Stephen Follows, creative director, Catsnake Visit the CharityComms website to view slides from past events, see what events we have coming up and to check out what else we do: www.charitycomms.org.uk

1. Story, Story, Hallelujah
Presented by Stephen Follows Creative Director of Catsnake
stephen@catsnake.com @stephenfollows5th March 2020
How to find the heart of your story and truly connect with your audience

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stephen@catsnake.com
Stephen Follows, creative director at Catsnake
• Catsnake is a story agency, focusing on the third sector and social impact
1. What is a story, and why they matter
2. An exercise to find your story
3. Finding and honing good stories

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Finding the heart of a story
• Your audience is students at Finchley College.
• What’s the main story here…
– Charles Pledge, the principal of Finchley 6th Form College, announced
today that the tutors of the college will travel to Glasgow on Thursday for a
symposium in new interactive teaching methods. Speaking there will be
anthropologist Margaret Smith and Robert Hutchins, the president of the
University of Wales.
– Headline: "No school on Thursday”

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4 Why stories matter

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The three truths about stories
We all enjoy stories
Deep down, on a primal level
Stories inspire action
Far more than logic or reason
Stories affect us
We feel connected and
personally involved

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Once upon a time…

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… in a land long ago…
250,000B.P.
200,000B.P.
100,000B.P.
10,000B.P.
PresentDay
Homo
sapiens
Stone
tools
Mitochondrial
Eve
Fully modern
humans
Farming Brexit
Fudge
iPhones
Spoken
language
150,000B.P.
50,000B.P.

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Meaning in movies

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Identifying and building meaning
• What is the story about? (not the plot)
• What do the characters learn?
• What would a caveperson understand?
Irrational love beats
received programming
Nothing is impossible You have to give up who you are for love

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11 Telling your story

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Telling your story
• In pairs, take it in turns to discuss your organisations
• Speaker: In 90 seconds, describe your organisation. What you do, how, for
whom, why, who supports you, etc.
• Listener: Don’t take notes, just listen.
• Swap.
• Write down a few sentences to sum up your partner’s organisation.
• Don’t check with them and don’t let them see what you’ve written.

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13 Spotting and honing good stories

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DRIVE ACTION SUPPRESS ACTION
POSITIVENEGATIVE
The emotions which drive action
Awe Excitement Humour
Anger Anxiety
Contentment
Sadness

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1. The Challenge plot

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2. The Connection plot

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3. The Creativity plot

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The Golden Theme
We Are All The Same

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6 questions to help find the heart
1. When you tell friends, what do you lead with?
2. What questions do people always ask about it?
3. What does it represent?
4. What would a caveperson identify with?
5. What common themes do you find when talking to people about it?
6. When and how has something similar best been expressed in the past?

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Stay in touch
For these slides, or to just swap stories,
email me at stephen@catsnake.com
Twitter @StephenFollows

21. 5 March 2020
Conference: Changing hearts and
minds: social science insights for
communicators

22. Visit the CharityComms website to view
slides from past events, see what events
we have coming up and to check out
what else we do:
www.charitycomms.org.uk