Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin . . .
This week, through Bromford Lab Twitter chat we invited participants to discuss the question: How might organisations use storytelling to improve outcomes for both their customers and business?
The ability to share stories is one of those things that make humans, human - It’s innate within us all. As children, we grow up surrounded by stories, but as adults, we can perhaps often forget how useful they can be above the entertainment value we get from Hollywood blockbusters or the latest paperback fiction. But, in fact, the things which make storytelling so useful to us growing up, also transcend over into the corporate world. Storytelling offers a powerful means of building relationships with others by enabling us to communicate with one another, share points of view and agree or disagree on a defined narrative. Our stories underpin culture, help us understand our place in the world (macro or micro), help us visualise where we want to be and help us learn. How is that not useful to any business?
“Storytelling, done properly, is a really powerful and effective way of sharing knowledge and shaping the way people behave in organisations, and wider society – we’ve been doing it for thousands of years. It’s not just another new ‘business tool”. Chris Bolton
The Oxford dictionary defines ‘narrative’ as ‘a spoken or written account of connected events; a story’ or ‘a representation of a particular situation or process in such a way as to reflect or conform to an overarching set of aims or values’.
Within organisations, we might use storytelling, either consciously or unconsciously, for a variety of reasons, for example, as part of fostering a strong corporate culture, marketing products or services or as a catalyst for innovation and design activity. Depending on the intended purpose of our storytelling the narrative might change, but the structure we use to order and shape our stories will largely conform to five key elements.
1. Introduction - setting the scene;
2. Tension - setting out the challenges;
3. Decision - setting out a range of possible options;
4. Resolution - setting out a course of action;
5. Context - setting out the point of the story.
Narratives which seek to garner colleague and/or customer buy-in to the corporate mission might be aspirational, inspiration and optimistic in tone, whilst those which seek to advertise products or services might be more positive, glossy and corporate, and those which seek to provide a vision for service improvement or business transformation might be more provocative, honest and real.
Whatever the objective, one thing is for sure, whether the stories we share are in the form of sweeping tomes or narratives implied through punchy slogans, storytelling undoubtedly has the power to stir emotion and speak to us all. We wanted to get a sense of what others are thinking about storytelling and also look for some examples of where organisations are leveraging the power of storytelling, in one form or another, to add value for their customers, businesses and even beyond.
We asked #blabchat participants 4 questions over the course of an hour. Here is a summary of the conversation that followed.
Question 1 - What place should storytelling have within our organisations. Grey Bromford Lab Twitter Chat logo on a white background.
Stories help us make sense of the world by providing meaning and purpose. We can use storytelling within organisations in many different ways and to very different ends. Being clear on the outcomes we seek is therefore important as we need this knowledge to inform both the narratives we share and the way we share them.
Quote - “I think storytelling should be pivotal for organisations. Humans have been telling stories for as long as we’ve been around. Stories make you feel something and allow you to be emotionally invested in a person or situation. It makes companies/people relatable”. Quote on a grey background from a Twitter user
Quote - “It should be everything - especially now”. Quote on a grey background from a Twitter user
Quote - “Storytelling should be used at every opportunity - it allows others (customers for example) to engage in a narrative with ease, empathy but also critical thinking”. Quote on a grey background from a Twitter user
Quote - “Stories are the way we make sense of the world around us. So they are a critical part of being human and our place in communities of people - work is a community (or it should be)”. Quote on a grey background from a Twitter user
Quote - “Right at the top. Storytelling is about your brand; your purpose; your people; the customers you serve. Without stories all you have are unfulfilled dreams'“. Quote on a grey background from a Twitter user
Quote - Stories help businesses communicate purpose. Storytelling helps businesses move beyond their product/service and communicate the change they are trying to make”. Quote on a grey background from a Twitter user
But, there is perhaps a darker side of corporate storytelling which we also need to be aware of. If we talk about generating ‘buy-in’ through storytelling, is there a danger we may just be using that term as a proxy for a slightly less palatable word - ‘manipulation’? Chirs Bolton added an extremely valuable challenge and much food for thought in his tweet:
Quote - “I get worried that ‘stories’ have been hijacked by people seeking to use them to influence others. It’s always happened - that’s what folk tales were all about. But, if its with the explicit aim of ‘selling’ an idea to the workforce, i’m uneasy with that”. Quote on a grey background from a Twitter user
Question two - What role should data play in storytelling? Grey Bromford Lab Twitter Chat logo on a white background.
Charitable organisations such as Comic Relief and Children in Need have always used contextual reporting to generate support and drive up donations, rather than relying on statistics and cold hard facts alone. Stories bring data to life through compelling narratives which speak to people’s emotions in ways raw data often can't. But, it seems that there was consensus by those contributing to the conversation that as part of organisational storytelling at least, data, in one form or another, should always play a key role in the stories we tell.
“In the battle for hearts and minds of human beings, narrative will consistently outperform data in its ability to influence human thinking and motivate human action.” Bruce Wydick
Quote - Storytelling can bring data to life. Data alone won’t influence decision making but a good story will. Quote on a grey background from a Twitter user
Quote - “People make sense of the world through stories. Stats and numbers are SUPPOSED TO help tell stories, but often fail to because we give them without a context and expect them to do the talking. We need to put them in context to make them tangible”. Quote on a grey background from a Twitter user
Quote - “There’s a dofference between big data and thick data. Big Data tells us ‘what’. Thick data is essentially the stories that help to understand ‘why’. It’s the why that really engages other people (or should do)”. Quote on a grey background from a Twitter user
Quote - “The best data needs explanatory stories. The human mind is a story processor, and to understand something is to know a good story about it.. Data can give the story some truth, but a good narrative soundly beats even the best data”. Quote on a grey background from a Twitter user
Quote - “I think stories bring data to life. Most companies are driven by data and although its very important to share these facts and figures, there is nearly always a story behind that data which i more interesting and far more engaging”. Quote on a grey background from a Twitter user
Quote - “I think we need to acknowledge here that data aren’t jut number and stats. Stories are data in themselves, pictures are data, tweets are data, drawings are data, poems are data, even vlogs and videos can be data”. Quote on a grey background from a Twitter user
Question 3 - Who should be responsible for storytelling within our organisations?. Grey Bromford Lab Twitter Chat logo on a white background.
If stories are so important in terms of the way we communicate with each other, we surely all have a part to play in shaping and sharing narratives which support and communicate the work we are doing. Certainly, the general feeling throughout those contributing to the conversation was that we all have a role in storytelling.
Quote - “Everyone. We ALL have the ability to tell a good story and it’s ok to let others tell your story for you. Stories should be real and authentic and don’t always need to be sugar coated”. Quote on a grey background from a Twitter user
Quote - “Everyone. It’s a very overuse expression (by me at least!) but people buy from people”. Quote on a grey background from a Twitter user
Quote - “It’s like the ‘who is responsible for data (quality)’ question. It’s EVERYONE. We need to talk about experiences, successes as well as failures, tenants, plumbers, income officers, directors and CEO’s. If we make sense of the world through stories, we all have to play our part”. Quote on a grey background from a Twitter user
Quote - “It’s tempting to go straight to leadership but that misses the point. If we accept that stories are the DNA of culture, and they have great power to alter it, then storytelling has to be the responsibility of all those within the organisation”. Quote on a grey background from a Twitter user
But, the ways in which we are increasingly encouraged to share our narratives can perhaps be off putting to some people, especially as social media platforms like Twitter, and indeed #blabchat itself, has the potential to enable what we share to be seen by so many.
Quote - “Sometimes people are afraid of getting the story wrong. But stories are messy, and that’s ok - its not meant to be perfect science. Once you start telling stories, you’ll get more and more comfortable with practice”. Quote on a grey background from a Twitter user
Quote - “We took the decision at the start of Barod that al our team can tweet using this account. We know everyone has a different story in Barod but trust each other to share the Barod story (and its fun to challenge people!)”. Quote on a grey background from a Twitter user
I wonder, if some of the tensions around the levels of ‘spin’ organisations are often tempted to put on the stories they tell is once again more about understanding the purpose of the stories we wish to share, rather than the way we go about it?
Quote - “Anyone with a job in marketing or PR should be kept well away. It immediately introduces a risk imo. Sorry… if it’s about authenticity and real experiences - the only person who should tell ‘my’ story is me”. Quote on a grey background from a Twitter user
Whilst storytelling is arguably everyone's responsibility, perhaps we should leave the likes of Marketing and PR to sell our products and services, but in terms of innovation, design and service improvement, for example, we need to tell ourselves a more real, raw and objective story?
Quote - “As an applied sociologist, I struggle with the idea that anything human/social can be objective or real… But i think co-design/co-production/co-realisation is as close as we can get to spin-free research”. Quote on a grey background from a Twitter user
Question 4 - What are the best examples of organisation leveraging the power of storytelling to improve outcomes? Grey Bromford Lab Twitter Chat logo on a white background.
A little over three years ago we caught up with Rob Burnet, Managing Director of Shujaaz Inc (formally Well Told Story), to learn about how they have been using storytelling and human-centred design to support young people living in Kenya and Tanzania. I remember being blown away by the approach taken at Shujaaz to tackle social challenges by using multiple touchpoints to research with young people and storytelling through the same touchpoints to play it back. It's a 360-degree co-design cycle which is really improving social outcomes. Another organisation which has been an inspiration in my own work over the past few years is Superflux. They use storytelling and speculative design to help people think beyond traditional boundaries. In their words, they 'translate future uncertainty into present-day choices'. We’ve used design fiction ourselves, and have seen the potential that particular type of storytelling has in terms of being able to open people up to a range of new possibilities.
There were also some other great examples shared by those contributing to the conversation:
Quote - “Organisations that me think and feel. Make me want to make a change to improve myself and the world. Current faves include Patagonia and DO lectures”. Quote on a grey background from a Twitter user
Quote - “ I think Starbucks have been telling some pretty good stories lately with recent campaigns such as #whatsyourname; it’s hard hitting, raw and honest”. Quote on a grey background from a Twitter user
Quote - “From the pandemic I think there are clear examples of the best stuff happening when it isn’t ‘leveraged’ - the authentic stories of acts of human kindness that went viral. I think the best we can do is create the environment for the good stuff - not ‘leverage’ it”. Quote on a grey background from a Twitter user
Personally, I can really get behind the implied narrative in the Patagonia mission statement - 'we're in business to save our home planet'. For me, this is a perfect illustration that a good story can come in all different shapes and sizes and the stories we share might not always be told in the way that you might expect a story to be told.
Here is a link to all of the organisations mentioned above:
The idea is a simple one: To gather together the world’s DOers, disruptors and change-makers, experts and pioneers, to share their stories, and encourage others to go and DO.
Patagonia is on a mission to reach out beyond the framework of the apparel and outdoor industries in order to bring about positive benefit to the environment.
Shujaaz Inc. are breaking down barriers so that young people can take control of the future.
Sure, Starbucks sell coffee, but they are also standing up for what they believe in.
Superflux use speculative design to translate future uncertainty into present day choices.
As always, thank you to everyone who joined the conversations on Wednesday lunchtime - we might provide the hashtag but you provide the conversation.
I’ll leave you with one final thought from Paul Taylor - “For me, storytelling should be front and central if you’re a social purpose organisation. Too often it’s not. A good story forces us to listen, and it forces us to act. If your organisation requires people to do something - it needs to be good at storytelling”.
If you enjoyed reading this, please feel free to sign-up to our new newsletter where we will be sharing all the latest Bromford Lab blogs, podcasts and other interesting articles we think you might be interested in!