Storytelling at the heart of citizen engagement: @PSengage 2011 Preview from Alan Silberberg

How you tell the story of something whether your best friend’s recent golf incident – or the introduction of a new paradigm into an old channel matters. It matters more and more so in the instant gratification and short time frame attention span economy. How our brains process information now is based on how fast does it answer basic questions. If you cannot tell the story of why something should be done using outside references then figure out how to tell the story using those from inside.

Time matters. People’s time matters the more that you are demanding they contemplate either large expenditures or something technical in nature or both. If you can tell the story in a simple to understand, bite size version, you are more likely to get a buy-in from skeptical management or budget conscious bean counters.

So frame your story as if you were sitting around a family dinner table. Keep it simple. Use basic language. Sure you can let loose with fancy nomenclature and or highly technical terms to show you know your stuff. But – relate it to the here and now, why is something practical, applicable and affordable at this period in time? Tell the story of other Government agencies doing what you propose. Tell the story of successful wins from the actions you seek.

There will be more in the PS Engage talk, but this is the basic outline of what I am addressing in Ottawa on November 22, 2011.

Alan Silberberg