The Why, When, What + How to Use Stories in Your Advocacy Work
06 July 2011
Why?
Stories help us identify with and relate to the information being presented making the law 'real.'
They help arouse our empathy and break down our resistance.
Stories help make the information more accessible and the parts of the law more understandable— creating a visual image that lingers and allows us to recall information and remember specifics.
Stories tap into our anger about how things should be and hope for how things could be.
When?
Use personal stories to help inform and educate the public about the benefits of the law and to illustrate how they (and their families) will personally be affected.
Personal stories broaden support for the Affordable Care Act.
What?
Stories:
- need to be believable, not complicated, and relatable—which means the most heartbreaking stories are not always the best ones
- are always more effective when in the first person voice
- work best when they connect with the specific population to whom you are speaking
Stories are most effective when they bridge to a larger middle-class frame (hardworking middle Americans shouldn't fear losing their job, home, health care, kid's education, or secure retirement).
The best stories serve multiple objectives: help broaden support for the law; help educate the public about the benefits so they take advantage of them; and help promote a specific aspect of the law currently (or planning to be) being implemented.
How?
Identify your goal(s) and target audience(s).
Identify the strategies you will use (examples: Op-Ed, public forum, state legislator's town hall meeting)
Research and identify a story that is relatable to your targeted population and:
- illustrates a problem with the system, not an individual failing
- is short, concise and easy to understandable
- starts with a sympathetic person, moves to define the obstacle, and concludes with how the obstacle can/will be overcome
Identify the messenger (example: real person, doctor, nurse, small business owner) that is relatable to your targeted population.
Develop two talking points (that address your goal and reinforce your story) to be used in summation.
More Resources
Here is some more information on using personal stories based on our research.
Check out these sources of true personal stories of people benefiting from the Affordable Care Act.