techniques of the program; and
- Describing innovative approaches to service delivery.
As you think about what story to choose, look for options that both exemplify the best the WAP can deliver and include the elements that align with prevailing public attitudes as identified in the research.
Bonus: Emphasize Contemporary “Hot” Issues
When your narrative can demonstrate your response to a widely publicized contemporary problem, it shows that WAP is relevant and ahead of the curve. Recent examples include training out of work construction workers or others affected by the recession.
Discussing Success
Your stories need to be told. Some members of your community do not know how the WAP works, who it serves, and the vital function it performs for individuals and community as a whole.
Your narrative should explain the key development steps and decisions and how successful implementation occurred, including the roles others played, especially through community engagement. You can tell a powerful story from several perspectives. It could have been the leader; it might have been a key team member among many organizations that played a unique role; perhaps it just recognized and funded a brilliant initiative of another group when no other supporters stepped up. All three variations can be told sothey spotlight an aspect of good leadershipand give credit where it is due.
