Storytelling Bites 9 - 3 Scales
Any idea, event, project, change, set of data is a story.
A story that - if we are going to understand it and connect with it well - needs to be told in terms of individuals, groups and the biggest context.
You’ll find 3 Scales in fairy tales, Shakespeare, the news… and you need to use them too.
I wonder if you’ve ever caught yourself thinking, when listening to someone give a case study, anecdote or example of the effect of the change they are proposing: “Yes, but why? What’s the need? Bit more big-picture, please.”
Or maybe it was the opposite: fifteen minutes into a detailed presentation on the financial imperative for a particular change, incorporating the evolution of global working patterns and the advances in automation capabilities, have you ever switched off having wondered: “Yes, but what will I have to do?” “What’s the benefit to me?”
Any event that takes place will exist across 3 scales and we need to cover all of them to show both breadth and specificity. To do so demonstrates how the actions of individuals are either influenced by or will influence external forces and how the work of a team will impact everything else. The 3 scales usefully provide insight on the various benefits and problems created by the relationship between them.
We often think about and share our content in the scale that means the most to us. We can forget that we are the giver and not the recipient of said information and that others are involved whose experience will be different to ours. We need to consider our subject outside of our usual view so we can reach more of our audience, keeping what we say relevant to them and to unearth aspects of our subject we had not noticed before. And investigating , building and sharing our communication with 3 Scales allows us to do that.
Storytelling gives us a great format for understanding and using scales that have been employed by humans for millennia.
At the smallest scale, we have the protagonists of the story. We get to know and care for them, we might relate to them, living vicariously through their experiences to both feel and understand the reality and detail of the idea, actions, problems and solutions. Incorporating individuals in what you say will help connect the details people and the ‘people people’ to your message, and help them understand their role in your ask.
In the middle we have the village, court or tribe. A group who are unified in some way. We may not get to know them individually, but they collectively influence or are affected by the actions that play out within the story. Incorporating a group, whether it’s the team of three who report to you or your client population of seven million, will connect your message to those for whom the team and its group effort and collaboration has greatest meaning.
Finally, we have the largest context. An external force that bares down and influences the situation or is the cause that everyone fights for. Incorporating this largest context into your message whether related, for example, to financial or regulatory need or the inspirational values of your organisation and the part it plays in the world, will help connect those for whom the big picture is king.
Our workshops can help you ensure you are using a variety of scales to best understand the reach of your message, so you are better able to connect with your audience and make things happen.
