We believe storytelling is at the heart of advocacy.

Effective advocates build power and momentum behind a particular issue through a savvy combo of emotion and fact. Bringing in your personal experience with an issue through storytelling elevates your ask and helps hold legislators accountable to the people they represent.

If you’re planning to attend a lawmaker meeting, testify at a bill hearing, or otherwise share your experience, it helps to be prepared. Follow these steps to develop a clear ask that connects your lived experience to policy outcomes.

A purple and white graphic showing two cliffs with one bridge connecting them, demonstrating how a specific policy change is the bridge between your current reality and vision of the future.

Step 1: Think about an issue that’s touched your life.

Select the topic that feels important to you, whether it has touched your life or the life of someone in your community. Be sure to choose an example from your lived experience that you’re comfortable sharing with strangers.

Example: The TANF cash grant is not sufficient to meet my family’s basic needs.

Step 2: Lead with your values and share a vision for a better future.

Make a statement about your values, and what world you are working towards creating where your problem is solved. This can include an example from your life when a program/system was working well, but doesn’t have to.

Example: Everyone deserves to have what they need to meet their basic needs, no matter what.

Step 3: Share your story

Share an example of how your experience has not lived up to those values. This is where the storytelling comes in, bringing a human aspect to the conversation.

It’s important to only share stories that aren’t too difficult for you – we always say, speak from the scar, not the wound. It’s also important to get consent before sharing anyone else’s story.

Example: The current TANF cash grant is not enough to meet my family’s needs. We cannot afford everyday items like…

Step 4: Connect to a policy solution

Describe how a specific policy solution would bridge the gap between your experience and your vision for a better future.

Example: Aligning the TANF cash grant to 16% of the Need Standard would ensure that the cash grant would automatically keep up with inflation and rising costs every year.

Download this page as a PDF

You can download this worksheet as a PDF. If you’d like another format, please reach out to us!