Storytelling happens in many containers
Why It Matters
Stories emerge everywhere; they surface in hallways, during walks, over meals, in the car ride home. Liminal spaces—thresholds, transitions, informal moments—often hold what structured gatherings cannot.
These in-between spaces can be designed with intention to deepen and lift up the insights that emerge.. Interactive activities—such as a card where someone writes anonymously about a story that doesn't get told, a wall where people post what they wish someone would ask, a walk with a single question to hold— create room for what's hard to say out loud, in front of everyone, with your name attached.
What This Looks Like
A two-day convening on housing justice includes formal story circles, but the organizers also design for the in-between. Long lunch breaks with no agenda. An optional evening walk. Morning coffee before sessions begin. And at the entrance, a quiet station: cards and a box, with the prompt "What's a story you carry that rarely gets told?" Participants can write anonymously. The cards are read aloud—without attribution—at the closing session. Some of the most significant material surfaces this way: things people weren't ready to say in the circle, but needed a way to put into the room.
When designing a gathering, consider the spaces between: arrivals, breaks, departures, shared meals. What conditions would help stories emerge in these moments? What interactive activities might invite what's hard to say directly? How might you listen differently in informal spaces? What would make liminal moments feel safe and generative?
Story Circle Scenarios (note about liminal spaces in each scenario)
Watch For
Over-structuring every moment. Also watch for treating what emerges informally—or anonymously—as less legitimate than what emerges in formal sessions. And watch for missing these contributions entirely because you weren't paying attention.
“Stories don’t only emerge when we ask for them. They surface in the spaces between, when the pressure drops and people can breathe.”