Storytelling for advocacy works because our brain is wired to remember narrations and is equipped to experience them as being told. According to psychologists, a human brain remembers stories 22 times more than facts. It’s the oldest and most powerful tool to affect change in society. And personal stories detailing the challenges one faces are easier to connect with and bring out our ability to empathize with the storyteller. In this way, stories can influence people and help bring about change.
The art of storytelling for advocacy inspires action within your organization and community members. This article answers:
- Why is storytelling important?
- How to be a good storyteller?
- How to make issues come to life?
The Classical Story Arc
A great story follows a set of principles that helps you share your point concisely with your audience. The story arc will help you structure your story and determine the peaks and plateaus that set the pace of the story.
- Introduce the protagonist of the story – Ideally, it should be a person and not an organization. People connect better to living beings than inanimate objects. So, narrate from your point of view or as someone who has experienced the issue you are trying to bring to light. You need to answer the question, “What makes the protagonist relevant and relatable to your audience?”
- The beginning – When and where the protagonist is at the beginning of the story.
- The inciting incident – Here, you need to tell the audience, “What created the conflict in the life of the protagonist?” and “What spurred them into action?”
- Rising Action – Talk about the barriers and complications that arose from the conflict.
- Climax or Turning Point of the story – Highlight what made the protagonist take a certain decision and how they could bring about that change.
- Falling Action – Tell your audience how the turning point changed the protagonist’s life and how it made their life better.
- Lastly, the resolution – talks about what the protagonist gained or learned from their experience and what the audience can learn. This is where you bring out the importance of your issue and make people join your cause.
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What Are The Elements Of Effective Storytelling for Advocacy?
Simple Language
First, forget the idea that a story has to be complex and detailed for it to be interesting. An effective story is one that is simple and easy to understand. Using simple language makes it easy to relate to the happenings of the story. So, while narrating, reduce the number of adjectives and complicated nouns, and replace them with basic, heartfelt language.
Force Of Empathy
Empathy gives stories power in advocacy and campaign communications. It can put the listener in a different place and time and see the world from the perspective of the protagonist. It can inspire collective action. This is what Mitt Romney did in the first presidential debate, where his goal was to establish empathy by creating narratives and telling stories to connect with citizens.
He created a sense of empathy in his speech when he spoke specifically of the struggles faced by unemployed women in Ohio and how badly they needed help to ensure a functioning livelihood. By giving similar examples throughout his speech, Romney managed to stir people’s emotions and something that they relate to.
As a storyteller, your goal is to make the audience become part of the world of your issues and see the world through your eyes. Ultimately your goal is to get people to see your worldview.
To elicit an empathic response from your audience you must:
- Understand what matters to them
- Show them how you can solve their pain point or issue
This way, you can help connect characters (and issues) to the audience.
Read Also: 5 Examples of Great Nonprofit Storytelling
Back Your Stories With Data
Storytelling gets your cause the attention it needs, and the numbers you provide back up what you’re saying. One without the other fails to motivate people to act. This is because people know that anyone can produce a good story to pull their heartstrings without providing relevant data.
Let’s say your cause is to reduce school dropout rates through collective action. And Mr. Jones has already put his children through college, so this issue does not concern him.
Now if you present plain statics to him –“Do you know 7,000 school-going kids drop out every day?”
Mr. Jones would say, “I don’t care”
Instead, say: “The families of these kids lack the most basic amenities and sometimes they have no work or earning opportunities. The bad news is that most of them remain unemployed for much of the year and face several hardships. Yet, they hope that their kids will continue to grow to reach their full potential. But with 7,000 kids dropping out of school each day, their hope and dreams seem to be unattainable.”
And then make your ask. This way, Mr. Jones will empathize with these kids and will support your cause.
Statics alone will not help your cause. You need to paint a word picture and back it up with data that will make people realize that this issue matters to them and will affect them, persuading them to respond by taking certain steps.
Read Also: Telling Your Nonprofit’s Story with Technology: 5 Tips
Include A Call-To-Action
An essential tenet of creating stories is to be sure that each story has a purpose, i.e., to elicit a response or action from the audience. Without which, your decision makers, although inspired, may not know what to do with all that motivation. So, give a clear directive with a call to action.
This way, your audience knows what you expect of them, i.e., to donate, volunteer, advocate, or fundraise on your behalf.
You can say something like:
“We hope you’ll partner with us to help others, just like <name of protagonst>, grow and reach their full potential.” GIVE NOW
Remember, the golden rule of storytelling for advocacy is to never let your readers or listeners hang.
Read Also: Best Practices for Nonprofit Storytelling: Everything You Need to Know!
Tailor The Story According To Your Audience
It’s a no-brainer that a well-told, authentic story will resonate well with people of any age, culture, or belief. It’s just how you tell or pitch the story that depends on the audience.
So, before you narrate, ask yourself, “Who is my audience? What do they care about? How am I going to put that in the forefront?”
Once you’ve understood your audience tell the story from a different perspective, i.e., customize it for the audience based on their age, culture, and beliefs. Use a different protagonist in your story, and highlight certain aspects of the story and certain values.
Think of your story as jewelry. You cannot sell the same design to everybody. So, to sell it, you need to pound it into different shapes, sizes, and designs as per the preference of the customer. Likewise, if you’re telling the story on the web, do it in the form of a video or audio. If you’re narrating it in an annual report, use beautiful pictures, colors, and texts that work well with the reader. If you’re telling it orally, then you must modulate your voice and tone. Your story stays the same; just who and how you tell it is pliable.
Read Also: Nonprofits should Use Video Storytelling to Create Impact!
As advocacy communicators use stories to create empathy, mobilize decision makers, and strengthen connections. Remember, simple language, data, CTA, and a tailored story is the secret sauce of storytelling for advocacy. These storytelling techniques can enhance your advocacy group’s ability to rally support around a project or issue. So, use the power of storytelling and these tips to showcase the best of your advocacy.
While storytelling is one aspect of your advocacy’s marketing campaign, there are more strategies you can implement today to boost your visibility. Read our article 5 Successful Nonprofit Marketing Campaigns & What You Can Learn from Them to learn more.
Featured Image Source: Pixabay
