Giving Compass' Take:

• Stanford Social Innovation Review discusses the importance of compelling stories in order to connect with people on complex issues and lists some ways to craft the narrative.

• Does the nonprofit community use too many buzzwords and impenetrable language in its outreach? There are ways we can all learn to communicate more effectively, and it starts with the basics.

• Here are a few storytelling mantras that move funders to act.

Storytelling is one of the greatest tools we have for engaging communities on complex social and environmental issues, in ways that can drive belief and behavior change. People are far more likely to remember information if it reaches them in the form of a story. Good stories also have an incredible ability to reduce counterarguing on divisive issues. And when people are transported by a great story, they remember the events in the story and feel like the experiences were their own. As a result, the story has the power to influence future beliefs on related issues.

Many of the issues the social sector is working on — including climate change, criminal justice reform, sexual violence, racial justice, health equity, and quality education — are complex, and the problems associated with them result from flawed, interconnected, institutional policies and practices, cultural norms, and ways of thinking. We often talk about addressing these problems, also known as systems-level thinking, using data and abstract terms like “equity” and “justice.” However, this way of talking about complex issues leaves space for people to insert their assumptions and biases about what those words mean, and no one has ever taken action because of a great graph or data point.

Organizations must therefore tell stories that help people make sense of the different complexities that shape the issue they are tackling. Below, we apply four of these insights specifically to stories about complex issues.

1. Tell stories about individuals.
2. Give your audience two plus two.
3. Be strategic with your empty spaces.
4. Paint a picture in the mind of your audience.

Read the full article about storytelling in the nonprofit world by Annie Neiman at Stanford Social Innovation Review.