Narrative Framing as Advocacy
Strategic Storytelling & Narrative Frameworks
One of the most central parts of being human is being able to tell a story.
Storytelling has been embedded in our culture since the dawn of human history. Even before we had established languages and could read and write, humans shared stories through drawings and dances. In fact, some research has shown that the very foundation of language was to be able to tell stories in some form or another.
As storytelling developed into a traditional medium over centuries—oral histories leading to literary works giving way to cinematic masterpieces and virtual realities—it’s become something we’ve grown so accustomed to that we often glaze over it at times. However, the power of storytelling is not to be underestimated. Today, we still use storytelling to inform, persuade, entertain, and move our peers, coworkers, collaborators, and audiences. This type of storytelling and its importance led to its own genre: strategic storytelling.
Why Story?
To answer that question—why story— we travel to a remote island in Indonesia into the humid jungles of Borneo, deep into Leang Karampuang cave in the Maros-Pangkep region of South Sulawesi. Four years ago, archaeologists made a discovery that flipped the field on its head.
The scientists uncovered a cave painting of a wild pig standing upright on hind legs surrounded by three humans of much smaller proportions, done in a single shade of dark red pigment. It was carbon dated to an estimated 52,000 years old — more than 5,000 to 10,000 years older than the previous oldest cave art!
This artwork also marks one of the first depictions
of story as well.
Given the shape of the animal depicted in relation to the figures around it, the position in interaction, and the image’s overall dimensions, this is not just a paleolithic hunting how-to or proto-Michelin Guide on where to find the best game in the jungle. It tells a story.
It is a story long lost to time, but a story nonetheless.
Begging the question, why?
Why have human beings told stories for more than 50,000 years? What is their adaptive, evolutionary purpose? Brian Boyd, a literary analyst, conducted the first evolutionary analysis of storytelling to uncover its purpose for our species. In the appropriately titled On the Origin of Stories, he argues that humans are biologically, neurologically, and evolutionarily programmed for storytelling because it reinforces social cohesion.
Story gives us something to connect on; it binds us together. Stories provide a shared belief system to galvanize a tribe, a community, a people together.
That is indeed a powerful force.
Empathy, Modeling, Meaning Making & Future-scaping
One of the reasons stories are important is that they provide empathy, which is one of the main drivers of social cohesion. Neuroscientists have found that reading character-driven stories— whether fiction or nonfiction—where the reader is immersed in the life and world of its protagonist has been shown to activate neurons in the brain that are literally as if we are performing the actions of the characters ourselves, assuming their identities.
The idea that stories have the ability to mold our personalities and the way we view the world has some profound sociological implications!
In the ‘60s and ‘70s, sociologists found that 2nd and 3rd graders asked to read first-person stories from other races and cultures demonstrated dramatically reduced tendencies for racist attitudes and stereotyping, even when surveyed weeks later.
Stories give us a template for behavior. They teach us what’s acceptable and what is not. They allow us to model the actions of others and make choices accordingly.
Stories also offer us a low-risk, cost-effective way to entertain multiple hypotheses at once. Author Jonathan Gottschall calls story the “ultimate simulation machine” because we can test different life directions and decisions through a story without the threat of having to take those risks ourselves.
So, why should you choose a story when it comes to your desire to share your message?
For starters, it provides a shortcut to understanding and intervening in complex concepts. It can help with empathy, allowing you to embody your audience and address their concerns. Story also provides a vehicle for persuasive arguments that are non-threatening to the listener. It can shift thinking, change mindset, provide understanding, and show a way forward.
In the next section, we explore the difference between story and narrative—and how to craft the former to disrupt the latter.
Purposes Story Serves
- Making meaning
- Presenting a persuasive argument
- Building engagement and strengthening bonds
- Increasing memory and recall
- Cultivating innovation, ingenuity, creativity & new connections
- Empowering decision-making
- Strengthening identity & culture
- Envisioning and driving change
Units of Narrativity
Now that we’ve established what story is, it’s time to address narrative. You’ve probably heard these two terms used interchangeably, but for our purposes, it’s important to separate them so that we can better identify how they can be used to advocate change.
Just as ogres can be compared to onions, they both have layers—and so does narrative. We consider narrative as an ecosystem composed of Units of Narrativity (see the graphic below).
At the outermost layer, we have the meta-narrative, followed by narrative, lore, story, anecdote, and micro-story. The purpose of the outer three is to reinforce cultural norms, while the inner three are how we can work to change the norms they carry.
Mirco-stories, anecdotes, and stories all cumulate into the outer rings. Our culture cannot exist without those little tidbits people share about themselves, their lives, and the lives of those around them. They add up to larger, overarching story themes we call narrative. From a tale of rags to riches to our classic underdog, narrative is cobbled together by numerous individual stories, anecdotes, and vignettes.
A story is often an isolated moment in time with a beginning, middle, and end—though it does not need to be in that order. It is self-contained and often includes characters, context, plot, and details.
Over time, we develop collections of stories, which create lore. Shared lore is self-referential and helps us connect with one another and our community. Shared lore can include anything from larger-than- life stories about accomplishments and tragedies to simple conversations such as watercooler talk. In fact, these casual conversations actually help develop our shared values and help everyone feel like a valued part of the group.
Knowing the shared lore and pre-existing stories shared throughout the community is vital when your organization moves into a new space. Much like tourists turn to locals for advice on where to visit and what to avoid, brands and professionals should be inclined to turn to community members for what history and values residents hold.
So, how do we actually influence narrative? We have to start by identifying our objectives and the audiences we will interact with. You can have the perfect position statement, but if your messaging does not resonate with those it impacts, you will never see any change.
Identify your audiences, their characteristics, potential barriers, and approach. One message will not work for everyone; it’s important to modify and edit your message so that it is curated to your audience in their language.
If you try to message to everyone, you message to no one at all.
Try to focus on some primary groups. Who is most important to reach? Don’t waste your energy on the wrong people, who are predisposed to ignore your message. Identify who can most help you affect change and who will benefit from the changes you are proposing. We will explore this in more depth in the chapter on audiences.
Try not to worry about being everywhere at once, or you will be all over the place. You don’t have to have great press releases, amazing personal skills, and a viral TikTok account—find the most helpful channel, where your audience is already consuming information—to market your message.
People appreciate people. The most powerful storytellers focus on the human experience and value the humanity of the people they work with.
In the pages ahead, we will explore how to identify and reach your audiences, but first, let’s look at creating a vision for the change you want to make. That vision is the centerpiece of all of your narrative is driving toward. It is the crucial first step to making change.
Odd Duck was once enlisted to help a health system that had just built a state-of-the-art, state-of-the- science trauma center where all health needs could be met in a shiny glass and chrome architectural marvel. Under one roof, from the trauma bay to rehab, mental health to social work, physical therapy to treatment, this center was a one-stop-shop for patient needs. It was a resource that residents said they needed, and demographic data backed up, but from the moment the ribbon was cut announcing its opening, the center began to lose money.
When Odd Duck was brought in, we began talking to community residents to understand why services weren’t being utilized. In some instances, this was the first time in the project’s history that community residents were asked for input.
The healthcare system that this trauma center was connected to had a history of racial bias extending back to segregation. Even though most of the medical staff working there and many of the patients who could benefit from the center hadn’t been alive when this lore first formed, and these criticisms were an objective reality, the belief persisted. It was transmitted from generation to generation by people who had been historically mistreated by the healthcare organization.
It wasn’t until the healthcare system uncovered and acknowledged this history that they were able to turn things around for the much-needed facility. Only by recognizing this lore and speaking to it were they able to provide the needed care.
Resources
- For additional reading on strategic storytelling, check out Shelia Ojei’s article on using strategic storytelling to convey mission impact.
- You can also read Lindsay Angelo’s work on the pyramid principle for strategic storytelling.
Assignments
- Write a synopsis of the local issue you are facing or the change you are trying to make on a piece of paper, an email draft, or an online document. Try to keep it to about two to three paragraphs. What’s the background of the problem? What are your goals? What are you currently doing? Try to keep it to just the basics, while getting at the root of the issue.
- Also included is a blank Narrative Framework form to begin populating content. As we work through this guide, we will use it to plan out communication and collaboration goals. By the end of the series, you will have a working draft of your own framework.
