Based on a True Story

BASED ON A TRUE STORY: YOU! While you are not a professional teacher, you are professionally engaged in what you are about to teach.

So don’t be afraid to pay your ace card: your experience!

We encourage our law enforcement instructors to invest their own professional experiences into the learning process. Tell the story of policing as only you can – the profound joy, sadness, courage, despair and hope!

68

69

Stories have the power to reveal truth in a way that raw facts cannot.

some short, some long – are designed to spark more imaginative

Every aspect of law enforcement is rich in human drama. It is a

academy.

and engaging approaches to the written text.

Example: Relate to the cadets your first day in the police

story which you have the privilege of relating from personal What was the hardest part? What was difficult for others, that

experience.

you found easy? Explain a part of the training that made a cadet Stories can explain and illuminate: 1.

Our core values

2.

What we care about

3.

Our greatest aspirations

4.

Value lessons & great insights

fail or quit the academy.

Tips Telling a Masterful Story Pick the moment you step out of the prepared lesson to tell your story with care. The cadets should know when a story has begun

Take time before the class to think about the subject matter at

and the exact moment your story ends.

hand and your own related experience.

Story Prompts You will notice that we have included in the new materials

1.

Get the cadets used to the idea of “story time”.

2.

It should be approximately two minutes.

3.

Give them audio and visual clues using a marked departure in voice and manner.

something called STORY PROMPTS. Each suggested prompt –

70

D O N ’ T F E E L C O M F O RTA B L E TA L K I N G ABOUT YOURSELF? SPEAK ON BEHALF OF A N O F F I C E R YO U K N E W:

“I want to tell you about the greatest police officer I ever knew. It’s my privilege to speak on his behalf. He was my real police academy.”

I T ’ S T H E WAY W E K E E P T H O S E W H O H AV E PA S T E D O N . . . A L I V E .

71

4.

During this two minutes, the cadets should become accustomed to complete silence and no hands up for a question.

Sacred Ground The story you relate may be sacred ground for you, so the class should be respectful. You may want to start with stories that are humorous or perhaps less personal while they are still getting used to how to behave during this time.

Always know the point of your story or how it ends. Â In other words, how does it relate to the UNIT. Â How does it amplify the information you were covering.

Plan Your Transition Ultimately your story will be judged based on the grace with which you are able to end the story on point and step back into the lesson.

This is simple enough to do if you give it a little thought prior to classroom. Trying to work out the details of your exit while your telling the story is not recommended.

72

Fire up those Life Lessons

73

Here is a small selection of common story themes. They

Stories of Challenge

will hopefully trigger a great story. [If they do, find the appropriate UNIT and work them into the classroom.]

Stories in which you have experienced challenge and how you overcame it. They can be physical as well as mental

REMEMBRANCE OR MEMORIAL STORIES

challenges of conquering a specific fear early in your career.

Stories that acknowledge, honor or reflect on the life of one who has died.

Objects & Artifacts

The Best Police Officer I Have Ever Met‌

All of us have own a possession that holds tremendous value in our lives. There is always a compelling story that brings that object to life and gives it meaning.

Stories of a significant mentor in your career. Â What impact have they made on your life?

Nearly every law enforcement officer draws inspiration

Stories about a Place

from a veteran who they admired. Pick an ah-ha moment

Geographical places hold intense memories and emotional

from that partnership.

significance in our lives. While places may not have historic markers and may seem unremarkable to the casual observer, they are never-the-less sacred places in your life.

74

the gold standard Jim Leavelle is the "man in the white hat" and the centerpiece to the most famous image in the history of photojournalism.

An early supporter of this program, Jim is the gold standard for how to share your experience:

75

• Remain good humored regarding events.

• Be candid about mistakes you may have made.

• Remember you are a goodwill ambassador for law enforcement officers past and present, speak with conviction to the nobility of your profession.

The archaeological history of you is fertile ground for every storyteller.

Focus

A picture, plus a thousand or so words

Telling the entire history of your experience in a single short story can be an overly ambitious task. It is often

Countless stories can be found in the well-worn shoe box or

hard to know where to start

photo album. Each photo preserves a moment in time and each

a story and usually harder to know when to end it.

moment has a corresponding story: “Where was I when this photo was taken? Who took it? Who is in the photo with me?

Just keep in mind it should end by relating the wisdom or

What was I thinking when this was taken?”

transformation that occurred as a result and you can’t go wrong!

Listing Exercises

Your Story

Make a list. Jot down three to five: 1.

And if you have any doubts as to the value of your own stories, imagine for a moment what you would give to hear the

specific experiences that have made you the person you

thoughts and insights of the long line of law enforcement

are; 2.

professionals who have preceded you.

unique things that you do habitually that have helped you succeed;

3.

Remember, it’s not just a story, it’s

experiences you'd mention if someone asked you to explain why you do the work you do.

76

77