Five Storytelling Tips for Social Good

Whether you’re sitting around a campfire, pitching a client, or running for office, it pays to have a knack for narrative. Good storytellers grab our attention, influence our emotions, and foster trust.

Great ones inspire us to act.

Nowhere is this more evident, and arguably more important, than in social innovation. Solving our world’s most pressing issues often requires an all-hands-on-deck approach, and storytelling is one of our most reliable weapons.

Consider Grameen Bank, the microfinance organization from Bangladesh. Founded in 1976, by then-little-known professor Muhammad Yunus, Grameen began as a university research project, studying how to design a credit delivery system to provide banking services to the poor. Yunus discovered that loans, as opposed to charity, were more effective in reducing poverty. Loans offer those less fortunate an opportunity to take initiative, which provides earnings that can be used to pay off the debt, thereby empowering and educating these individuals.

Recognizing that those in need didn’t have the necessary assets required for a bank loan, Grameen turned the conventional system on its head by removing the need for collateral, and instead fostered a bank based on accountability, participation, and trust. Today, Grameen Bank has provided over $8 billion USD in loans, and both, the company and its founder, have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

How does a tiny research project transform into one of our world’s most respected institutions? One could say it’s an ambitious vision, outstanding strategy, or tactical execution. While those are all true, Grameen also has the intangible, yet undeniable, elements of a great story.

As Peter Guber wrote in The Four Truths of the Storyteller, “whenever Muhammed Yunus met with a potential partner to gain support for microcredit, he started with the story of Sufiya Begum:

‘It was a village woman named Sufiya Begum who taught me the true nature of poverty in Bangladesh. Like many village women, Sufiya lived with her husband and small children in a crumbling mud hut with a leaky thatched roof…To provide food for her family, Sufiya worked all day in her muddy yard making bamboo stools…Yet somehow her hard work was unable to lift her family out of poverty.’

Yunus would then ask the person: ‘Why?’ Although he was asking rhetorically, he was getting them to think and making them excited to hear more. Now the listener had a good picture of Sufiya’s struggle and Yunus would go on to expand their view by sharing how Sufiya was not alone.”

‘I decided to make a list of the victims of this moneylending business in the village…it had the names of forty-two victims who had borrowed a total of 856 taka — at the time less than $27 (U.S.). What a lesson this was for me, an economics professor!…I offered the equivalent of those twenty-seven U.S. dollars from my own pocket to get these victims out of the clutches of those moneylenders. The excitement that was created among the people by this small action got me further involved in it. If I could make so many people so happy with such a tiny amount of money, why not do more of it? That is what I have been trying to do ever since.’

Every time, Yunus moved his audience with his tale of the origins of microcredit. They got caught up in the emotion of the story, which came to a head in 2006 when he won the Nobel Peace Prize. To catch their support, he would end his story by asking his audience to join him in bringing affordable credit to every poor person in the world. Yunus almost always receives a standing ovation — and many pledges.” [1][2]

While there’s no formula for becoming a successful storyteller, here are some helpful hints to telling a great tale.

1. Look for conflict

Without it, there’s no story. Every film, book, and play is grounded in conflict. It doesn’t matter if it’s a romantic comedy, political thriller, family drama, or Western-horror-docu-musical — they’re cemented in conflict. Why? Because conflict is interesting. Conflict forces characters to make decisions, often in moments of uncertainty or distress, in order to reach their desired outcome. Imagine this scene: An innocent boy tries to kiss a pretty girl. He closes his eyes, puckers up and…nothing. That’s conflict. Does he try again or give up? We’re dying to know what happens next. When it comes to your story, use tension to your advantage. Your audience will engage.

2. Aim for the heart, not for the head

Forget the facts and figures. They’re hard to relate to and impossible to remember. Instead, make people care. Here’s one way of crafting your story. Start by posing an unexpected challenge. Next, take your audience through the struggle of overcoming that challenge. Finally, provide them with an unexpected solution and a call-to-action. The heart remembers. The head forgets.

3. Be clear, concise, and compelling

Loquacious and garrulous anecdotes are vapid and soporific.

4. Know your audience

You wouldn’t sell veal to a vegan. Nor would you sell Tofurkey to a carnivore. Different audiences. Different interests. In order to make your audience care, you’ve got to know what they care about. What makes them tick? What pushes their buttons? What do they need? Frame your story accordingly. Make it imaginative and unforgettable. Focus not only on the content, but also the context. Where will your audience be most receptive to hearing your story? When and how should you tell them? The more you know about your audience, the better positioned you are to crafting an effective story.

5. Let go

As a storyteller, you must learn to give up control. Let your audience take your story and make it their own. Understandably, you may find this troubling, as they reshape that which you hold precious. It’s okay. Let them recreate and retell. Trying to stop them would be exhausting, futile, and counterproductive. Besides the more your audience feels a sense of ownership, the more likely they are to take action.

Social innovation isn’t easy. You’ll be met with resistance, skepticism, and downright denial. After all, you’re pitching transformation; ideas that require new thinking, behavioral change, and shifts in consciousness. By understanding the characteristics of a great story, you’ll be well-positioned to affect your audience. And when you’re trying to change the world, isn’t that the ultimate goal?

(This article has been adapted from Solving Problems that Matter -And Getting Paid for It)

[1] Yunus, M. (2007). Creating a world without poverty: Social business and the future of capitalism. PublicAffairs.

[2] Guber, P. (2007). The Four Truths of the Storyteller. Harvard Business Review