Last week at the Climate Reality Leadership Training in San Francisco, storytelling guru Andy Goodman led a spellbinding session on the importance of “changing the story.” Goodman described research that confirmed what many of us have experienced: in a public debate, a misleading but vivid anecdote can trump reams of data and logic. (Anybody remember Ronald Reagan’s wildly exaggerated “Welfare Queen” imagery?)
So often, the only way to dislodge emotionally-charged disinformation is to tell a better, more compelling story.
To see this principle in action, check out this wonderful little clip from Goodman’s Free Range Thinking newsletter about a successful campaign in Troy MI that defeated the Tea Party and saved the city library. Lots of lessons here! Continue reading
