Narrative 4 Story Exchange

• A comfortable and quiet setting for the group exchange (e.g., a pleasant classroom)

• Possibilities for the pairs to exchange their stories in peace (e.g., a garden, seating corners, quiet corridors...)

• If necessary paper & pen for each participant

• Timer for the facilitator

• Suitable, meaningful & well-tailored story prompts based on the group’s context and the focus of the specific story exchange

The Narrative 4 method is distinguished in multiple steps with different forms of social interaction & engagement. Before leading groups through the process, it is crucial to be well prepared for
facilitating such an emotional & personal group exchange.
Therefore, facilitators can either be invited or an experience-based & practice-relevant training can be completed.
All details on the training options can be found on their engaging & insightful Narrative 4 website.

This is just a very brief overview of the Steps of a Narrative 4 Story exchange. For more details please refer to Narrative 4.

  0. Prompting (a few days / hours before the story exchange)

Create 2-3 prompts and share them with the group a few days or hours before the story exchange takes place. The prompts should be chosen carefully, ensuring they are relevant, inclusive, and encourage meaningful sharing without overwhelming participants. Keep the objective of your particular story exchange in mind.

1. Preparing (around 20 minutes)

Check-in and learn about who is in the group. Show interest, appreciation, and model the behaviour that is expected by the group. The facilitator introduces the Narrative 4 organization & method, its aims & objectives, the time frame, repeats the prompts, and highlights the general rules.

2. Sharing (around 20 minutes)

Search for a silent corner and exchange your personal stories in pairs. Give each other time to tell & develop their story and show interest in each others experiences. Listen deeply and actively, take notes if needed, and don't interrupt your partner. Change roles after about 10 minutes.

3. Retelling (around 60 minutes)

Retell your partners' story in first person to the larger group - as if it was your own story. Per person this will take around 5-10 minutes, so the group shouldn't be too big or you need to do breaks. Be aware to facilitate and maintain a safe and appreciating environment across the whole group.

4. Reflecting (around 20 minutes)

Reflect your experiences as a group: How did it feel to tell your personal story to someone else? How did it feel to hear it being told by someone else? How did it feel to tell someone else's story? What did you learn? What do you take with you? Close with an appreciative sentiment towards each other. 

We found the Story Exchange to be a very engaging and helpful tool for building closer connections among members who are not very familiar with each other. The process allowed us to open up, listen deeply, and step into each other’s shoes, which fostered a sense of trust, understanding, and group-cohesion. We see this as a highly valuable method that can be used in various contexts to foster empathy and inclusion.

Possible Further Ideas:

1. Using with school students: We believe this approach would be particularly powerful for students at the start of the school year or to prevent unhealthy relations, helping them to form stronger bonds and feel more comfortable with one another in a short period. However, the prompts should be chosen carefully, ensuring they are relevant, inclusive, and encourage meaningful sharing without overwhelming participants. Additionally, the facilitator should be well-trained to create a safe, supportive environment.

2. Applying to other contexts: Beyond school students, this tool can be adapted to other settings—such as team-building activities in workplaces, community groups, or even between people from different cultural or generational backgrounds. We also tried it with student teachers and had very valuable experiences and positive feedback.