In order to be a smarter media consumer you need to understand how and why narratives form and evolve. Narratives are a powerful factor in determining how we act as individuals. But they can also be manipulated by the media and those who would look to influence us - politically, financially or socially.

1. THE
NARRATIVE
MACHINE

2. The prevailing narrative of our time is known as the zeitgeist. The
media is both a mirror on the zeitgeist, and also a chief
protagonist in its development.

3. “Never forget that people whose self-
interest is diametrically opposed to your
own are trying to persuade you to act
every day.”
Thomas Phelps

4. You need the right people for a story to travel

5. You need a
sticky story

6. And finally you need the right context. Just
the right amount of dry tinder for a narrative
to spread

7. The 6 principles that makes a story stick
Simple: There is a reason proverbs stick; they are simple and profound.
Unexpected: Ideas that stick violate our expectations. They generate interest and
curiosity.
Concreteness: Sticky ideas are often encoded in concrete language. Think of the
proverb, “A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.”
Credibility: Sticky ideas force people to question themselves or others around
them.
Emotion: You and I only care about an idea once it makes us feel a certain way.
Stories: Stories, whether true or false engage us. They take us on a journey, while
the best captivate us.

8. The most contagious of all
narratives is gossip

9. Private knowledge is the information locked up
inside our heads, while public knowledge is
information that everyone knows.
However, making sure that everyone knows the
truth (public knowledge) isn’t enough for a
narrative to spread.
People only change their behaviour when a
narrative becomes common knowledge.
Common knowledge is when knowledge (it can
be either private or public) reaches a state when
everyone knows that everyone knows that
everyone knows it to be true.
The 3 types of knowledge: private, public and common

10. How to spot the
changing media
narrative
The front page of a newspaper
tells us what we already believe to
be true. It plays on our
confirmation bias.
The broader, the more cohesive
the narrative, the more likely it is
to spread and the more likely it is
that you will see stories that
confirm and reinforce that
narrative.