Hi, 

So here's what I have now, that's more of a concise version - as always, comments, reactions welcome:

Wingseed: helping great people with great ideas take flight

You are an individual or organization working to make the world a better place. You might be an expert on a particular issue, or maybe you do important research. Perhaps you are a social entrepreneur or a development advocate. You really know your stuff, but you need help getting your ideas out of your head or off the shelf, and into the world. You’re making a difference in the world,  but you want to supercharge your impact

I can help you and your team develop and hone a strategic story that communicates who you are and your vision for change, and that helps guide your steps in a fast-changing world. 

I can guide you in developing an advocacy story that helps your audience understand the problem you’re trying to solve, why it is important, and what action they can take to support your cause.

I can help you implement listening practices that aid you in understanding other’s stories, so you have greater insight into how others think, and what’s important to them. So that you can figure out how your stories might intersect.

I can help you and your team come up with creative ideas that get your work out of a rut, enable you to connect and collaborate with new kinds of people. That help move you and your team from feeling burned out to feeling inspired and energized, motivated and enthusiastic. 

My work with you starts with a conversation about your needs and goals. If we both think we are a good fit, we’ll then figure out  which of the approaches below or combinations of them, would fit you best. We might begin with a one off session or workshop or more formal assessment and expand from there as needed. I have some standard workshops but can always tailor something specifically for you or your organization. 

I offer training, coaching and consulting: 

• In-depth assessment of potential

• Group workshops

• Coaching - one-on-one or in small groups, focused on skills development or preparation for a specific event or opportunity

• Consulting - more tailored long-term engagement, such as a ‘Story as Strategy’ process for your organization.

Book a free consultation with me here. 

Read my writing here:

Listen to me here:

I wanted to thank everyone for the discussion a few weeks back, on 'what do I do'? One of my takeaways was to look for opportunities to speak. Not only have I now been on both Sarah and Jole's podcasts (thank you both!), but I recently had another podcast invitation.  I also submitted a presentation proposal for the International Listening Association's.  international convention in July - on Listening as a Political Act - and I just heard it's been accepted - so very excited (and nervous) about that.

Since my session taking the helm I've worked more on 'What do I do' and with Guillaume's help worked through the 'What do I do' framework in some depth. I'd like to share what I have so far, for your advice and input and in case this is helpful for you.  You can see my framework here.   

thanks,
Brett

Hope to see everyone on the call today. I've had a lot of work related travel over the past couple of months that has made it difficult to make some of the calls.  Anyhow - one of the things I've been struggling with is the question, What do you Do? I've gone back and forth on this and how I describe myself and what I do. Then this morning I woke up and thought - instead of struggling to do this deductively - finding a 'what do you do' summary and then using that to define what I offer, why don't I do it inductively - by listing what it is I actually do and what people are paying me to do right now - and then maybe that will yield an appropriate umbrella description (or two).

So, below is a list of what I ACTUALLY do - both paid and unpaid right now. Any insights as to how this might translate into a summary statement of what it is I do, would be most welcome!

Thanks,

Brett

• I coach and mentor mid-career social change activists, advocates and issue experts from across the globe to:

  • Help them develop and articulate their vision

  • Develop and tell their personal story in order to to build support for their work

  • Improve their presentation skills 

  • Explain what they do and why it’s important, in an accessible way

  • Write powerful and persuasive articles for publication - I help them clarify and streamline their argument. I'm great at taking a draft article and helping to polish it into something impactful - eg worked with a disability activist in Sierra Leone and his resulting article was published in two newspapers. Same with a Hepatitis activist in Nigeria - his piece was syndicated globally via Project Syndicate.

  • Help them get good at being interviewed - for media, esp radio, and podcasts

    • Example: Work with Aspen Global Innovators Group, working with African (and other) advocates. 

• I collaborate with others to envision and organize transformational gatherings of up to 150 people. Each gathering is focused on a particular theme and brings together participants from varying geographies, expertise and professions. These gatherings are transformational, for the field and for many participants. People have let me know years later that a particular gathering was one of the most impactful they have ever attended and that it has impacted their work and/or their lives in profound ways. 

  • Examples: ‘Confluence’ in Bogotá in October 2023 (narrative change and impactful storytelling)

  • Convening on storytelling for social justice at OSF in New York

  • Convening on Race, Narrative and Health Equity at OSF in New York

  • Convening on storytelling for social justice in Bodrum, Turkey

  • Currently organizing Confluence II and III in Ireland for May and October 2025

• I write about narrative change - my articles have been published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review and online, and people working in narrative change across the world have said my writing has been influential in their work. One of my papers is in the curriculum of a course at the Harvard Business School (Paid for some of this - blog posts on IRIS website)

• I present occasional workshops on narrative change for nonprofits and foundations. 

• Present occasional workshops on storytelling for social and policy change.

• I support activists and advocates to conceive and carry out creative campaigns that boost the effectiveness and impact of their advocacy or activism. 

  • Example: Stop the Stockouts in East Africa

• I support social change activists and advocates, nonprofits and foundations, to develop impactful and meaningful strategies, using my  ‘story as strategy’ approach.  
  

• I’m great at connecting people from differing backgrounds, areas of expertise and professions, to enable and support creative collaborations. (Do this as part of my work with IRIS, and have done throughout my career - esp at OSF). Eg bringing together grassroots activists, academics, funders. This has often led to interesting collaborations: eg I brought together access to medicines experts and creative campaigners some years back - and then 6-7 years later during Covid some of these people collaborated to create the Free the Vaccine campaign - to campaign for free access to Covid vaccines globally. 

What I do and would like to do that I’m not being paid for right now:

• I’m writing a book about listening as a political act. My writing combines memoir with theory and practical insight about the role of listening in democracy and public life. I’m also working with two performance experts from Colombia to create a series of experiential performances based on this.

• I write about communications for nonprofits - occasional pieces for #hashtagnonprofit in South Africa.

• Write about and advise social change organizations about how to measure and assess their impact - I feel I need to develop more expertise on this. I have one published article on this, and have worked with Aspen Institute on this, advised several others without charging them. 

What I’d like to do but have not yet found time for:

• Write about and have a podcast focused on translation of academic and scientific research into useful, practical insights for social change activists and advocates. (Would like to find or develop a way to earn income from this)

Hi Changemakers,

Looking forward to presenting a mini-workshop on Listening tomorrow.  A reminder the Zoom link is not the usual one, but will be my personal link, as below:

Brett Davidson is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Brett Davidson's Personal Meeting Room

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/9...

Meeting ID: 923 468 1872

Passcode: Brett

---

One tap mobile

+16465588656,,9234681872#,,,,*840463# US (New York)

+16469313860,,9234681872#,,,,*840463# US

---

Dial by your location

• +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)

• +1 646 931 3860 US

• +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)

• +1 305 224 1968 US

• +1 309 205 3325 US

• +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

• +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)

• +1 360 209 5623 US

• +1 386 347 5053 US

• +1 507 473 4847 US

• +1 564 217 2000 US

• +1 669 444 9171 US

• +1 689 278 1000 US

• +1 719 359 4580 US

• +1 720 707 2699 US (Denver)

• +1 253 205 0468 US

• +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

Meeting ID: 923 468 1872

Passcode: 840463

Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/ks1Ov5x43