FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Telling Your Stories to Make a Difference: Fundamentals of Storytelling for Advocacy

CHOOSING THE COURSE

Is this course for me?

Great question. This course is designed to “meet you where you are.” If you believe you have lived experiences that could help others as tools of advocacy, you’re in. No prior experience is needed.

If you’re already sharing your stories to make a difference, the course will give you a deeper dive into effective advocacy.

Take our free 8-question self-assessment, Where Are You on the Path to Advocacy? for more insights before entering the course.

Is this course for individuals or organizations?

Both. The individual track is an on-demand, at-your-pace version. The group track is designed for organizations who’d like to provide a shared learning experience for a group of their advocates to go through together.

Can I trust this course content?

This course is offered by Living Proof Advocacy (LPA) is a public benefit corporation founded by Tim Cage and John Capecci. LPA’s mission is to help advocates—individuals and organizations—tell their personal stories with clarity, intention and impact. LPA offers training, coaching, certification and consulting across a wide range of cause areas.

Together, Tim and John developed the LPA method over more than two decades of working with advocates across health, the arts, the environment, social justice and more. They’ve trained thousands of advocates and the organizations that support them, and their book, Living Proof: Telling Your Story to Make a Difference, is now in its third edition.

See some of the organizations LPA has worked with over the years.

What will I actually get out of the course?

By the time you finish the course you will have a three-minute draft of an advocacy talk that incorporates your lived experience. More than that, you’ll have learned the skills and an approach to make you a flexible advocate with your stories, able to apply those skills to a range of advocacy settings.

This is more than “telling a good story.” And it’s more than “how to give a good speech.” This is how to move people to action using your lived experience.

TAKING THE COURSE

How long does it take to the course?

For individual learners: that’s up to you! Video lessons are no more than 8 minutes in length, but every lesson has either a worksheet, an exercise or some accompanying reading. We suggest you give yourself time to process, reflect and do the exercises and readings. So, it depends on your schedule.

Some people might decide a week is enough time; others may want longer. Some will watch one lesson at a time; others may watch three in one session.

For organizational cohorts going through the course together: we suggest no less than two weeks in order to maximize the group learning experience

How long do learners have access to the course?

Learners have access to this course for four months from enrollment date, and they can return to any lesson whenever they’d like.

Do I need the book to take the course?

Yes. While many exercises from the book are provided as downloads, there is valuable information and additional instruction in the book that will make your experience richer. A free eBook is included with your enrollment, and a discounted paperback is available to order from the Anytime Toolkit.

What are the discussion boards and office hours for, and do I have to participate?

Participation in the discussion boards or office hours is completely up to you. They are there for you to explore content from lessons and to hear what other learners are thinking and experiencing.

How much does this course cost?

For individuals, enrollment in the course is $199. This includes the free eBook, all course materials, access to coaches during the course, and four-month access.

For organizations, enrollment cost is tiered by how many of seats are needed and can be bundled with live coaching sessions and additional learning materials. Here’s more about organization enrollment.

Can I share my course enrollment with others?

No. Sharing your enrollment information goes against our Terms of Service and the platform will flag us if sign-ons are used by multiple users.

Technical Matters

Can I download the videos to watch offline?

No. Videos are only available for viewing within the learning platform.

Is the course accessible on mobile devices?

Yes. The course is accessible on mobile devices through the Thinkific Mobile App, which allows you to access course content on the go. However, some features — including enrolling in courses, participating in live events and accessing certificates — require the web version. Not all lesson types are supported on the app. For more details, visit the Thinkific Mobile App FAQ.

Is the course accessible to different learning needs?

All video lessons may be viewed with Closed Captioning in English or Spanish (additional languages to follow). All text lessons are accompanied by audio versions. The platform is accessible via standard readers. The worksheets are provided both as interactive PDFs and as Word documents.

What if I start and decide it’s not right for me—is there a refund policy?

The refund window is 21 days from your enrollment date. Refunds will be considered for: platform technical issues unresolvable by LPA, course content materially different from what was described, billing errors or duplicate charges. Refunds will not be considered for: change of mind, failure to complete or engage with the course, requests after the 21-day window, and emotional responses to doing the work of advocacy storytelling.

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