The Story of Us: Three Storytelling Games to Shape Learning Outcomes

What’s better than a good story?

In adult learning, stories communicate information in ways that make learning memorable. When an individual shares their experiences with a group, they make their knowledge available to the entire cohort. In this way, adult learning thrives when it focuses less on the pedagogical approach (a teacher who speaks to students) and more on an andragogical approach (a collaborative conversation between students and instructors). 

This facilitation guide provides a list of storytelling games to help adult learners create clear and inspiring narratives together. You can use these exercises to:

• Synthesize takeaways at the end of a learning experience
• Run workshops that reimagine organizational and brand identity
• Practice storytelling as a tool for inspirational and engaging leadership
• Connect personal ambitions to organizational goals
• Endless other applications

1. Same Story, Different Day

This activity teaches participants how to adjust their tone of voice.

Break into three groups. Each group will be given a classic story (ex: Cinderella, Romeo & Juliet, Frankenstein), but will alter the story and storytelling method based on a change in audience. 

Example audiences:

• A group of small children at a puppet show
• A crowd at a rock ‘n roll concert
• In a sports stadium before a big game
• A poetry slam/open mic night
• A TED Talk

You can choose other audiences or stories that better suit your participants’ learning objectives. 

Your group might decide to get extra creative, so consider providing paper, markers, props or musical instruments. 

2. Story Spine

Created by playwright and improv theater artist Kenn Adams, the Story Spine is a practical tool for building a story with a group. Pick a topic (ex: the participants’ organization, the takeaways from Day 2 of your learning experience, or any topic of choice) and begin filling in the blanks:

• Once upon a time, there was ___.
• Every day, ___.
• One day ___.
• Because of that, ___.
• Because of that, ___. (repeat this step as needed)
• Until finally ___.
• And every day after that ___.

Discuss together and refine your story as needed. 

3. Finding Your Story

Sometimes, in order to connect with and inspire others, we need to access the vulnerability that comes from sharing our personal stories. This journaling exercise provides participants with an opportunity to dive deep without any expectations attached. 

Read the following prompts out loud to participants. Participants should only have 2 minutes per prompt to write their answers. They should not stop writing during the entire 2 minutes, even if they need to rewrite the prompt a few times to get started.

1. Finish the sentence: “The first time that I felt meaningfully supported…”
2. “I was most proud of myself when…”
3. “My [mother/father/the person who raised me] always told me…”

The point is not for the writing to be perfect, but rather a free-flowing, unfiltered train of thought.

Take some time after the activity to reflect as a group. What were the challenges? What did your group discover? Invite participants to share what they wrote, if they feel comfortable.

Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools in a facilitator’s arsenal, bringing ideas to life, strengthening connections and deepening learning. If you’re looking for more ways to elevate your learning experiences, our L&D Consulting team specializes in designing immersive, story-driven programs tailored to your organization’s unique needs. You can also fill out our contact form to start collaborating with us on your next learning journey.