Tools & Tips
Practical advice for your narrative campaign
Before you start
Narrative change starts with your values
Here are some general strategic points to keep in mind when planning your narrative communications campaign.
Very early in the process you should be able to identify a small group of people within your coalition who can take the lead. They will probably be the people most excited by the idea of narrative change. Empowering them to be “narrative leaders” in their own right will be crucial to the long-term impact of the work. These leaders will be able to support the wider civil society field in the future. They should be empowered to lead work to identify a new way of talking about civil society and be involved in testing and refining it.
A crucial role for narrative leaders will be getting other organizations involved in sharing messages and content. No matter how many groups you convene for early meetings, many will inevitably be too busy to take active part. Your narrative leaders will be the glue that keeps those groups part of the effort, reaching out to them for input and support at key moments.
It is important to note that budget needs to be set aside to pay narrative leaders for their work, either as freelancers or by carving out space in their current roles. Otherwise the narrative work will inevitably have to come second to their day job. The goal is to integrate narrative concerns into activism, rather than it being seen as a side campaign to do “when you have time”—and that needs to be resourced appropriately.
Not everyone in a movement needs to be part of the core work on narratives, but you do want to organize as many people as possible when it comes time to spread your message. It is therefore important to begin the planning process with an open kick-off meeting where you secure buy-in and then put in place a narrative infrastructure that keeps the wider coalition involved at key moments. This narrative infrastructure can be maintained by narrative leaders, using tools like the brand channel and cheat sheet to make it easy for coalition members to contribute to sharing your message and content.
Ideally, your narrative leaders will come from the community that articulates the narrative that you are working to amplify. It is important that the people who appear in the story are part of the discussion. After all, you need them to bring your narrative to life.
A key challenge will be building a coalition that stays focused on narrative change during times of crisis. These are moments when the temptation to return to “muscle memory” and react to anti-civil society messaging is strong, but also when it is most important to frame events using your own narrative.
Getting as many people as possible involved in identifying a shared vision at the start of the process should help ensure that people feel committed to the project.
Most civil society groups are going to need support from allies and partners to change narratives. Whether they are journalists, creative agencies or academic researchers, the sooner you involve them in your strategy process the more helpful they will be. If you only bring them in later in the project, they are likely to produce output that mirrors the traditional civil society approach to communications. If they are part of the original strategic discussions, they will have a deeper appreciation of what you are trying to do.
The activists in the coalition, meanwhile, need to be open to trying different approaches and getting out of their comfort zone. This is something worth testing very early in the planning phase.
List of toolkits/handouts
01.
Message
02.
Audience
03.
Story
We use a messaging house to highlight some simple topline messages that we need to repeat over and over again so that they stick in people’s minds.
This is a simple exercise to start articulating your values message.
Rhetorical and policy attacks on civil society are an effort to shrink civic space by destroying public faith in organizations and public motivation for participation.
Here are some tips for how to work with partners to tell narrative-changing stories.
Communications strategy outline once you have a clear goal.
Map out the potential supporters who share your values. You want to mobilize and organize these people to spread your narrative for you.
We use a messaging house to highlight some simple topline messages that we need to repeat over and over again so that they stick in people’s minds.
Dealing with anti-civil society messages
When authorities attack civil society, communications strategies must try to make people care about civil society enough to express support and solidarity.
Set a broader context for the debate to remind people what is at stake.
“This is about whether more power is shared among all of us or controlled by a very small number of politicians who want to keep us divided.”
Try to create a “larger us” frame, which shows why these measures are not just aimed at a small group of activists and journalists, but at dividing and distracting us from real issues. “These measures are designed to divide us and distract us from the real challenges we face: health care, security, etc.”
Avoid: Repeating the attacks; instead talk about why civil society is important—“Civil society is there when people need support.”
It is important to talk about civil society’s vision, values and voices. Basic statements and constant repetition of simple phrases are essential for messages to get through to people in this environment. Remember that most people will not hear the message directly from you, but relayed by others in the press, in conversations or on social media.
Try to tell a visual story of one example of civil society work that will put a picture in the mind of your audience.
For example:
“During the pandemic, it was civil society groups going to people’s houses to make sure they were OK. Because we pull through by pulling together.”
“These are people who, every day, strive to make our lives better, whether it is helping people to deal with authorities, improving public services or . . . (tell one story of CSO impact relevant to the target audience).”
Avoid: Repeating anti-civil society messages, even to correct them. Refuting attacks only reinforces them in people’s minds. The best response is to tell an alternative story—if you do not say what you want people to know about civil society, the only story they will see is the attack.
If you do need to rebut a falsehood, use a truth sandwich: Say what is true; explain what the lie is and who is spreading it (and their motives); then—and this is really important—repeat the truth.
Attacks are designed to keep you on the defensive and make the authorities look busy. Do not let them divert attention from the important issues—make sure you put forward an alternative plan of action. Offer practical solutions that will improve people’s lives. Say what the government should be doing instead of trying to divide and silence us.
These attacks are meant to create a sense of crisis and hysteria—creating scapegoats, imagined “enemies within” and others.
Responses need to create a calmer, more constructive environment so that people feel confident speaking up in support of activists and journalists.
People who are scared listen less, but people feel more confident if they feel listened to. It is important to keep talking to your audience and hear how they feel.
Values appeals are a less divisive and confrontational way to speak out when attacks happen (see point 1).
“Being an activist means you believe in caring for your friends, family and neighbors.”
People want to be part of something vibrant, not something dangerous. Your closest supporters might be ready to demonstrate on the street, but can you offer other people who also share your values different ways of showing their support?
For example, if a colleague faces online trolling, mobilize people to post supportive solidarity messages, focused on the values that we have in common.
Here is some guidance to help you through scenarios where the narrative strategy might prove hard to use.
This is where values-based messaging can be helpful. In situations where direct confrontation creates risks, focusing on general values like community and care can be a way to get your message across without using an overtly political or confrontational message.
In this scenario, creating a branded channel to get your messages out can be a useful way of making sure you still have a voice in public debates. You should feel free to be transparent about who is behind the branded channel. There is nothing wrong with creating new accounts to talk about things that matter, especially if they are very clear about the values they represent.
This obviously is important work. The only thing you would do differently in the midst of a narrative campaign would be to also place the action you condemn in the context of what you want to see instead. Make your message one part problem, two parts solution. Remember, if you only focus on government corruption, you risk making people so cynical that they give up on political change altogether; if you only show government violence, you risk making people too afraid to take part. If people think it is dangerous to be part of civil society, they may not want to get involved.
Part of making your narrative salient involves other people using your words. That is part of the process: You need your message to be repeated as much as possible, even if it is being criticized or misused. Indeed, when you prepare your strategy, you should count on that happening. The point is to use words and images that you know will help your cause, even when used by other people to different ends.
When people spread falsehoods about civil society, fact-checking them risks reinforcing the fake idea in people’s minds. Instead you need to put a vivid picture in the minds of your audience that illustrates the truth you want them to know. If you do need to rebut a falsehood, use a truth sandwich: Say what is true; explain what the lie is and who is spreading it (and their motives); then—and this is really important—repeat the truth.
Case Studies
Discover other examples of narrative change that can inspire your work:
Resources
- What are narratives? For an introduction to narratives and their importance to civil society, you can read “Be The Narrative,” a report by JustLabs.
- You can also read: “Shifting narratives to create a just and sustainable world” by MetGroup.
- Why hope-based narratives are important for civil society organizations.
- Fine Acts provides graphics that can be modified under a Creative Commons license. These are very helpful for illustrating your narratives and testing messages.
- The International Centre for Policy Advocacy has produced a toolkit for migration narratives that is useful for people working on any issue.
- Civil Liberties Union for Europe has produced guidance for dealing with authoritarians and talking about civic space.
- From megaphone to mosaic: five principles for narrative communications.
- Public Interest Research Centre has excellent material explaining the basics of framing for NGO audiences.
- … and on how to talk about change, politics and human nature.
- Nmap has produced an excellent e-learning tool on Narrative Change for Advocates.