How inspiring narratives can help restore and build trust

We currently live in an era defined by fear and lack of trust, emotions which have only been exacerbated by the pandemic. But, in this ever connected world, we also have an opportunity to build deeper and broader trust among people across the world, and narratives can do this for us.

Many people view stories and narratives as the same thing, but I believe there is an important distinction between the two. For me, stories are self-contained – they have a beginning, a middle and an end – while narratives are open-ended. Narratives instead focus on a major threat or opportunity in the future, yet to be achieved.

Stories are generally about the storyteller or about some other people, real or imagined; they are not about the people listening to the story. By contrast, narratives have an explicit call to action to the audience – and their choices and their actions will determine the narrative's outcome.

And while stories have significant emotional power, inspiring narratives have even greater emotional power. In an era often defined by fear, I believe we need opportunity-based narratives now more than ever.

We live in a world that is increasingly dominated by threat-based narratives. When we look out into the future, we see threats and, as a result, feel increasingly amounts of fear.

Fear tends to erode trust. We can’t rely on others because there’s too much at risk. A vicious cycle sets in – the less we trust others, the more isolated we become and the more afraid we become, the less we trust others. Fear is spreading around the world.

As such, we need to find ways to craft opportunity-based narratives that inspire people to come together and achieve impact that is meaningful to them. If these opportunities are big and exciting, we will be motivated to ask others to join us and help us in our quest. That willingness to ask for help expresses vulnerability and builds trust. And, as we act together, our trust deepens when we see what we can accomplish together.

Narratives can be crafted and have impact at multiple levels, starting with the individual, but expanding to organizations, geographies and social movements.

One of the most successful opportunity-based narratives created by an organization is Apple's 1990s slogan "Think different". It focused on a new generation of digital technology that could help people achieve their full potential, while also making it clear that to harness that opportunity, people would need to change their way of thinking.

This narrative tapped into such a deep sense of aspiration, that Apple has long since reached a religion-like status among many of its users. It's a great example of how organizations can build much deeper relations with a broader range of stakeholders if they frame opportunity-based narratives that go beyond simply “buy my product”.

Geographical narratives can also be powerful. The Italian city of Florence, for example, flourished during the 14th and 15th centuries on the back of its reputation as the birthplace and centre of the Renaissance.

While this narrative was never concisely articulated, it focused on the opportunity to explore everywhere, to understand more dimensions of our humanity and to express more of our human potential. It inspired artists, merchants and scientists to come together and help each other to stimulate their creativity.

Such an example highlights how cities, regions, and countries can become magnets for talent with inspiring opportunity-based narratives.

Opportunity-based narratives have also encouraged people to join some of the most successful movements for social change throughout the world's history.

A classic example is the role that Mahatma Gandhi played in the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule. Through a policy of non-violent resistance that went on to inspire Martin Luther King Jr, among others, Gandhi maintained focus on the extraordinary opportunity that could arise if Indian people were able to take their own initiative and come together to support each other, free from outside interference.

Imagine what we could accomplish if we could frame a global narrative based on an opportunity that would be meaningful to everyone, and help to bring everyone together around the world – perhaps, dare I say, a “Great Narrative”?

Of course, not all narratives are created equal. Based on my research, I have identified four key elements to creating a powerful narrative:

We live in a world of mounting performance pressure – competition is intensifying, the pace of change is accelerating, and greater global connectivity is generating extreme, disruptive events that seem to come out of nowhere, such as COVID-19. This is one of the key reasons that fear is becoming a dominant emotion in society.

However, the paradox is that the forces creating mounting performance pressure are at the same time creating exponentially expanding opportunity. We can create far more value, far more quickly and with far less resources than ever before.

The challenge is that, if we are driven by fear, we can’t even see those opportunities, much less have the motivation to pursue them.

Opportunity-based narratives are a powerful way to move beyond fear and come together to achieve much greater impact – something particularly important as we move on from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the process, we will develop much deeper trust with others as we start to see what we can accomplish together.