For our narratives to be heard, we need strength in numbers. If people hear the same narrative over and over again – through different voices and stories – it starts to resonate with them. However, it’s not only about involving many people, it’s also about involving the right people. Having people with diverse skill sets on board will help you to boost your narrative impact.
Nothing about us without us
To employ narratives that resonate, not only the message matters, but also the messenger. Our narrative processes should amplify the voices and nurture the leadership of the those most directly impacted by the issues at hand. As Terry Jerry A’wase, director at the African Film Institute, points out in Doing Things with Stories, recognizing that imagining change is a condition of privilege, narrative processes can become a way of empowering people.
While creating alternative narratives, it is also important to ask: Who is not part of the dominant narrative but should be? For instance, dominant narratives on economic growth usually omit the crucial contributions of informal workers and those doing unpaid care work. By amplifying their stories, we can cultivate narratives that are inherently more inclusive.
Building on what’s already there
It is crucial to recognize that many groups, from indigenous communities to feminist collectives, employ alternative narratives, without necessarily naming them as such. Human rights movements such as Black Lives Matter, Love is Love, example from Global South have been crucial in transforming narratives on a global scale. If we are not part of social movements and community groups ourselves, we must be careful not to undermine, duplicate, appropriate or overlook their work. Instead, we should ask if and how we can support to connect and amplify their voices.
There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle
It is essential to understand that no struggle exists in isolation. Take for example the common problems of understaffed public schools, unaffordable medical care, and gentrified neighborhoods. While they may appear unrelated, they are all manifestations of a neoliberal system that applies a market logic to our basic human rights. Narratives can bridge seemingly disparate issues and unite the people affected by them. Narratives let us visualize alternatives that many people from diverse backgrounds find worth striving towards.
Fostering narrative ecosystems
It requires a diverse set of skills to create and amplify your narrative. Bringing different people together allows you to draw on people’s particular strengths and to foster creativity and surprising ideas. You could for instance connect to researchers, strategists, campaigners, storytellers, creatives, and journalists. Conditions to Flourish by the Global Narrative Hive identifies different types of narrative actors, together with their needs and ideas for action.