Public Narrative – story of self, story of us, story of now
Today, I had as a task to plan 5 videos for the website Lesk. 5 videos that would inspire people to try Lesk, use it, order it, and follow the project. To be ready then, I was looking into my old notes on public narratives and how to motivate people.
I found this series of videos that were explaining deeply the concept of the story of self, the story of us, and the story of now: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaT8gjnOmQl2fjCj76sAH1jXwKtlASzjN
I always had a hard time making compelling stories. While the structure is always presented as simple, the theories around it can be various and then make the whole principle confusing.
Here are the notes I have taken :
A leader needs to express why he/she wants to lead. Leadership is a mix of self, us, and now and the domain of leadership is full of uncertainty. Leadership is the science of motivating people to take the challenge. Leadership is accepting to push people to achieve a shared purpose under the conditions of uncertainty. Leadership is engagement.
The question one might wonder is how to help people find the power they need? What are the problems they face? The goal of leadership is to enable people to come/stand together.
From resources to a goal we need:
- a shared story
- a shared relationship
- a shared structure
- a shared strategy
- a shared action
Shared story: it is critical feedback. It helps us to grow, to receive information.
Example of Moses becoming successful once he goes into the desert and he is really oppressed.
Not always focus on strategy. A strategy can be great, if no one follows you it’s not a great strategy. You need people following you so you need to motivate them.
A campaign is: a story + a strategy + a structure
We map the world cognitively and emotionally
Our values are what move us to act.
Values -> emotion -> actions
We communicate values through narratives
By creating tension (through emotions), we can push people to act.
Urgency overcomes inertia
Anger overcomes apathy
Hope overcomes Fear
Solidarity overcomes isolation
Y.C.M.A.D. overcomes self-doubt
Hope is to prefer what is probable rather than what is possible
Stories always have 3 elements: A character, a plot, and a moral
A plot is when there is a problem, an unexpected interruption. Then it awakes our interest, we care about it. Because it is in human nature to resolve problems that’s why we care so much about problems. Hence we are really curious about how to resolve them.
When we look at someone doing something, we can experience it too as if we were doing it. We relate to the protagonist and we learn how to deal with it.
The moral of a story goes to the heart as we hear our first stories from our parents (stories are also instructive)
Public narrative is a way to harness leadership through stories.
The story of self is a way to communicate moments of experience. It is the basic of narratives. It is when we experience something. It is a way to reflect on moments where you learned what you cared for and where you get your hope. The goal while telling a story is to access those moments to share with others.
The story of us is about how to use the shared experience to bring alive shared values in order to take collective action. It’s an experimental “us”, a shared experience.
The story of now is how to use narrative to make it into a challenge that requires hopeful action.
Speech of James Croft
First, he starts with a story of now = he confronts us with the reality, he is showing not telling. This makes us realize that storytelling is about visualization.
Then a speaks about the story of self. Through his example, he shows that he is capable of joy, of beauty. Then he speaks about the teacher and it makes us feel sad and angry. Then when he is speaking about the principal, it feels as if he is isolated.
He goes to the story of us through isolation. Here, a narrow issue becomes something anyone can relate to.
Here, and in general, the stories evoke memories of our own, our own experiences. Then he speaks about the trees, the home (as we all have a home). He uses names to speak about human beings. He speaks about people who hang themselves (echo to the American culture).
Then he goes back to the story of self where he says that he has been failing himself. This is where hope begins, he shares that as he is capable of change, so we are capable of change, so the world is capable of change.
Here there is a relationship between courage and vulnerability. Is there courage without vulnerability?
Did you confront a challenge? Have you made mistakes? This is where you can teach us something. Because what do we learn from a perfect person?
Then he pushes people to action, this is visible, this is something this group can do and it speaks directly to the problem.
There is something in storytelling about showing and not telling. Everybody can learn this.
Storytelling is about taking the implicit and making it explicit.
Make the inside glowing.
The story of self is often hard to express cause we are too modest. Don’t be modest and be scared to tell your story otherwise someone else will tell it for you. A story of self is about you.
To find your moments, you need to ask yourself “why”
Stories empower people. Some people feel they don’t have the capacities but by listening to someone’s story they feel better and they can relate.
Stories motivate people which is a good thing because if you feel hope, you have more power, more hope, more creativity and you have a better ability to think strategically. Compared to if you feel down.
The goal of this note-taking is to adapt everything to the Lesk story as this is the one I really want to develop. This story will help me with the videos and for the first email that I will send when people will subscribe. The goal of this story is to push people to understand what Lesk is and why it would be useful.
Let’s go.
Reflexion:
Through Lesk, the shared story we want to develop is “we can organize parties anywhere we want, we would have fun if we do things right. We don’t need to be inexpensive nightclubs or we can have variations”. Why? Because a good party is about friendship and music we like, not about drinking too much and being frustrated because we can’t get laid. Why? Because it’s not a party if you drink to forget and compare yourself with others. A party is a moment of joy when you laugh with others, dance to the music you like, feel good, and get rewarded for the hard work you have provided. Why? Because feeling happy shouldn’t be a matter of how much you can afford, how well you’re dressed or how attractive you are.
The values that stick out here are the ones that concern the fact that parties should be accessible for everyone and anywhere. It should be a moment of joy, not a moment of frustration.
If I have to tell my story, I would say that I used to go to a normalized nightclub and I used to feel like shit, almost depressed because of the fact that I was bored listening to the same music and drinking overpriced drinks. This is my problem and I am the character obviously.
The plot that should interest the reader to understand my story is how I got out of this “normal nightclubs is boring” to use Lesk. The whole plot is step 1 I used to organize my own parties somewhere but because of the rules etc. it didn’t feel like a good place to have fun as it lacked atmosphere so I came up with a tool that would make those parties fun so I tried different objects but all of them were bad up until one seemed like a bad idea for me but when I shared that on social media I got good feedbacks so finally this was the winning idea and this is how Lesk started
The values, or the story of us, is this feeling that partying should be fun, not only in general nightclubs, not only with expensive drinks, etc. It should be enough with a group of friends that take some turntables out, some sound and some Lesk and that’s it. Why? Because we can be happier with few people than with a lot. Why? Because standardized music is made for radio, not for us to be happy. Why? Because we should have more dancing, more socializing and fewer phone times.
Now the moral we can take out of this story is both “organize your own parties, your events, you’ll live better moments” and “Use Lesk as it will help you to do that anywhere you want”.
Now, the risk one could take would be to reduce or insult those so-called normal nightclubs. They are not the bad guys here, it’s mostly the use we make of them which is bad.
“Every Friday night, millions of people face their mirror to get ready to have the good time they deserve after an entire week of work. Most of them will finish their evening by spending too much, drinking too much, or being too frustrated. Because what is served to us as happy moments is often a facade to what really makes us delighted.
I know that because I lived it. Every weekend, I wore my best perfume and put on my best shirt and my best pants. I used to simulate a fashion show in my apartment just before riding the streets with my friends for the rest of the night. All the elements were reunited to make the evening a perfect moment, and surprisingly, it wasn’t. So I knew that something needed to be changed.
The first step I took was to organize my own raves where people could dress as they wished, where people were dancing to the music they liked and where enjoying didn’t mean showing off. The parties were located in the back room of a restaurant. The tiles of the floor reminded us of a hospital, the walls seemed several centuries old, and too much light would make people ask what was their purpose in life. But actually, the ambiance was lovely, and the atmosphere was decontracted. Which showed me that doing your own initiatives can sometimes be surprisingly preferred to following the status quo.
But despite all the goodwill of people coming, the place needed an exceptional characteristic, a property, an element that would completely change it. Something that would remind us of a nightclub only by being better than it. To do so, I needed a tool, a piece of equipment that would transform it into a club. I thought that having a light object would make a difference, so I started to craft something in my student room.
Trials after trials, I imagined a tool that could suit me as a DJ, that could benefit us as party makers. We, people who like to gather to party. We, who are putting value into having the fun they want. We, who are doing this for ourselves, not for others.
I succeeded in crafting a prototype of light hanging equipment out of plastic balls, LEDs, and old fabric found in the second-hand shop around the corner. I learned some basic electronics by watching Youtube videos. When I got the occasion, I hung it in a concert room, recorded it on video, and shared it on Facebook. I didn’t think the prototype was that good, to be honest, but the feedback was great, and it only told me that we had something worth exploiting.
With time, we improved it. We made it real. We now have something that can be used. Something that can change places into clubs. A tool that can bring joy, excitation, and euphoria. Something that can allow DJs to make unforgettable parties even in a shoes’ box. Something that can be set up effortlessly and something that can fit in a backpack.
What we need now is to spread the word. We need your help to make it exist, to make it real. So if you can in any way help us, don’t hesitate. If you can spread the word, send that to your friends, or share it on social media this would help us a lot. Because making a product is difficult, time-consuming, and expensive, we need your solidarity to make Lesk a product you will hang during your live streams, your weddings, or your raves. Thanks for reading this, and we will tell you à bientôt!
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