Summary

The most important issues of our time deserve the best communications. When you need to move people to “green” action, the difference between a good story and a bad one can make all the difference. The transition to a low-carbon future requires innovations in education and communication just as urgently as innovations in science. 

This interactive storytelling workshop is based on the latest findings in psychology and climate science, and teaches you how to tell stories that make the biggest difference. Certain aspects of effective storytelling are timeless and universal, while other aspects can seem counterintuitive.

For example: when telling “green” stories, you have a choice.

You can say, “According to the IPCC’s sixth assessment report predictions for scenarios with either unabated emissions rise or immediate climate action, the world will be 4.4°C hotter than preindustrial levels by the end of this century, causing catastrophic sea-level rise . . .”

Or you can tell the story of Timothy, who lives with his grandchildren in the tiny Walande Island, part of the Solomon Islands off the coast of Papua New Guinea. In the past 20 years, every home on Walande has been abandoned—except Timothy’s. Every morning his four young grandchildren take the canoe to the mainland, where they go to school, while Timothy spends the day adding rocks to the wall around his house, trying to hold off the water for a little while longer.

Similarly, if you’re spreading the word about cutting-edge electric transportation, you can take a “traditional approach”:  “The U.S. Department of Energy's Vehicle Technologies Office funded multiple projects that included the purchase or leasing of electric vehicles (EVs) for car share programs, which can be used for personal trips, ride-hailing services, or delivery services. A review of project outcomes and interviews with project staff were conducted to highlight lessons learned and opportunities for greater project efficiency and success.”

Or you can take more of a “story approach,” like this piece from the New York Times: “Three mornings a week, Herminia Ibarra makes her way to a fleet of sparkling electric vehicles lined up in a dusty alley alongside a former diesel repair shop. Of the five Chevy Bolts, three Tesla Ys, two Volkswagen e-Golfs and a BMW i3, she always tries to snag her favorite: the red Bolt set up with her Bluetooth. In this E.V., she will pick up the two retired farmworkers who are her regular clients and ferry them on two-lane roads to their dialysis appointments 20 miles away.”

Learning Outcomes

• Recognizing (and overcoming) the “Three Crimes of Green Communication”

• Mastering the art of “solutions-focused” stories—which are proven to leave a more positive initial impression, and to be more interesting and trustworthy

• Knowing why alarmist stories don’t work—and what to do instead

• Telling effective “green” stories to skeptical audiences

• Understanding (and leveraging) the foundational stories and communications tactics of your political or ideological opponents

• Using stories to humanize and depoliticize hot-button topics

• Communicating your story with clarity, concision, and conviction

• Unleashing the hidden potential of the stories you already know

• How to “workshop” stories for immediate feedback and guidance

• Time-tested approaches for beginnings, middles, and endings

• How to choose and include meaningful details

• Gauging audience reaction to revise and adapt your material

• Identifying obstacles to effective storytelling—and how to overcome them