Show don't tell!
Storytelling is critically important in talking with people about things like vaccines. That’s for a number of reasons:
- Most of us are not scientists so we don’t connect with the data. In fact, sometimes the data can be confusing or even scary
- We are emotional beings – our decision-making is based on the heart and the head. We need stories to help our emotional decision-making process
- It helps people relate. It’s personal. It’s real. It’s not a bunch of numbers
- Frankly, it’s just more interesting
Storytelling best practices
- Tailor it to your audience: what will resonate most with them
- Identify the purpose of the story: what is the message you want to get across
- Describe what happened instead of explaining the main lesson
- Keep it short and focused
- Make it personal: use your own experiences
- Use emotion and empathy
- Don’t be the hero of the story (”and then I saved the day…”)
- Practice!
How you can help
- Learn more about advocating and engaging on social media
- Take the Vaccine Quest to learn more about vaccines
- Learn evidence-based ways to handle hesitancy to become the Trusted Vaccine Messenger to the people around you
- Get involved as a Vax Ambassador, Social Media Ninja, or other Volunteer with Voices for Vaccines
- Share your story on our blog
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