THE POWER OF STORYTELLING TO DRIVE SUSTAINABLE CHANGE

How using traditional storytelling techniques can help us inspire, motivate and encourage sustainable change.

by Suzy Goulding Head of Sustainability, APMEA, MSL Group

“The best arguments in the world won’t change a single person’s mind. The only thing that can do that is a good story.” This quote from ‘The Overstory’, a novel by Richard Powers, really sums up the power a story can wield, particularly when we are trying to communicate challenging issues. The book is about nine Americans whose unique life experiences with trees bring them together to address the destruction of forests. Powers was inspired to write the work after he encountered giant redwood trees for the first time.

Sustainability is everywhere but still misunderstood, misperceived and often overwhelming. For many, it presents a set of unconquerable challenges and uncomfortable levels of change to our everyday lives. Add to that the fact that the word of sustainability is full of acronyms, complex data and often dry facts and figures – all of which are important but not exactly engaging or motivating. Maybe the way to win over hearts and minds and inspire us all to live more sustainable lives is to harness the power of storytelling. Everyone loves a good story, so it makes sense that by using storytelling techniques when communicating around sustainability issues we have a better chance of inspiring change.

Stories engage us by creating empathy and connection with the characters and what they go through, experiencing universal emotions such as joy, fear, sadness or hope. It is this emotional connection that helps us remember stories and be impacted by them. Stories can shape beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours by appealing to our emotions, values and personal experiences, making us more receptive and open to accepting new ideas or perspectives.

Stories also play a fundamental role in shaping our identities and helping us make sense of the world. We often identify with characters in stories and find elements of ourselves reflected in their experiences. Through storytelling, we can explore themes of love, loss, conflict, and personal growth, which contribute to our understanding of ourselves and our place in society. Using stories to make big sustainability issues feel more relevant and personal to us can make us more open to considering new ways of living and adopting a new mindset.

Communicating sustainability through storytelling helps create an emotional connection with audiences. This is important because sustainability issues can often feel distant or abstract, but if we present a sustainability narrative as a story, perhaps by using real life examples and experiences, we have the power to evoke empathy and through empathy, encourage audiences to care about the issues we’re communicating on.

At the root of becoming a more sustainable society is the ability to encourage behaviour change, whether at an organisational or personal level. Storytelling has been proven to be an influential tool in motivating people to take action, and that’s because if we present relatable characters who face sustainability challenges and overcome them, the power of their stories can inspire people to adopt sustainable behaviours in their own lives.

Sustainability narratives often involve complex information and data, which can be overwhelming. Storytelling simplifies and packages this information into a digestible and engaging format. Facts and figures are still important but by weaving them into a story format, we make the information more accessible and memorable.

And finally, sustainability storytelling can help to build a sense of hope and empowerment. Many sustainability issues can seem overwhelming, leading to feelings of helplessness and apathy. Storytelling can counteract these negative emotions by highlighting success stories of individuals, companies and communities having a positive impact, demonstrating that sustainable change is possible and motivating individuals to become agents of change themselves.

So what makes an authentic sustainability story?

Rigour and research are key to developing your story. Ensuring you have strong proof points for the sustainability commitments and actions you’re communicating is essential if you want to ‘greenwash-proof’ your story. Getting internal buy-in is also important and seeking the views of employees from across your or- ganisation in the development of your sustainability story will help to ensure its authenticity.

Consider your corporate purpose and values as a starting point for telling your sustainability story – this should answer the question of why you exist and what would the world miss if you didn’t? And what is important to you as a company from a value perspective? Ideally, your purpose and values should embody the sustainability issues that matter most to you and your stakeholders.

Transparency and honesty are also crucial if you want to build and maintain trust with your employees and external stakeholders. Sustainability is a never-ending journey and there will be hiccups along the way. The traditional story arc also has ups and downs so don’t be afraid to acknowledge when something has not gone quite to plan but also explain how you will get back on course.

The emotional connection, so powerful in good storytelling is so important here, to build a connection with your audience to help them see and understand why sustainability is important to your company and then perhaps compel them to action – whether that’s a change in mindset, behaviour, to advocate for change or ideally remain or become a new customer.

And then finally, there is a need to demonstrate through your sustainability story that you are here for the long run, however difficult it might become and that you are committed to long term impact.

As sustainability challenges continue to multiply, the need for us all to make or influence meaningful change grows ever more urgent. Using the power of storytelling to communicate these challenges is our best bet at helping to grow awareness, to educate and to hopefully encourage action.

About The Company

MSL Group is a global strategic communications network whose mission is to make every client more influential, because influence is the true force of change in the world. MSL Group is part of Publicis Groupe, the 2nd largest communications group in the world. Through a powerful alchemy of creativity and technology, we are driving business transformation across the entire value chain. Visit mslgroup.com for more information.