Change isn't just about policy – it's about narrative. In this video, I explain the storytelling method that can transform public opinion and reshape our politics. Drawing on a centuries-old narrative structure – and even Jane Austen – I show how we can tell stories that move people, overcome political obstacles, and demand real solutions to problems like inequality, poverty and the climate crisis.
You don't have to be an expert – you just have to care. Start telling your story. It's how we win.
This is the audio version:
This is the transcript:
People often ask me how can we create the change that I often talk about on this channel and which other people talk about in the whole of the movement for social justice in the UK. And my answer is very simple, and it's very straightforward.
It is that everyone can be a storyteller for change, and it's not hard to work out how we can do that if we understand that every political story, in fact, just about every story ever told, is made up of five parts.
In the first instance, there's a problem.
Then we can name somebody who has a desire to solve it.
But, and this is where the tension comes into the story, there is an obstacle to progress, and so, fourthly, we have to identify a potential solution to the problem before, at the end, we get to a better future.
This is how all narratives are built. Understand that, and we can do some essential things that will create change in our society.
We can do storytelling, political storytelling, to create social change by building narratives about inequality. And that's the key point I'm making in this video.
Every story, as I said, starts with a problem. So we can begin by talking about the problems that we can name in our society. It might be poverty. It could be inequality, or it could be climate breakdown, or whatever else that you are concerned about.
You don't need to be an expert to notice that things aren't working in this country. You just need to open your eyes and walk about, and the glaringly obvious will hit you. And what you need to do is talk about it.
Then you become something which is quite critical. You become the person who wants to create change because, without a desire for something to be better, there is no momentum for that change to happen.
Campaigners, activists, and ordinary people, and you might be one of those, and I reckon I am, are the agents of change in our society. If you care, you are part of the story of change that we want.
Then, and it's always true, if something is wrong and it isn't being put right, it's because there is an obstacle in the way of progress. Real change is never easy for that reason. The obstacle might be political, or it might be indifference. It could be vested interests. It might be fear, and right now, for example, Labour's refusal to tax wealth is an example of such a block.
You could call that obstacle technical.
You could call it dogmatic.
Whichever one it is, it's real. And that's when we need to work out how we can find a way forward. This is the fourth stage of the process, and the power of a good story lies in its ability to show that change is possible.
We could have a better policy. We could have a fairer tax system. We could do real redistribution of income and wealth in the UK. Of course, you could swap those lines for others if you have another concern. But the point is, you've got to be able to imagine a way forward to solve the problem that your story is addressing.
The plot twist is to show that this change is possible, and that you believe that the resistance to change can be overcome, if only by telling the story time after time, after time.
And you tell the story because you describe the possibility that there can be and will be a better ending if only people will listen to you.
We could have fairer budgets in this country.
We could have greater equality as a result of improved ways in which the government could tax, and the ways in which the government could spend.
We could have stronger communities.
We could have sustainable growth.
We could even have hope.
We write the ending by acting and telling the tale. And this is true of every story you've just about ever heard.
Let me give you an example from literature. You might know the story of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, written over 200 years ago. It fits exactly into this pattern.
The problem was pride. The clue was in the title of the novel. Who had the pride? Elizabeth Bennett did. She was too proud to fall in love.
Who had the desire to change things? Mr. Darcy did. He was in love.
What was the obstacle? It was a misunderstanding between them. She was proud, and he was prejudiced against her position in life. She was too lowly, he thought, to marry her in the first instance.
How was the obstacle cleared to provide a solution to progress? There was an honest confession and declaration of love.
And was there a happy ending? You bet there was. There was a marriage.
But that fits exactly into the narrative that I've just explained, and we can do this with political storytelling, too.
Let's just use the problem of wealth inequality.
That is the problem, the desire is on the part of you, I hope, and it is on the part of me, to create redistribution of income and wealth.
The obstacle is Labour's refusal to deliver that.
The solution is to show that we can design a better tax system. I've done that in the Taxing Wealth Report. You can find a link to that below this video.
We can change the way in which we tax the wealthy to overcome the problems of wealth and income inequality and to meet Labour's objections.
And the ending is a better economy for the sake of everyone, including, and I make the point very clearly, the wealthy, because their well-being is dependent upon everybody else's ability to survive in the economy in which they also live.
You don't need to be an expert to tell that story. Sure, you need to get your head around some aspects of the story, and you may need to understand some bits of the process of design that I and others have gone through to suggest alternatives.
But the fact is, once you've done that, and it's not terribly difficult, you can then tell the story.
You can become the proponent of change. And the more times you tell the story, the more times it is repeated, the more often it is heard, the more likely it is to succeed.
You can have a role in the process of change, in other words. Your role is to be the storyteller.
You can see what is wrong.
You can have the desire to make a change.
You can work out, or you can use the work of others to see what obstacles need to be overcome.
But most of all, you can say that a better outcome is possible, and we can have it.
And that is how change happens, and that is how we win.
Stories change minds and shape politics.
Share them in your workplace online and with friends. The story of inequality can have a better ending, but only if we tell it.
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Absolutely true, thank you. The narratives pushed by mainstream media are powerful and widely accepted by the majority. They’re simple and direct and designed to stifle alternatives and sell a version of ourselves that appears to be what ‘we’ want. With such dominant storytelling coming from that source, how can alternative perspectives ever break through? Make our own.
Agreed.
The video is not doing well thouygh, which amazes me gi8vcen how often I am asked this.
I also do not make videos just for clicks.
Nowhere is prefect and we often look at ‘abroad’ through a combination of rose tinted spectacles coupled with not living there and better weather.
But in the UK we have this love affair with living in France. Now why dont we look at France/Belgium/whatever and try and look at the bigger picture of life in those Countries and ask some much bigger questions about the perceived quality of life in those areas? Clearly we cant have a Mediterranean climate in Manchester but we can have High Speed Rail, proper cycle facilities, public services that work, decent bread and patisserie etc etc
So lets demand it!
The comment I have seen is that while its starting to look a bit ragged what the French have been very successful at doing is creating a good life for themselves – ok not all of them but you get the general idea so why dont we start telling that story, we want a better life?
How we get there is another matter of course but we need to know where we want to go.
Been following you for a while now and your content is a great example of what’s possible.
I’m going to take a leaf out of your book and become a storyteller myself and completely agree that a better outcome is possible, but isn’t the obstacle getting the voting public to listen, no matter how good the story?
I am managinmg to some degree.
I was also on LBC last night…
I’ve just seen your record month post – it would appear storytelling works quite well!
Very impressive.
Clearly there’s hope yet and looking forward to seeing how it’s all going next summer.
Thanks
Sound advice but a word of advice too.
I always find it helps to acknowledge the pain or issues of the people you are talking to first – agree about the NHS performance, pot holes, not enough housing as facts, common experiences, but then assert your view of what the causals are (they are not really immigration or boats, or Muslims, Jews etc.).
I find that this method more often glides you into a friendlier discussion rather than a confrontation. You have to empathise – and remember – austerity is intended to take away things from us – whether immigrants are here or not. And it was the private banking crisis that caused the GFC 2008 – not government over-spending – despite what the gold plated New Labour idiot Liam Byrne said on an ill-advised post-it.
Agreed
Interesting.
I have family members who don’t stop going on about the boats and I became fixated about getting them and their friends to see the light – I’m never going to achieve this until the whole tribe changes tack.
Do you think they can ever be persuaded, or are a lost cause?
We have to tackle the causes of their concern.
If it’s racism it is hard to beat.
But I think most of it is vulnerable people in the precariat who are genuinely living in fear, whipped up by Farage and Co.
Here’s my view.
Racism is racism. You have to accept it in those situations Richard Nolan, but it still does not alter the facts that are pored over here over and over again (and quite rightly and thank God) that state support for its citizens is being withdrawn to allow corporations and capital to exploit our needs ruthlessly and to our detriment – make us poorer, unhappier, desperate, easier to exploit.
In other words, by ‘pushing through and beyond’ the racism, you are not taking anything from them – by focussing on a lack of state support, you are ADDING to their input about the world they perceive.
Racist or not, you have to hope that they get it and some do and will. Because the bottom line is even if all the immigrants were cast of the country, we would still be facing austerity and the rolling back of the state based on lies about what we could afford, lies that are allowing a section of our society to make huge amounts of money at our expense. Remember, all you want is to be heard and so do they. Deny to someone what they feel, and you are less likely to be heard.
To me, I treat the racism as ‘lower hanging fruit’ – I do not argue that position. The juicier issues on the top of the tree are to do with what is being done and not done with our sovereign currency and taxation. This is where the critical thinking needs to be.
I hope this makes sense.
Thanks
It all makes perfect sense and thanks for taking the time to point this out, very helpful.
But I believe there’s more at play here other than out and out racism.
I’m no fan of the tories, but most of us remember all the level-headed tory mp’s being ousted from local Conservative Association’s in preparedness for the brexit vote. It was a definite class war, and I would imagine a large percentage of whom had been brainwashed against socialism (or worse).
But the biggest issue here, is a sense of belonging to your tribe (in this case UKIP), all the signs of a cult.
Good points, and all derived from your own practice. Let’s try and get the Corbyn/Sultana supporters to understand the necessity of a positive, constructive vision. If they do that, they could defeat the vested interests and blinkered dogmatists aligned against them.
I’m not saying this new party is perfect but Corbyn’s old mantra “for the many, not the few” was pretty clear?
But you change nothing..in fact are you a parody?
You are right, of course. Without you having offered any explanation for your expertise, or your qualification to comment, you have told me that I am terrible at what I do and have changed nothing. I am, of course, necessarily obliged as a result to agree that is the case.
After all, that is why I am a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, one of only 10 accountants to have ever been elected to that body.
It is also why I was ranked as high as seventh in the world in taxation by the International Tax Review over a period of more than 12 years, over which period they included me in their world top 50.
That is also why I was described as social media accountant of the year for five years in a row by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
In addition, precisely because I am so bad, two universities have appointed me to full professorships, and a third has done so to a visiting professorship, whilst three others have appointed me as a visiting fellow.
It’s also why I have a Google Scholar research ranking that lists more than 3,400 people referencing my research work.
And I did create country-by-country reporting and much the tax justice movement, co-founded the Green New Deal, inspired Corbynomics, and now have two major social media outlets.
But let’s ignore all of that. You, without any apparent qualifications at all, say that I am completely rubbish at what I do and ask that everyone accept that you are right. So, why on earth wouldn’t we? All those others must be wrong in that case.
Storytelling is everything in the present era
The trouble with it is Twoford, I believe
First, the medium. Those in power who have the wealth have control of the main media, with a few exceptions. Social media is a free for all and largely uncontrolled, although who knows for how much longer.
Secondly, the narrator. There is no pressure on them to be honest and deal in facts. On the contrary, the fairy tales told by the likes of Trump are usually more entertaining than fact-based stories. Hence, such stories are repeated widely and eventually become believed.
Developing these two themes could lead to an interesting book; I’m sure it’s already been done.
That’s the problem Overcoming a hostile media and false narratives isn’t insurmountable, but it is disheartening.
The answer is to keep trying and try harder, especially to debunk false narratives.
Story telling has to be the way to try to engage those who aren’t listening, but, please can I put in a special plea.
When Labour stole the Winter Fuel Allowance from most pensioners they sold the idea to a huge number of people by stating that the wealthy should not receive state handouts. Please can we try to call pension contribution tax relief for higher rate tax payers and tax free ISA interest as state handouts for the wealthy. Removing those handouts is not ‘taxing the wealthy’ (although I am not averse to doing that), but cutting state handouts to the wealthy. That case should be unarguable, but we don’t seem to be making it very well.
Agreed
[…] my concerns. But I still retain the hope that we can change direction. This is one reason why I've talked about storytelling recently—because I believe that the narratives that we tell ourselves and each other are incredibly […]
Thanks for the video. It’s making a great case for thinking clearly about the change we want to make in society and doing something about it in an engaging, optimistic way.
To reinforce your case, I would point to the most successful politicians in democracies often being the best at telling a powerful story. Churchill, Thatcher, and Blair are good examples from the UK. Now Farage is gaining ground simply by articulating (wrong-headed) stories about immigration and “wokeness”.
In fact it’s difficult to think of a current frontline politician other than Farage with that ability. (Though obviously he’s massively helped by the wealthy and their media in spreading his stories.)
On the other hand, there are also many examples of politicians who are great at telling a powerful story but didn’t achieve the lasting social change they deserved. I’d suggest Tony Benn for one.
However what I particularly liked about your video is that it’s not about the clichéd longing for a “great leader” to rally behind; but instead a democratising call for all of us to develop and tell our own stories of social change.
I’m doubt I’ve changed many minds in my time, even when I think I’ve got a compelling narrative. But I suspect that just the processes of developing and sharing authentic stories for change might help us all be a little clearer about what’s important and how we might get there, and make us a little more circumspect about the emotion, half-truths and rhetoric of snake oil sellers.
Thanks