Winning The Battle of the Story
Narrative, power, and framing strategies for social change
Prepared for:
The Progressive Communicators Network
Boston, MA
July 23, 2008

NARRATIVE ANALYSIS
POWER
STORY-BASED
STRATEGY

We are made of stories
Stories help reinforce meaning and values in a culture.
Symbols help recall stories.
People don’t just tell stories. Stories tell people who we are, how to live...

Narrative Power Analysis
 Changing the Stories: not what people
don’t know, but what they do know =FILTERS
 Examining Dominant Stories in US Culture
 Power shapes Point of View of the story
 Stories can Normalize Power/Universalize
Experience/Invisibilize Oppression