Because stories on Conversion Practices essentially involve people overcoming years of struggle, they align very well with the Narrative Arc we explore in our Storytelling course.
In particular, they often contain a specific culprit, or villain, which helps to personify the struggle or combat.
These stories also highlight very strong personal and collective values. They often speak to larger moral lessons that wider audiences can relate to.
For example, one Conversion Practices survivor quotes “being your authentic self will never be sinful”.
Last but not least, overcoming Conversion Practices often involves the support of a wider community, which avoids the pitfall of the “bootstrap narrative”, as seen earlier in this course.

In Storytelling, it is important to remember this powerful quote from a writer “I tell my story so that others can see fragments of their own story in it”. Anything that can make your story relatable to your audience will increase its capacity to generate empathy. For example, the same story continues “After 21 years of marriage, my wife and I separated in 2012, and divorced in January 2020. Happily, I walked her down the aisle and ‘gave her away’ to her new husband later that year. Even more happily, only two months later I married my partner of seven years at our local United Reformed Church, with my wife being a witness. I will always be grateful that the story of our marriage has had such a wonderful ending.” This particular part of the story will certainly revive memories for every reader who has been married, and this will generate connection.

For more on Storytelling you are invited to take our full free special course, with lots of video examples and interactions.