The power of a good story

I first learned the power of stories for mobilisation when I went to an OMF workshop to prepare for our first home assignment (Pre-Home Assignment Workshop or PHAW). During that workshop, we learned how to write two-minute stories that we could use in presentations to supporters. Then we learned how to join those together to create a meaningful talk that lasted 12 minutes.

During that first home assignment, we witnessed how powerful a good story was when we told them to people in Australia. I remember a couple of stories that had me in tears as I spoke into the microphone. They were honest and hard to deliver but connected with the audience, and people reminded me of those stories even ten years later!

Stories are also helpful in written and audiovisual form. They can be used in prayer letters, in social media posts, on websites, and in video form.

Advertisers use stories

Advertisers have been doing it for decades. Some of the most memorable ads are story based. I’m sure you could tell me about some you’ve seen over the years.

From my own country, I can name at least two ads that many people my age from Australia will know just from a few words that have stuck in people’s heads. Both of these come from micro-stories. One was about an employee called Jan who forgot to put her company’s advertisement in the annual Yellow Pages, a large printed book of ads that people used before the internet to find services. “Not happy, Jan!” was what her boss yelled out the window as Jan hurriedly ran off down the road on a fictional errand to avoid the confrontation. “Not happy, Jan!” has become part of the Australian colloquial language.

How stories communicate

A good book about communicating important messages with stories is Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath. They break down what makes ideas stick in people’s heads, using an acronym: SUCCESs

Simple: Don’t overexplain; get to the core of the message.

Unexpected: Use surprise to grab people’s attention.

Concrete: Help people hook a new idea onto something they are already familiar with.

Credible: Use convincing details; make it accessible and believable.

Emotional: Make people care.

And the one we’re talking about:

Stories: Inspire people to take action.

If stories incorporate the elements listed above, like I did with those stories I told in my first home assignment, they stick in people’s heads even better.

The authors of Made to Stick say that stories “put . . . knowledge into a framework that is more lifelike, more true to our day-to-day existence.”¹

This is why stories are such a powerful tool for missionaries in mobilisation. We’re trying to communicate something we know well (in our case, the needs in Japan) with people who have very little understanding of the context. A story can take something as foreign as our day-to-day existence here in Japan and make it real for people who have never set foot in this country or only know about the touristy side of Japan.

Types of missionary stories

During the OMF PHAW course, we learned about different types of stories—ones about Japan’s culture and ones about an answer to prayer or an answer to the question “Is it worth it all?” Some stories are about what you actually do (nuts and bolts), and others help show the spiritual needs in Japan. All these types are useful at different times.

You can use your own stories or other people’s stories, but harness the powerful story to make your point.

1. Chip and Dan Heath, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die (Random House, 2007), p. 214.
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