Audio Instructions

Record Your Story: Instructions

Here are the steps:

As you begin, remember that you have up to 7 minutes to tell your story.
Review the tips and suggested topics below.
Call the voicemail box at (559) 726-1216. (Long distance charges will apply.)
When you access the system, there are three options:
- Press 1 to record your story.
- Press 2 to listen to some helpful hints.
- Press 3 to give Grapevine permission to use your story.
In order to begin telling your story, press 1.
Tell us your name and phone number.
After you give us that information, start your story as you would in a meeting: i.e., My name is Jane and I'm an alcoholic.
After you record your story, make sure to press the # button.
Before hanging up, you must press #3 and follow the instructions in order to give Grapevine permission to use your story.
After giving us permission to use your story, you must press the # button again.

Recording Tips and Suggested Topics

Tips:

Speak as you would in a meeting.
Begin by giving us your name and phone number. This way, Grapevine will have a way to contact you if your story is chosen.
Focus on a specific experience or something that can be handled in 5-7 minutes.
Think about the arc of a story: a beginning, a middle and an end.
Remember to include the following things when you begin to record your story:
- Introduce yourself as though you were in a meeting.
- Location. Are you in Georgia? California? Canada? This helps to set the scene for the listener. Details help.

Topics:

Here are some suggestions to get you thinking. Feel free to choose something else.