Narrative Strategy: The Basics

We have put together a short read, Narrative Strategy: The Basics, to provide an overview of Narrative Strategy and introduce our particular approach.

Narrative Strategy is the practice of sharing connected stories to forge, spread, and reinforce beneficial narratives and counter harmful ones. These stories must be aligned to have a cumulative impact. And to be effective, they must take us on a journey from where we are today to a better future, revealing a new way the world can and should work.

Conventional advocacy and political campaigns focus primarily on influencing specific policies, laws, and elections using programs that are frequently siloed, like strategic communications; grassroots and field organizing; and legal and public policy advocacy. Narrative Strategy differs in three important ways: (1) Cultural Organizing is added to the mix of programs; (2) Storytelling is embedded in every program; and (3) Narratives are used to eliminate silos and to align, coordinate, and assure the cumulative impact of efforts to build a better, more just, more inclusive world.

Learn more here.

Authors: Liz Manne, Kirk Cheyfitz, Milan de Vries, Dom Lowell, Eli Pariser, Erin Potts, Erica Williams Simon