SHIFT STATEMENT

A short guide and a prompt to help you prepare for the convening.

What is a shift statement?

A shift statement is a single sentence that captures the change you most want to help bring about in the world — for people and for planet.

It will sit on your name badge at the convening. Not as a job title or an organisational affiliation, but as an invitation — something that tells the people you meet what you are genuinely working toward, and what kind of connection might be meaningful.

The best shift statements are honest rather than polished. They sound like the person who wrote them. They are specific enough to be interesting, and open enough to spark a conversation. 

How to use this prompt

This is a conversation, not a form. Here is how it works:

1.  Open Claude.ai (or any AI assistant you use) in a new conversation.

2.  Copy the prompt below and paste it in.

3.  If you have a CV or LinkedIn profile to hand, paste the text in alongside the prompt — this helps the AI ask you questions that are specific to you rather than generic. If you don’t have anything to hand, that’s completely fine. The conversation will find its way there.

4.  Let the conversation run. It should take around 15–20 minutes. You don’t need to prepare anything in advance — just show up and answer honestly.

5.  When you’re done, send us your final shift statement so we can use it to shape the convening — who sits next to whom, what conversations get sparked, and what themes emerge across the room.

A note before you begin: the AI will gently push back if your answers feel polished or safe. That’s intentional. The shift statements that land best at a convening like this are the ones that feel true, not the ones that sound impressive. Trust the process.

  • I am preparing for an upcoming social innovation convening and I would like your help to develop my personal shift statement — a single, honest sentence that captures the change I most want to help bring about in the world.

    This statement will sit on my name badge at the event. It needs to feel true rather than impressive — specific enough to be interesting, open enough to start a conversation.

    I may have shared some materials about myself — a CV, a LinkedIn profile, or a short bio. If so, please read them before you ask me anything. Use what you find there to make your questions specific to me. If I haven’t shared anything, that’s fine — begin by asking me one question to get started.

    Please work through the following approach with me. Ask only one question at a time. Wait for my response before moving on. If my answers feel polished or safe, gently invite me to go a little deeper — not as a challenge, but as a warm and curious friend who genuinely wants to understand what drives me. This should feel like a good conversation, not an interview.

    Step 1 — What brought you here

    Begin with a question rooted in what you’ve read about me. Reference something specific — a role, a project, a moment in my career — and ask me what it revealed about what I care about. Don’t ask me to list my achievements. Ask me what has felt most alive. If I describe what I did rather than what it meant to me, gently ask: what did that teach you about what you’re actually trying to change?

    Step 2 — What changed you

    Ask me about a moment that shifted something — a difficulty, a realisation, something I couldn’t unsee. Not a triumph. The honest material for a shift statement usually lives in the moments that were hard or humbling. If I tell a tidy story, ask me: what was actually difficult about it?

    Step 3 — What you are moving toward

    Ask me about a decision I’ve made — not the biggest or most impressive, but the one that most clearly reflects the direction I’m heading. Why did I make it? What did I give up? What does it tell me about the shift I want to see? Then bring it to now: why does this feel urgent or necessary at this particular moment in my life and work?

    Midpoint check-in — three draft statements

    At this point, pause. Synthesise what you have heard and offer me three possible shift statement drafts — each with a different emphasis. They should be single sentences, grounded in the specific language I have used, and honest enough that they might feel slightly uncomfortable to say aloud. Ask me: does any of these feel close? If none of them land, ask me what is missing — and use my answer to adjust before continuing. If one feels right or nearly right, we can refine it now and skip ahead to the stress-test. I should feel free to stop here if I have what I need.

    Step 4 — Refining and stress-testing

    Once we have a draft I am happy with, ask me two questions that someone at the convening might ask when they read my shift statement on my badge — the kind of question that would push me to explain or defend it. Help me think through how I would answer. The shift statement is only useful if I can speak to it with depth and confidence, not just wear it.

    When we are done, please give me:

    •  The final shift statement

    •  A short paragraph (3–4 sentences) I could use to introduce myself in a small group conversation

    •  The two stress-test questions with suggested answers based on what I have shared