Due Dates by AS: 7 Tips on Storytelling in Crisis
When the world goes to hell in a hand basket...this is how you tell the world about it.
He’s here.
Our 6 lb, 3 oz son arrived three weeks ago, five days earlier than scheduled. Going in for a screening appointment and hearing, “Well, the doctor has decided that your son is coming today!” is one heck of a way to start a new phase of life. Surgery recovery has been a little tougher this time around but overall…I can’t complain.
His name, one of Krishna’s thousands, means “unconquerable” or “boundless.”
It seemed like a good talisman to give a little boy during these tumultuous times.
As edict after edict comes from the tangerine king in office, I haven’t had a single day on LinkedIn, at work, or chatting with friends, where people have remained unaffected. Every sector has been derailed…and it’s scary. The nonprofit I work at centers around high-risk schools, education, and mental health—our mission is basically made up of all the buzzwords that this administration hopes to erase—and that means hearing stories of students not coming to school anymore because of fears around immigration status, increased counselor visits from LGBTQ+ students whose identities have been erased, and protocols in place for staff to address when non-local law enforcement comes knocking.
Between that and the baby, you’ll forgive the mental health break.
It’s all a little overwhelming. Everything feels a little overwhelming.
And that is why writing and creativity have become all the more important.
“What unites people? Armies? Gold? Flags?
Stories.
There’s nothing in the world more powerful than a good story. Nothing can stop it. No enemy can defeat it.”
Tyrion Lannister, Game of Thrones
When the world is on fire, it is the storytellers who survive it—if not with their lives, with their words. It is their memories, hot takes, compilations, interviews, and testimonies that outlive the crisis at hand.
It’s also a brutal role to take on, whether it’s voluntary or one someone falls into out of necessity. How does someone coalesce hope when there’s nothing but wreckage around? How does someone tell a story filled with optimism when the world looks bleak? How do you find humanity when people seem hellbent on proving theirs doesn’t exist?
While many of these tips apply to brand management, there is a difference in storytelling through crisis and storytelling for crisis management on behalf of a company. Namely, there is a cause involved and a crisis that an audience is already, or should be, invested in and a solution they can be a part of.
Acknowledge the suckiness of the situation. Authenticity is the name of the game - always. It translates to storytelling because it allows honest descriptors, even if that honesty is saying, “I don’t know what to say because xyz suck right now, and here’s why.”
Find the thread. There is always a person, story, or initiative that serves as an uplifting resistance to the evil force at hand. That becomes your hero or your theme through the story you’re about to tell. There is always a light that you can tug on to make even the most hopeless situation one that plants a seed of inspiration or hope.
Center your community. As I mentioned last note, storytelling’s key piece is that you’re a facilitator but not the center of the story itself…at least when speaking about a bigger issue, social justice, or a non-memoir piece. Communities impacted hold an infinite number of stories - and not all of them are from places of trauma. Research your community and how they are impacted by whatever is going on. Marginalized groups, especially—those on the fringe of your in-group—have the most at stake and the most to say.
Unflinching honesty. At a time when morals seem lost, it’s up to the storytellers to drive an audience back to core values and remind them what is at stake. Tact/sensitivity are required in crisis; but honesty is the non-negotiable. How else will people trust you as a documentarian of an event?
Discover the hope. The world is so full of doom and gloom, so ending the story on an optimistic—or at the very least, empowered-toward-solution—note leaves the audience willing to hear, resonate with, and potentially solve the crisis at hand.
Think about your messaging. Stories in crisis are many: accounts of blame, stories of renewal, victim narratives, heroic tales, and memorials. Any of those angles have messaging that can lead an audience to believe in what you believe and better yet, to be inspired to act. Pick strategically.
And that brings me to my final point…as a storyteller, you are a leader in a crisis situation. Standing with conviction, leading with integrity, admitting when you have something to learn, and doing your research are critical elements to the story you’re building and the message you want to tell. Whether you believe it or not, people are watching and listening to what you have to say, and as a storyteller, that means you owe your audience due diligence and leadership.
Since 2020, society has operated with a heightened sense of offense, outrage, and anger. While I like to be idealistic sometimes, the pragmatic side of me says that won’t change. And in the next four years, it’s likely to ramp up.
You have the power to change your community through the stories you tell…and to keep spirits high as you do it. Here’s to doing that together, through the chaos.
Love,
Annika
And kindness. I’ve been leaning into the kindness around me and trying my best to accept it and hopefully am always giving it back.