Storytelling for advocacy: Influence policy with your voice
From statehouses to the U.S. Capitol, AAFP advocacy is everywhere.
Learn how to speak persuasively about priority legislative issues, share stories from your practice with lawmakers and their staffs, and influence the legislative process.
In this training module, award-winning screenwriter Doug Williams shares his insights and expertise on using the power of storytelling to influence public policy.
As family physicians prepare to meet with lawmakers on the issues that matter most to the specialty, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Why do stories work?
Humanity has shared stories since the beginning of time. People are used to having information communicated to them and have been for thousands of years. The storytelling format is familiar and comfortable.
Stories make it easier to remember things. And when it comes to public policy, recollection is essential. Family doctors should be prepared to simplify complex information that might otherwise get lost, so that policymakers can remember it and act on it more quickly.
Stories create connection between the storyteller and the audience.
When do stories fail?
Stories can fall short due to a variety of reasons, including:
The story is too long or too boring.
The storyteller focuses too much on themselves instead of the audience.
The storyteller gets off-topic, losing sight of the narrative.
How do you keep stories from failing?
There are many imperatives with successful storytelling. Drama is conflict, and in telling a story, you have to create conflict. Two opposing forces that are coming together, each wanting to secure their own goals that are in conflict with one another. That is the essence of drama: two forces in opposition.
The other key aspect is structure. Two story structures to keep in mind:
The classic problem-solution construct.
This structure can be broken into three parts: set up, response and solution.The four-part story construct.
This structure is commonly used, and can be broken up into: once upon a time, suddenly, fortunately and happily ever after.
The four-part story construct may come in handy when developing stories to champion public policy.
How do these elements translate into action?
Research from a neurological study done by Princeton University revealed that when someone tells a story, the emotions of the storyteller transfer to those in the audience as well. For family physicians, this means their desired policy outcomes have the potential to become the same desires of their audience, the policymakers, if the story successfully weaves in all the crucial elements listed above.
When family physicians tell their stories, policymakers are given the opportunity to live vicariously through that unique lens. This increases the likelihood they’ll take action.