Connecting with People

The issue of connecting with people is at the core of all public services or should be so. It is the basis of partnerships for co-creating, designing and delivering responsive and effective services and provision of care. Many organisations are adept at creating systems and processes for meaningful engagement as a basis for shaping and delivering as well as measuring outcomes of services. But a lot of this is dependent on the passion, values and commitment of the people that are tasked to provide such services. It is the through the efforts of individuals and teams that meaningful engagement and quality service is achieved.

Through a set of stories, David Aynsley has brought to the fore the :

• Pressing need to develop competences to connect with people;
• Role of critical self and service appraisal;
• Value of relationships and storytelling
• Importance of valuing people and of trust in engaging local communities.

In their foreword to the book, Dr Robin Durie and Dr Katrina Wyatt from the University of Exeter remarked that a substantial part of this book is devoted to the re-telling of people’s stories, and to reflecting on the power of storytelling. The story that David Aynsley himself tells is as powerful a story as you could ever wish to read. Telling stories provides us with a way of connecting with people, and of making a difference. We hope that you may feel moved to connect with people as you read David Aynsley’s remarkable story.