2.3: Public Narrative
- Page ID
- 245727
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Creating a Public Narrative
One important aspect of visionary leadership is your ability to tell your own personal story in a way that engages others and inspires them to action. If you want people to get involved with something you are working on, your own example of why that issue matters to you, and what got you to be involved, is one of the most effective ways to move others to action. The more sincere, vulnerable, and relatable you are, the more you are likely to inspire others to take action.
Public narrative is a technique for practicing this. This common organizing tool of using personal stories to motivate others was given the name Public Narrative by the legendary organizer Marshal Ganz. Ganz grew up in Fresno California and went away to Harvard for college. Before completing his Bachelor’s degree, he dropped out to join the civil rights movement. Then in 1965, he moved back to California’s Central Valley to become an organizer for the United Farm Workers. After doing that and other organizing work for many years, Ganz finally returned to Harvard in 1991 to finish his Bachelor's degree and go on to get Masters and Doctoral degrees. Since that time he has taught organizing at Harvard.
A Public narrative is a speech that has 3 parts: the story of me, the story of us, and the story of now (Adapted from workshop by Marshall Ganz)
The Story of Me is where you tell why you're interested in the issue you are trying to mobilize support for. You tell something personal that gets the listeners to feel your passion for the work and to understand why you have that passion.
In The Story of Us you bring the listener in and give them a sense of how the issue you are working on will impact the listeners. It tells them why they should care about what you are working on. You should pull on their heartstrings. Imagine your audience as someone who has never even thought of this as an issue. Many people often forget that there’s a lot of things going on outside of their own lives that they might have never experienced.
The Story of Now is your “ask.” What do you need from them? Do you need support on a petition? Attendance at an event? Inviting them to come to join your organization? It really can be anything, but leave your listeners with a task to do.
One aspect of the Public narrative that is very important for Ganz is that you show a place where you faced a challenge, had a choice to make and you chose to take action. When you show others that when they face a challenge they can make a choice, that helps them to see that it is possible to make a difference in difficult situations. For your public narrative you can integrate a point where you faced a challenge and made a choice or you can leave that aspect out.
In the videos, there are two examples of Public Narratives from Cynthia Kaufman’s 2025 class. In each of them, the student tells their own story, makes connections to the issues they are working on, and invites listeners to take action on that issue.
Duration: 1 minute 36 seconds
Video introduction: In this video, Alisa shares her public narrative.
Duration: 1 minute 41 seconds
Video introduction: In this video, Angel shares his public narrative.
Develop Your Skills:
Write a Public Narrative- a three-minute, three-part speech that is related to something you want to motivate others to be involved with. If you are doing a civic engagement project, then make sure it is related to the work you are doing for that. The story of now can be a made up ask if there is nothing relevant to invite people to do. Include the following three sections in the narrative: a “story of me,” a “story of us,” and a “story of now.”
Here is a description of what should go into each part:
- Story of me- Why do YOU care about the work you’re involved in? This should be related to your internship placement.
- Story of us- and why SHOULD other people care? - Pull on their heartstrings. Imagine your audience as someone who has never even thought of this as an issue. Many people often forget that there’s a lot of things going on outside of their own lives that they might've never experienced.
- Story of now- This is your ask! What do YOU need from them? Do you need support on a petition? Attending an event? Inviting them to come to join your organization? It really can be anything. It's okay if this part is made up you just want to leave them with a task essentially.
Attributions
- Adapted from “The Power of Story: The Story of Self, Us and Now” by Marshall Ganz, The commons Social Change Library, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA.