Public Narrative

Marshall Ganz

Marshall Ganz developed Public Narrative as a way of bringing people together
and motivating action through narrative. He recognised that stories are the
natural way in which we make sense of the world.

Public Narrative has three core features:

Story of Self: What called me into action?
Story of Us: The shared collective experiences of everyone in the room. It should
give a challenge, a choice for action, and an inspired outcome.
Story of Now: Telling the story of the world as it is now against the story of the
world as it should be, this create a a sense of urgency, supported by hope for better.

Further Resources

Marshall Ganz, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard University, developed Public Narrative and has written extensively on it. You can look at some of his thinking below:

Public Narrative Worksheet Public Narrative, Collective Action and Power

In the video below, Systems Leadership Enabler Chris Lawrence-Pietroni explores the idea of Public narrative and the story of us:

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