The New Rule of Storytelling: Don't Just Show, Involve

Show, don't tell.

This simple credo has long guided how I think about my writing. And, for the most part, it has served me well.

But I recently had a bit of an epiphany -- one that has me experimenting with a new credo: Don't just show, involve.

Today's most effective communicators do much more than use examples to spin a good yarn.

They find ways to involve their audiences in shaping the narrative. They relinquish some of their power -- and invite their audience to advance the story.

In the world of social good, movements like the Ice Bucket Challenge and Giving Tuesday stand as high-profile examples of the power of this credo. For both campaigns, organizers made a conscious decision to unleash the reins and let the audience control the story.

While these are powerful examples, however, the results are largely transactional. After all, both campaigns were centered around raising money.

This is a worthy outcome, for sure.

But what if your goals are larger than raising money or selling a product?

What if your organization is looking to change a system, or build trust, or involve a community in taking ownership of its future?

This takes more than a clever hashtag or a compelling, personal story.

It requires truly involving your target audience in the outcome.

It's not easy to do. But when it happens, it can be transformative.

One of the most poignant examples of this comes from the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation in Detroit.

There, in the Motor City's Brightmoor neighborhood, the foundation has spent years working to improve early-childhood education. Along the way, it found ways to partner with the community -- and it ultimately decided to hire a respected voice in that neighborhood to serve as a key liaison.

The liaison was given the title of "network officer" -- a title that, in foundation-speak, seemed perfectly appropriate and reasonable.

But when the network officer began explaining her role in the neighborhood, she was greeted with questions.

The word "officer" carried a negative meaning in the neighborhood -- as if she was connected with patrolling and keeping order, rather than helping to build partnerships and improve education.

Here's where Don't Just Show, Involve took over.

When confronted with such feedback, most organizations would go into spin mode. They would prepare talking points about why they chose the title and how it connects with its traditions.

This foundation, however, didn't spin.

It listened to the feedback and worked with the neighborhood to develop a title that worked both for the foundation and for the community.

In doing so, it told a strong, powerful story to the neighborhood -- a story that showed the foundation as an organization that was willing to relinquish some of its power in the spirit of true cooperation.

It wasn't here to tell them what to do. It wasn't there to show them what to do. It was there to involve them in shaping its future.

As communicators, we have the power to do much more than write blog posts and court media coverage. We have the opportunity to think more deeply about the messages our organizations send through our actions.

And, if we're lucky enough to work with leaders who are willing to think differently about the stories they tell, we can affect change in remarkable ways.