Policy ‘smarts’: storytelling to enable knowledge transfer more effectively than a STEM only approach.

Alistair Sackley | Public Policy|Southampton | a.j.sackley@soton.ac.uk | 023 8059 7139

The indelible memory of a girl I admired passing me a note during our ‘O’ Level pure maths class in secondary school is still fresh in my mind. Our seats, strategically positioned at the front of the room near the teacher’s desk, are vivid in my memory. I can recall with clarity the activities of the students around us at that moment. However, the day’s lesson remains a mystery, and my recollection of trigonometry is almost non-existent! 
How can a single individual aspire to make a difference beyond their immediate sphere? One compelling answer is to elevate our message above the surrounding noise. What people hear is important. What they remember is even more important. But what they can repeat to others is most important of all. 

And saying nothing can often be even more damaging than saying the wrong thing. None of us gets to control what others are hearing or how they are interpreting things. We can only control what we contribute to that milieu. And given that we cannot prevent communication, we must embrace it. While perfect communication is impossible, my goal is to get most people most of the information most of the time. Here are some strategies I and Public Policy|Southampton employ. If you take away one thing from this post, I hope it is that communication is important and unavoidable.  

Communicate Defensively. Consider the most cynical interpretation of your message before you say anything. So, before you communicate take the time to consider all parts of your audience and how you might be misinterpreted and then refine your message to reduce the likelihood of miscommunication. We often present our work as a mere collection of facts. The unfortunate reality is that humans are notoriously poor at retaining facts. When our audience engages in a related conversation days later, the data we shared is unlikely to be at the forefront of their minds and our impact remains localised. However, humans are exceptionally good at remembering stories. We are irresistibly drawn to narratives with context, dramatic tension, and a satisfying or poignant resolution, especially when it frames your evidence to a policy problem or priority.

Repetition is Key. Advertisers have known for a long time that ensuring someone hears a critical message several times is key to them retaining it. Within any given communication be sure to keep tying things back to the critical message. The good news for those keen to learn about storytelling is that examples abound. Marketers make their living by spinning tales, and you can discern for yourself which ones are effective. Techniques such as catchy sound bites and repetition operate on the same principles as storytelling: they render a message unforgettable. Let me be clear, this is not a call to embellish the truth. Over-polishing a paper or a seminar risk making it as insincere as it is memorable. I’m merely suggesting that style becomes an integral part of substance. The next time you engage in a conversation, consider how to make your story resonate. If the listener can’t relay the same story later with accuracy, then you’ve probably missed a trick about how you’re shining a light on your key findings. 

 
Communicate Early and Often. The offer of an imagined future which addresses the problem using this new knowledge can be irresistible if conveyed in the right way. The most common mistake I see is people waiting to say anything until they are certain what they are communicating is correct. That sounds laudable but in practice it tends to slow down communication dramatically. In my experience, people would rather hear about the current state of our understanding, and have it revised as we learn more than hear nothing at all. People can deal with imperfect information, but they cannot stand information insecurity. I think that a lot of the reason people fail to communicate well is that they aren’t comfortable with their responsibility. Many would much rather imagine themselves as just a part of the team. Unfortunately, that isn’t an option and indulging the fantasy is irresponsible because you let people down who are counting on you to step up. Even if you don’t think you’re a leader or a manager, you’re still a communicator. We are all leaders to someone whether we like it or not. People are looking to us. We don’t have the capacity not to communicate. So, let’s invest to do it well. 

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