Messaging and the Best (Untold) Green Party Story

The basic way in which societies have disseminated information is through stories. When languages weren’t put to paper or scrolls, humanity shared stories through spoken word and myths; with the advent of literature societies put those stories on paper; when radio became popular, stories hit the airwaves; when television and movie theatres emerged as mediums of information, motion pictures accompanied the stories we told; now the internet is the largest depository of stories the world has ever seen.

Story telling is part of the social code that makes up humanity, so much so studies indicate that story telling may be built into the innate structure of our brains. By the age of six, children exhibit the ability to recognize basic story-telling elements. They understand protagonists, antagonists, the challenge, that it is overcome and that there’s a lesson/value to be learned.

Stories are powerful because everyone can understand them. People have the ability to recognize the basic elements of a story as an ingrained feature in their minds but those elements need to be fitted with the details. When the details are compelling, stories can go viral through various mediums – word of mouth, the internet, magazines etc. The details are compelling when they speak to our values. Every good story from the Bible to Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales to President Barack Obama’s life speaks to the values a society shares framed through a struggle for good or to succeed.

For this reason, when I work with candidates and on campaigns, I stress the importance of identifying their story. What I have always wondered is why the Green Party of Canada has missed one of its best.

This is the story: In 1972 Elizabeth May moved from Connecticut to Nova Scotia with her family. They settled in Margaree Harbour and bought a restaurant/gift shop which they opened. The shop had been closed for years until May’s family opened it. While May was at university, the shop experienced financial difficulty. As a result, May left her studies to help her family and their business. Eventually she was able to resume her studies and completed a law degree, became a renowned environmental activist, an environmental advisor to the minister of the environment, the executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada, and the leader of the Green Party of Canada.

With a little flare, a quick example of how the story could be written is as follows:

“Canadians are facing tough economic times and as a result, many have had to make difficult decisions and serious sacrifices. Green Party leader Elizabeth May knows exactly what that means. While growing up in Nova Scotia, May left university to help her family’s small restaurant and gift shop. With her commitment to family and her dedication to ensure that the business would survive, it got back on its feet. May then left to law school and became amongst the most influential and successful environmental advocates in Canadian history.

Sacrifices are necessary in difficult times, but they can be rewarding. Let’s skip the partisanship and inflated rhetoric, make the right sacrifices and get Canada back on its feet.”

This is the type of story that could resonate with Canadians without exploiting the realities and challenges they face. It humanizes May as a leader of a federal political party at a time when the suits in Ottawa seem incapable of connecting to the on-the-ground issues Canadians face. It speaks to our values regarding sacrifice in hard times and people’s dedication to family. Indeed, it’s laden with powerful positive moral messages. Its relays the possibility of overcoming a struggle to achieve great things. It’s a story that Canadians would get because it relates to what they, or people they know, are going through right now.

It’s a great story – among the best the party has – and hopefully Canadians will be able to hear from them it soon.

Originally posted at kerstenskolumn.wordpress.com