Master Storytelling is a powerful form of storytelling that works at the implicit level of storytelling, or rather, at the metanarrative level. Stories hold the power to transform societies, shape certain values and drive long-term behavioural change not at the narrative level (emotive storytelling), but rather at the metanarrative level (implicit storytelling). To work with this powerful form of storytelling requires a range of new skills and insights.
It is worth reminding ourselves that all stories have two levels of communication, the explicit and the implicit. The explicit level consists of the words, dialogue, phrasing, narrative, characters, and scenery – in other words, all the external aspects of the story. While these elements are essential, we should never overlook the most important aspect of storytelling, which is where the real magic happens, and that is in the implicit narrative.
We call this implicit narrative the metanarrative, and it is this underlying story that holds the key to unlocking our ability to address some of the most stubborn problems we face when trying to engage and motivate audiences to the causes we care about.
Often referred to as the master narrative, metanarratives are what gives ultimate meaning to the stories we tell. Because they work predominantly with the unconscious mind, they hold incredible power. They have the power to shape our values, enforce cultural norms and embed dominant paradigms, making them either a force for good or a force for great harm.
That’s why it is essential to understand this hidden dynamic within storytelling and how to harness it for positive change on the issues we care about. But to work with metanarratives requires a different set of skills, insight, and storytelling methodologies. In other words, a completely different approach.
We call this Master Storytelling, and developing this core skill set is essential for anyone seeking to engage and motivate audiences towards a positive cause, or to create real change on the issues they care about.
The nature of metanarratives
Stories and storytelling are never uni-lateral forms of communication. Every story ever told is an encounter between the storyteller and the audience. The best stories leave space for the audiences to imagine, to fill in the blanks, to make the connections and to feel. This is an important aspect of storytelling, as this encounter means that all stories are co-created between the storyteller and the audience. Metanarratives are narrated by the audience, not the storyteller.
This is one of the most important, and often overlooked, aspects of storytelling. It is the metanarratives that create the space for us to imagine, feel, relate and see the world differently, through the eyes of the other. Never underestimate the power stories can play in shifting or realigning how we relate to the world around us, and the values we hold.
If we notice the flow states of storytelling, narratives are externally regulated – they start from an external source (the storyteller), and are received by the audience (out to in). Metanarratives are self-regulated, they come from the audience and they move out (in to out). These flow states are important, as they mirror the same flow states of extrinsic/intrinsic, which can be mapped to extrinsic/intrinsic values, extrinsic/intrinsic motivation and extrinsic/intrinsic purpose (See our full training programme for further details).
Working with metanarratives therefore opens the door to working with intrinsic values, motivation and purpose. These are often seen as the most difficult aspects of the self to engage with, but with a deeper understanding of how our thinking (rationality) is a secondary process to our relating (relationality) we can begin to weave some powerful stories that take in the whole person, not just the rational, but also the relational.
Metanarratives are received unconsciously, and are communicated unconsciously. We participate in their flow, whether we are aware of them or not. Understanding their nature and how to create new metanarratives that lead to positive change is our urgent task.
Master Storytelling and your cause
We must be careful not to conflate Master Storytelling with storytelling, or view it as a communication technique. As metanarratives are implicit in nature, technically speaking, they sit behind everything that we do. They can help to underpin your fundraising, campaigning, major donor engagement, volunteer recruitment, policy work, event management, and so much more.
That is why working with powerful metanarratives can have an incredible impact on an organisation’s ability to engage and motivate audiences into action. Getting the metanarrative right is fundamental to the success of any organisation, movement or campaign that is working towards a positive cause. Getting them wrong will mean that despite your best efforts, and the energy you may pour into your work, you will ultimately struggle to bring about the changes you seek.
By investing time and energy into developing your skills in Master Storytelling, the wins can be potentially huge. If we know how to harness the power of metanarratives, how to work with the unconscious mind, and how to intrinsically motivate audiences into action, then we no longer need to rely on the old and outdated approaches to audience engagement.
On a very practical level, this means that we have the opportunity to shift our focus from working with standard marketing practices and theory, which naturally leans towards extrinsic motivation, extrinsic values and extrinsic purpose, instead, we can transition to storytelling dynamics that naturally lean towards intrinsic motivation, intrinsic values and intrinsic purpose.
Learning the art of Master Storytelling will give you the skills and insights on how to bring your audiences up to the higher states of the motivation continuum (see New approaches to motivational theory). When we can work with and engage our audiences through the higher motivational stages, we will no longer need to use fear and anxiety to drive our campaigns. This will provide the essential shift that is necessary to create long-term behaviour change on the causes and issues that we care about.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
A new story
The trap that we all fall into is the tendency to tell the same story again and again, expecting different results. The predictable narrative that is shaped by the ‘magic formula’ of marketing theory: show the problem, then sell the magic solution, creates predictable narratives that over time fail to create the motivational dynamism for real change to happen.
Even when we change the novelty of the stories we tell (the context, the characters, the look and feel), the metanarrative remains the same. These predictable and extractive stories may work in the short term, but over time motivation and engagement will dissipate as audiences switch off and disengage.
That is why it is important to be able to craft new metanarratives to overcome some of the most stubborn challenges we all face around motivation. With new metanarratives comes new stories, out of which is the possibility to create different motivation dynamics to help drive our movements for change.
It is the implicit nature of storytelling that is closely aligned with long-term behaviour change, intrinsic motivation, and with intrinsic values. Working with this aspect of storytelling is essential for anyone who is looking to create meaningful change in the causes they care about.
Becoming a Master Storyteller
Becoming a Master storyteller centres around three core skills, these include:
- Relationality, the ability to work with a relational mindset and how to work with intrinsic motivation
- Values-ception, the ability to perceive and work with values dynamics throughout your work
- Purpose, the ability to work with intrinsic purpose, which is the ‘pull’ beyond the cause you are promoting, the self-transcending nature of the stories we tell
Each one of these core skillsets will take time to develop, but they are all necessary if we wish to overcome the perennial problems of low-motivation, lack of engagement, polarisation, short-term outcomes, and the inability to create the political will for real change. All these require the insight and skill set of a Master Storyteller.
Insights
- Master Storytelling is a powerful form of storytelling that works predominantly with the implicit nature of storytelling and metanarratives
- Master Storytelling is not to be conflated or confused with storytelling – the telling of stories (i.e. in a communications setting). A Master Storyteller is someone who understands and can work with the implicit nature of storytelling and can drive audience motivation and behaviour. This skill set is ideal for anyone who is working in leadership, fundraising, campaigning, volunteer management and any other aspect of work that requires audience motivation.
- Metanarratives are not only implied in the stories we tell but in everything we do. An organisation’s metanarrative can be expressed across a whole range of different functions, including fundraising, campaigning, volunteer recruitment, event management, etc.
- Metanarratives can be a force for good or a force for harm. If you are working with a faulty or toxic metanarrative then you may be at risk of undermining the very cause that you are working towards.
- Training as a Master Storytelller means transitioning from a marketing mindset to a storytelling mindset (see Beyond the Marketing Paradigm). This transition requires bespoke training in a range of different disciplines, including values theory, motivational theory, storytelling theory and how to work with the unconscious mind.
- Metanarratives are implicit in nature and are closely aligned with the unconscious mind. Being able to work with them and deploy them in your work requires a different mindset, which means a shift from rationality to relationality.
- The potential wins here for getting it right with Master Storytelling are huge. If you are able to work with unconscious mind, you will be able to transition from lower values and lower motivation stages (extrinsic) to higher values and the higher stages on our motivational continuum (intrinsic). The result of which is the ability to grow audience engagement, engage new audiences and create long-term behaviour change.
- Master Storytelling is a life skill, and it can be used in a whole range of contexts.
Solutions
Engaging and motivating audiences to take real and meaningful action on the causes we care about, as well as creating the political will for real change and building long-term behaviour change all require a different set of skills. We have predominantly approached our work through a marketing mindset, which tends to lean towards the lower stages on the motivation continuum, as well as creating only short-term results. Learning a whole new skill set called Master Storytelling can help us to overcome some of the perennial problems we all face when it comes to audience engagement and motivation.
We recommend the following solutions:
- All organisations that are working towards creating positive change must have at least one person fully trained as a Master Storyteller. Embedding the insights from working with metanarratives and the implicit nature of storytelling can yield incredible results for charities, third-sector organisations and movements seeking to bring about positive change.
- Review the metanarratives that shape and define your organisation. Find out who is in charge of your metanarratives. Does anyone hold that oversight, or have they emerged unconsciously? And if so, what steps have you taken to ensure that these metanarratives are helping to drive positive change? If you need help with this we can offer a free consultancy session to discuss this in detail.
- Join one of our free workshops on Master Storytelling to find out more.
- Become a Master Storyteller! Attend our full online self-directed training course below which covers all the essential aspects of Master Storytelling discussed above. This includes full training on values theory, motivational theory, storytelling theory and how to work with the unconscious mind.
Our full online training course
New training programme.
Become a Master Storyteller with our specialist 13hrs+ online training course
Motivation theory
Explore a new approach to motivational theory and how to work with intrinsic motivational triggers
values theory
Insights into values theory and how to work with the flow of values and their relationship to each other
neuropsychology
Utilising insights on the different values systems of the two brain hemispheres and how to apply them
storytelling
Learn how to become a Master Storyteller, someone who can create powerful metanarratives
Storytelling training programmes.
These online, self-directed training courses are full of specialist insights, toolkits and methodologies that are designed to help you to create meaningful change in your work.
