Harnessing the Narrative
This article is based on popular conference talks delivered by the author at the 2023 CASE Nordic Summit, CASE Europe Annual Conference, and CASE Regular Giving and Legacies Conference.
Everyone loves stories.
As children, we demand them at bedtime. As we get older, we yearn to bequeath them to our families. We stream entire box sets of stories when we’re curled up in bed with a cold. And we endlessly exchange stories on WhatsApp or other messaging apps to pass the time.
A compelling story can stir incredible emotions and actions. Stories can make us laugh, gasp, cry, and cheer. And they can help us learn, empathise, remember, heal, and act. Best of all, stories can be great levellers that transcend barriers. This is especially important in our diverse and international education sector.
Our advancement divisions, in particular, need stories. Advancement professionals can use stories to raise money, engage alumni, attract and steward donors, and energise staff. But storytelling can be a challenging process. You might get fatigued, overwhelmed, mired in analysis paralysis, or derailed by imposter syndrome before you finish telling your full story.
Some people have an almost effortless talent for storytelling. They are guided by their hearts: They are improvisers, soulful, emotional, and instinctive. In the novelist world, they would be known as “pantsers” because they fly by the seat of their pants.
But others are guided by their heads: They are iterative, technical, structural, methodical. These are known as “plotters.” Plot, after all, is what makes a story a story, not just a bunch of words.
If you fall into that second category, you can gain confidence in your—and your institution’s—storytelling ability by building off tried-and-tested plots.
But where do we start? How about with the basics?
The Seven Basic Plots of Storytelling
Christopher Booker—author, journalist, and founder of the satirical magazine Private Eye—concluded that every memorable story is structured around one of seven basic plots. He published his findings—the result of his 34 years of research—in 2004. The seven basic plots:
- Overcoming the monster
- Rags to riches
- Voyage and return
- The quest
- Comedy
- Tragedy
- Redemption
All your favourite stories told throughout history—from medieval times to modern times, from caves to Kindles, from tapestries to TikTok—have followed these seven plots. As advancement professionals, we can craft stories that will excite, engage, and educate our students, staff, stakeholders, alumni, volunteers, prospects, and donors using these plots as guides.
Let’s take a closer look.
Overcoming the monster
A hero confronts an evil force that is threatening their home. They use their courage and cleverness to win against insurmountable odds.
Famous examples of this plot include Jaws, Dracula, Beowulf, Star Wars, David and Goliath, and George and the Dragon. In your advancement role, you can use this plot to:
- Talk about how your institution succeeded against adversity.
- Reflect on the lessons that your organization learned.
- Show how your community became stronger as a result.
Rags to riches
A hero from humble beginnings gains what they desire only to lose it again. They grow as a person then succeed in reclaiming their desire.
Famous examples include Aladdin, Jane Eyre, Cinderella, The Ugly Duckling, David Copperfield, and Great Expectations. In your advancement role, you can use this plot to:
- Show the brave risks your community is taking to better themselves and others.
- Demonstrate how your organization earned its present success.
- Talk about the importance of admitting to mistakes.
The quest
A hero searches for a specific prize, overcoming challenges and temptations along the way. They are often joined by a group of friends.
Famous examples include The Iliad, The Aeneid, Watership Down, The Divine Comedy, The Lord of the Rings, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. In your advancement role, you can use this plot to:
- Talk about the importance of long-term commitment to a cause.
- Show how your university has grown toward success.
- Demonstrate the power of collaboration.
Voyage and return
A hero travels to an unfamiliar land, meets new people, and overcomes trials, all while trying to get home. A newfound wisdom discovered along their journey helps them to get home.
Famous examples include The Hobbit, The Lion King, Gulliver’s Travels, The Wizard of Oz, Back to the Future, and Alice in Wonderland. In your advancement role, you can use this plot to:
- Talk about the benefits of new experiences.
- Show what your institution has learned on its journey.
- Demonstrate the power of collaboration and relationship-building.
Comedy
A hero faces a series of lighthearted misunderstandings, often involving mistaken identities. The conflict ends with a happy outcome and celebration.
Famous examples include Freaky Friday, Twelfth Night, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Arbitration, The Big Lebowski, and Bridget Jones’s Diary. In your advancement role, you can use this plot to:
- Talk about your institution’s challenges in handling a delicate situation.
- Demonstrate how the delicate situation has since improved.
- Reflect on what your university learned from those challenges.
Tragedy
A hero—good but flawed—is frustrated with their life. They face temptation and break the rules. This begins a series of events that leads to their downfall.
Famous examples include Scarface, Macbeth, Hamilton, Citizen Kane, Oedipus Rex, and Bonnie and Clyde. In your advancement role, you can use this plot to:
- Position your institution to present on a wider problem in society.
- Contrast your college’s own values and principles with others’.
- Demonstrate how not to act in a given situation.
Rebirth
An unpleasant villain is shown the error of their ways by another character. The villain redeems themself before the end of the story, ultimately becoming a hero.
Famous examples include The Last of Us, Despicable Me, Groundhog Day, A Christmas Carol, Pride and Prejudice, and Beauty and the Beast. In your advancement role, you can use this plot to:
- Talk about an uplifting and enlightening experience.
- Show the importance of having support from others.
- Demonstrate that everyone has the capacity to improve.
How to Use the Seven Basic Plots
Which plot is best for our universities, colleges, and schools? As large and complex organizations, we’re a little spoiled for choice. Each could be deployed as part of our marketing and communications tool kit. Here are three actionable models that can help you navigate this and find narrative nirvana.
Achieving Your Objectives
Thinking about your strategic objectives is an effective way to figure out which plot fits your situation best. As shown in the table below, some plots are better suited for achieving a given objective than others.
Objective | Audience | Potential Plot | For Example... |
---|---|---|---|
Public engagement |
National journalists | Overcoming the monster | Our research centre has found methods to defeat obesity. |
Widening participation |
Prospective students |
Rags to riches | A refugee found the confidence and support to apply. |
Student experience |
First-year students |
The quest | Our football team is hoping to win the varsity trophy. |
Global mobility |
Second-year students |
Voyage and return | A student gained new perspectives on their year abroad. |
Graduate employability |
Final-year students |
Comedy | Alumni share their biggest career failures and lessons learned. |
Philanthropic donations |
Alumni community |
Tragedy | Dementia patients are declining without vital academic research. |
Staff retention |
Staff members |
Rebirth |
We are introducing nonbinary facilities in response to staff surveys. |
Demonstrating Values
Our universities, colleges, and schools all have values. Our value statements are groups of words that accompany our mission statement to emphasise the ethos of our institutions. They usually appear as general text on our websites, but recruiting one of the seven basic plots can help us show our values rather than tell about them.
Value | Potential Plot | For Example... |
---|---|---|
Resilience |
Overcoming the monster | Our staff and students have successfully returned to campus after the COVID-19 lockdowns. |
Inclusion | Rags to riches | A student who had been a victim of bullying was elected as the first transgender president of the Students’ Union. |
Excellence | The quest | Our academic community has achieved gold in our national teaching assessment initiative. |
Collaboration | Voyage and return | Our mobility program has resulted in staff exchanges with over 50 global universities. |
Honesty | Comedy | Our students share the silly mistakes they made when applying to the university. |
Respect | Tragedy | Our flags are flying at half-mast to mark the passing of Her Majesty The Queen. |
Integrity | Rebirth | We are removing statues of former slave owners from our campus. |
Practicing Creativity
Consider a plot that isn’t the most obvious for your situation. You might unearth a story that is even more compelling and impactful.
For instance, say your institution has a philanthropic goal to increase regular (or annual) giving for planet-saving environmental research. You could challenge yourself to envision a story supporting that goal using each of the seven plots. Once you have these seven ideas (see the table below for an example), you can decide which is the most exciting and worthy of moving forward.
Potential Plot | For Example... |
---|---|
Overcoming the monster | Our students are lobbying the government for greener laws about carbon emissions. |
Rags to riches | A recycling initiative suggested by a first-year student is being shared across the entire university. |
The quest | A research group has discovered a way to detect microplastics in rivers. |
Voyage and return | A researcher has gained new insights after visiting the melting ice caps. |
Comedy | The vice chancellor shares their candid thoughts about cycling to work. |
Tragedy | A ranger shares hard-hitting footage of rising forest fires and their effect on wildlife. |
Rebirth | Major donors admit to poor sustainability in their businesses and are now rectifying their processes. |
After reviewing your plot options, you could test the concepts with a focus group comprised of members of your target audience to fully understand which story they prefer. With that additional assurance, you may feel more confident about investing resources into bringing the story to life.
Happy Endings
Speaking of voyage and return—this article itself has been a bit of a voyage. Before you return “home” to your work and storytelling, remember that the seven basic plots can offer you:
Motivation. These plots are compasses that can point you and your colleagues out of creative blocks.
Confidence. These tried-and-tested plots have engaged audiences for millennia.
Accountability. Use the plots as a benchmark to ensure you are sharing stories, not just words.
Reinforcement. Choosing the right plot for your strategic goals will amplify your intended message.
Inspiration. Experimenting with all seven plots can prompt effective ideas you may not have otherwise considered.
“Stories are a communal currency of humanity,” says Tahir Shah, author of In Arabian Nights. Stories, indeed, are like genies in magic lamps: They can help make our wishes come true. Armed with these seven plots, we can all be our own genies; all we have to do is tell our compelling tales. And now you have a starting point. Even better, you have seven.
About the author(s)
Simon Fairbanks has over 15 years of experience in the education sector. This includes student recruitment, marketing, and events roles at four different universities in the UK: Nottingham, Birmingham, Warwick, and Coventry.
Simon has also worked at Pickle Jar Communications, a content strategy consultancy for the international education sector. He helped schools, colleges, and universities share their stories through digital communications.
Simon is an international speaker. He has spoken at a variety of conferences, including CASE, ContentEd, EFMD, IDPE, FindAUniversity, HELOA, HighEdWeb, SU Digital, and Utterly Content. He was Chair of the Newcomers Track at CASE Europe Annual Conference from 2020 to 2023.
As a published author, Simon is particularly interested in storytelling in the education sector. He spends his free time reading, writing, running, and finding new ways to make his children laugh.
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Article appears in:
May-June 2024 Issue of Currents
FINDING THE RIGHT WORDS: Best practices for responding in high-stakes situations. Also, how to diversify your donor pipeline, why mentoring matters, and harnessing the narrative with the seven basic plots of storytelling.