How Co-Creative, Inclusive, and Strategic Storytelling Can Build Stronger Communities and Drive Collective Impact

Hi, I’m Tom Lietz, and welcome to Storylinking. In this introductory episode, I share my perspective on storytelling and why I believe we're often doing it wrong when it comes to building communities. For over two decades, I’ve worked as a video producer and creative director, helping mission-driven organizations tackle tough challenges by rallying their communities through story.

In this episode, I lay out the vision for Storylinking—a podcast for community leaders and creative professionals about using narrative and the creative process to build culture and drive lasting impact. Too often, we focus on individual stories as one-off projects, but I believe the true power lies in linking stories together and engaging communities as partners in the process.

You’ll learn about my understanding of storytelling as a system, and how co-creative, inclusive, and sustainable storytelling can transform communities. We’ll explore questions, strategies, and techniques to tell better stories together—stories that connect and inspire.

Check out more from Storylinking:

• storylinking.com

Key moments from this episode:

00:51 Why I'm Starting a Podcast
01:21 Challenges in Traditional Storytelling
02:29 A New Approach
03:19 Engaging the Community
04:25 Launching Storylinking
04:49 Strategic Conversations
05:07 Making Choices for Change
05:29 Understanding Human Narrative
05:49 Systemic Change and Long-Term Engagement
06:17 Collaborative Community Storytelling
06:50 How Storylinking Works
07:18 Voices from the Community
08:55 Building Together