We’re in the process of looking for speakers for the next major storytelling event of the New Narrative on the theme of Work/Money. If you have any thoughts or leads on potential speakers for this theme we’d love to hear from you. Perhaps you have a story to share too!
The key to the New Narrative is storytelling and vulnerability. We want speakers with direct conflicts, experiences, or challenges around the theme that they are willing to share. Speakers don't necessarily need to come to us with a polished story or public speaking skills. We provide a support structure and speaker training. What we’re primarily looking for is a unique perspective on the theme brought about challenging social convention, either by choice or by necessity.
Work/Money is a big idea so we’ve broken it down into three primary sub-themes we want to explore; Power, Identity, and Perception.
Power
There’s an obvious power dynamic involved with work and money in our world. Our access to money can dictate our standing in society and the opportunities that are available to us. Working 40+ hour/week is essentially a requirement, and it’s nearly impossible to go more than a couple minutes without having to think about work and money in our lives. What do we think of this power dynamic in our world? How deep does the influence go? How do we address the leverage it gives to some and the pain it causes to others? What happens when people stand up to the power or try something new?
Identity
What we do for a living and how much money we make can greatly influence how we’re seen in the world. Many people with money get celebrated for their achievements no matter how much harm they might cause, while poverty is often seen as an indication of poor moral character. Who we are, what we look like, and where we come from can also greatly influence the options for work and money that are available to a person. What are the dynamics that exist around work, money and identity? How do they affect our day-to-day lives? Can we change them? If so, what would it look like?
Perception
Many of the interactions we have around work and money are centered on status quo, unspoken rules, and accepted truths that might not be a reality. This can include everything from sharing salary information, the prevalence of the 40 hour work week, or the value we ascribe to printed pieces of paper in the first place. How do our beliefs and perceptions around work and money shape our relationship with both? Could these relationships take a different form? What would that look like? What commonly held truths about work and money are overdue to be rethought?
If you’re interested in reading more about what we’re looking for with each theme, here are individual blog posts with more information too: Power | Identity | Perception.
If you have suggestions on a potential speaker, please do send them our way. If you have a story of your own that you think would be a good fit we’d love to hear from you.
With each event, we try to find stories that are unique, but also hit on universal ideas and experiences. Obviously Work and Money are two aspects of our world that almost all of us have struggled with. The stories that stand out are going to be ones about people that faced substantial challenges with the elements of the theme. These challenges might stem from institutions in our world or because the person did something highly unconventional. Stories that incorporate some level of all three of the ideas above will certainly stand out.
In the end we’ll only be able to take 6-8 speakers for this event, but we’re hoping to open up the New Narrative additional dimensions soon too. If you have something to share on this theme that is a little different than what we’re asking for, please still reach out because there might be other possibilities happening soon too.
There’s no set date yet but we’re shooting for October/November 2019.
More information on what we generally look for in a New Narrative speaker is available here.
Submit your story idea for Work/Money here: