E-031 · Theme 2 · Mentoring & Pathways
Mentor Storytelling Night
Use Mentor Storytelling Night to make mentoring and personal development easier to find, choose and sustain.
Developed further: this summary now draws on an initiative-specific internal editorial draft and attributed references. Human review has not started and will open only at the Full-Corpus Review Build.
What could this idea change?
It helps knowledge, confidence and encouragement move between members instead of resting with a few people.
It may suit: Members seeking guidance or a new challenge, and the people offering practical support.
A simple way to start
- Ask members what they would find useful to understand about mentoring, then choose two or three learning themes such as a helpful question, a difficult turning point or a respectful ending. Who could lead it: Mentoring lead
- Invite potential storytellers privately, explain the audience and boundaries, and make clear that declining, changing topic or withdrawing will have no effect on their standing in the club. Who could lead it: Story coordinator
- Hold a short preparation conversation with each storyteller to shape a five-minute beginning, turning point and lesson, remove unnecessary personal detail and agree what questions are welcome. Who could lead it: Story coach
- Brief the audience at the start: listen without fixing, do not repeat personal detail outside the room, ask about the learning rather than the person and respect a speaker's decision not to answer. Who could lead it: Facilitator
- After each story, use one clarifying question and one small-table prompt to identify a mentoring practice the club could adopt, avoiding judgements about the people involved. Who could lead it: Facilitator and table hosts
What should we look for?
- After 90 days, review Mentor Storytelling Night. Look for suitable matches, regular check-ins and progress against goals chosen by the participating member.
- Invited storytellers who receive the brief, choose their topic and confirm their sharing boundaries before the event.
- Audience members who can name one specific mentoring practice they understood better after the stories.
- Privacy, consent or distress concerns raised during or after the evening and how promptly they were addressed.
- One mentoring improvement tested within 60 days, with a named owner and a recorded learning decision.
Before we say yes
- Does it fit a real local need?
- Can people take part safely and fairly?
- Are the facts, permissions and Rotary branding right?
- Who will lead it, and when will we review it?