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PART 3: TELLING THE BEST STORY What is a Story Identifying the Story Telling the Story
TELLING THE BEST STORY PART THREE
Story, as it turns out, was crucial to our evolution –more so than opposable thumbs. Opposable thumbs let us hang on; story told us what to hang on to .
~ Lisa Cron
WHAT IS STORY PART THREE: TELLING THE BEST STORY
In the early 1990s, at the same time I was being taught to purge the secondperson from all formal writing, my tenth-grade English teacher, Mrs. Rainey, was also instructing me in something far more useful (though I didn’t know it at the time): the essential elements of a story. Because I was 14 and had far better things to do than to initiate myself into the ancient art of storytelling, I swiftly forgot all about them.
It’s funny how the mind works. The first lesson, the one about the second-person, which I would later learn to disregard in many situations, I fervently carried with me for decades, even as it took me years to recognize and value the time-honored formulas of legendary storytellers.
THE 2 ELEMENTS WHAT IS STORY
What I didn’t know at the time, was that when it came to storytelling Mrs. Rainey was relaying knowledge that has been utilized, with good effect, for thousands of years across all cultures. Because ultimately, good storytelling is as simple as it powerful. Every story worth its salt need contain only two elements that will drive all the other juicy bits that make stories so compelling to the human psyche. Every story needs: 1) a protagonist who desires something, and 2) at least one obstacle to achieving that desire.
THE PROTAGONIST
THE OBSTACLE
WHAT IS STORY cont.
That’s it! A protagonist and an obstacle. Every other delicious story element we love flows from these two!
The drama becomes innate: how far will the protagonist go to overcome the obstacle? Likewise, the triumph or the tragedy is also built-in. If the protagonist is a sympathetic figure and achieves her heart desire, it is a triumph. If not, it’s a tragedy. But what if the protagonist isn’t sympathetic? What if he’s an anti-hero? Doesn’t matter.
Because humans are addicted to drama (see Stress Response, p. 7), we are compelled to read even if the hero is flawed.
Engineer your stories around these two elements –the protagonist who wants something and the obstacle to achieving this goal –and you are guaranteed to succeed!
CLASSICAL STORY EXAMPLE You can find a conservation example of this technique in The Kayapo Identity (https://vimeo.com/389784296).
If story structure is simple, finding real and compelling stories that follow that structure is anything but. Especially in conservation. For starters, protagonists that stimulate the best audience responses tend to have faces, human faces. And conservation typically emphasizes the importance of the non-human world.
I’m sure you can think of dozens of other obstacles that make identifying good stories difficult. On the next page are a few tips that can help stimulate good ideas, even when obvious protagonists are in short supply.
1. Make yourself, your board, your founder, or your team, and the obstacles you jointly face, the story. (The Lesson of the Snake, https://www.wild.org/who-we-are/history/)
Competing desires of two men, Ian Player and Magqubu nTombela, co-founders of the WILD Foundation, clash in a battle of the wills that quickly evaporates in the greater need to survive a potentially deadly situation . Eventually, their motivations transform a third time as they find common ground and work to change the world for the better, together.
2. Identify a real individual who can serve as an archetype that expresses a challenge shared by many. (Survival Revolution, https://vimeo.com/364395076)
The initial speaker, Julie Cajune, an elder of the Confederated Salish-Kootenai People, channels a desire many of us share: the desire to heal ourselves and our planet. Other speakers then begin to innumerate the challenges that must be overcome, and the opportunities to do so. At the end, the viewer is invited to join in the dramatic arc of the story and help determine the outcome.
3. Craft a composite protagonist out of overlapping shared desires that the audience can easily understand. (Survival Revolution: Breath, https://vimeo.com/374764034)
The individuals featured at the beginning of the video, especially the running woman, become composites of an Every Person with an existential urge we all share: breath. The conclusion is indeterminate, but the viewer is provided with conceptual tools that can be used to secure the desired result. Again, the viewer is invited to join in determining the outcome.
Oftentimes, a good story tells itself, taking on a life of its own as both you and your audience become engrossed in the characters and drama relayed. That being said, we can enhance our delivery with conscious practice, and by taking the following steps:
EYE CONTACT The power of eye contact, even with just one person, helps the entire audience feel more connected to you. That is because we relate with one another at a deep, emotional level only as individuals, not as groups. When you connect with just one person in the audience, the audience will instantly and intuitively feel more connection with you.
STRATEGIC PAUSES Even well-packaged metaphors and engaging humor requires a couple of seconds to process and integrate. Pauses allows your audience to cognitively catchup with you and the ideas you are presenting. Utilize pauses to imprint important bits of information.
CONVERSATIONAL Lectures are a very efficient communication vehicle, but when it comes to persuasion, they aren’t effective at all. Practice a conversational tone and style to engage audience curiosity and create an environment more receptive to idea uptake.
CONCLUSION A WILDER, MORE MEANINGFUL WORLD
It is my sincere hope that the observations and takeaways included in this manual assist you on your way to maximum impact as an elite conservation communicator! While I have provided you with several proven tactics for successful storytelling, there is one still left to share –the vital ingredient that makes, or breaks, all public communications.
Passion.
Passion thrills. Enthusiasm is infectious. When the audience observes that you care, they can’t help but wonder why. Their interest piques, and their hearts and minds open. When you care, you encourage others to do the same.
Back in the introduction of this manual, I mentioned that you are helping to keep Earth wild, and by doing so, saving life on Earth. I didn’t mean that lightly. You and your passion are force-multipliers for good. And though the conservation ranks are sometimes as rag tag and improvisational as they come, you –we –are doing what we can to get the job done.
Your work powers the defense of life on Earth.
What more could we accomplish together with the power of story on our side?
Amy Lewis has spent the last 15 years researching the building blocks of collective action. She has brought this knowledge to bear in her own work as an award-winning nonprofit leader and as a scholar of environmental policy. Her research explores the relationship between democratic decision-making and policies that benefit the environment. Amy employs her knowledge and skills at the WILD Foundation, aligning her personal goals with WILD’s mission to activate an international ethic of care for wildlife and wild places. She is a member of an international team spearheading the historic effort to protect half the planet by 2030 to address the dual emergencies of climate breakdown and mass extinction. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
