Editing Telling Stories (section)

== Icebergs ==
[[File:Iceberg.png|thumb|The Iceberg!]]
When telling our personal stories, there may be parts of our lives we don’t feel safe sharing.

Think of your life as an iceberg. Some memories, events, and relationships are above the waterline—safe to share and open to questions (for example, faith, school, nature, siblings, children). Below the waterline are parts we don’t feel safe sharing (for example, parents, hometown, mental health). There can be power in keeping those parts to yourself and sharing them only with people you trust to honor and respect them.

Everyone’s iceberg is different, and it can change depending on the audience, the day, the mood, and more. You may feel safer sharing certain parts of your story in some situations and not others. As storytellers, we don’t have to share anything from the bottom of our iceberg if we don’t want to.

As listeners and coaches, keep each storyteller’s iceberg in mind. As we ask questions and dig deeper, remember that some parts are off-limits. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t go deeper; it means we should do so thoughtfully and with care. It also means that the stories about what lights us up are constantly changing.

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=== Further Reading ===

* Ganz, M. (2009). ''Why Stories Matter: The Art and Craft of Social Change''. Sojourners. Retrieved from <nowiki>http://www.sojo.net/magazine/2009/03/why-stories-matter</nowiki>
* Ganz, M. (2011). Public Narrative, Collective Action, and Power. In S. Odugbemi and T. Lee (Eds.), ''Accountability Through Public Opinion: From Inertia to Public Action'' (pp. 273–289). Washington, DC: The World Bank.
* Sachs, J. (2012). ''Winning the Story Wars: Why Those Who Tell—and Live—the Best Stories Will Rule the Future''. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press.