Add ons for your event
We strongly suggest that you plan to hold a panel discussion after the storytelling presentation. Your storytellers will be on the panel (some might decline, that’s fine) along with others involved in the IDD community. You’ll want a strong moderator who has interacted with members of the IDD community and feels strongly about giving them autonomy.
Depending on what’s happening in your community and/or what stories you might be working on or planning to work on, you can ask the panelists about other matters important to the community. You can ask them ahead of them and be sure they are prepared for the questions coming. Don’t rehearse too much – just have everyone prepared.
In terms of a theme for the panel, you will want to address the theme, but also the process:
- What was your first thought when you heard the theme?
- How did that change as you listened to other storytellers talk about it?
- Describe the workshop process
Be sure to leave time for Q&A. You might want to have audience members write down questions on index cards and gather them during the event. That will ensure no one’s caught off guard and that questions aren’t repeated.
Another element you can add is commissioning visual artwork from members of the same (or a different) program that is providing storytellers. You can display the artwork, sell it, use some of it in promotional materials. It’s a way to include members of the IDD community who might prefer to express themselves through artwork.
Depending on space, you could dedicate a spot for a sensory room. This can be as simple as finding a quiet space (preferably an actual room) where you can provide a quiet environment for anyone feeling over-stimulated. You can provide fidget toys and other calming resources.