In the spirit of sharing knowledge and spreading the hope-based narratives we would like to share with you some of the materials from the webinar with Krizna Gomez from Hope-based Comms “Changing your Narrative Hope, Futures and Power” that happened on April 8, 2021.
It feels like the world is going to hell: but there is hope, and we need that hope to make change happen. We don’t have to let populists set the agenda nor make it our job to constantly respond to what they say (and in the process further heighten the visibility of their own narrative). We can tell our own story, based on our shared values and a clear idea of what future we are asking people to join us in building, and make that the prevailing narrative.
But making our own narrative and being consistent in saying it, instead of answering the “itch” of responding to our detractors, requires discipline (a lot of it!), a systematic and creative way of seeing and talking about our work, and some inspiring examples. Hope is goal-oriented thinking, and it isn’t just about making people feel good–we need to give them a concrete sense of what actions they can undertake towards a future we have confidence in bringing about. Combining hope-based communications with foresight (or futures thinking) is a smart strategy for grounding the way we work, the choices we make, and yes, the messages we communicate, in a vision of the world we want to achieve and the values we stand for. This is the only way we can avoid responding constantly to what populists and authoritarians throw at us. We will start you on the journey to creating your own narrative that you can use to change the story and win the hearts and minds of your audience.
KEY TAKE-AWAYS:
- You will be able to go back to your social media feed and your list of writings and re-examine them in a new light—are they inspiring hope or making people feel helpless and gloomy? Are you feeling helpless about the impact of what you do?
- You will learn about the importance of actively thinking about a future that you are driving towards, and make your communications and strategies flow from there. Communications without a big end goal is simply a tactic, but it should be a way of being.
- You will feel more hopeful that what you do can have much more impact if given the right approach in communications and strategy.
Here are Krizna’s slides and some additional reading that she recommended:
- “Be the Narrative” by Krizna Gomez and Thomas Coombes
- “Narrative Power and Collective Action” from OXFAM
- a book “Evidence for Hope” by Katheryn Sikking
- another book that appeared in the chat was “Humankind” by Rutger Bergman
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