Every day, legislators from across the country are meeting with stakeholder groups and lobbyists about a myriad of topics that in some way affect the constituents they represent. If you have ever worked in a political environment, you know the pace and range of information that is reviewed and processed on a daily basis is endless. From legislative bills, to constituent case files, to political party memos, today’s elected MP or MPP has to digest a tremendous amount of information. While many politicians are excellent at managing their time and balancing their commitments, they at times won’t be inspired to act or follow up on every issue that crosses their desk. However, issues that are effectively communicated and framed within a human context generally have a better chance of being addressed. In other words: Effective lobbying involves effective story telling.

At some point in our lives, we have all enjoyed telling and listening to a good story. However, in this technological era, communications of all sorts are increasingly being shortened to engage limited attention spans in a crowded environment, leading some to argue that effective oral storytelling is a dying skill. Effective storytelling has to take the intended audience into consideration, in order to ensure the story is effectively presented. While there are many common elements of effective storytelling, there are some fundamentals one should keep in mind while drafting a story around a message geared for people in government.

First off, stories used in lobbying must be simple and straight forward. Unfortunately, when meeting with politicians, there isn’t a lot of time to delve into details and long winded explanations. This is often  the reason why lobbying relies too much on bulleted key messages, boring statistics, and power point presentations to convince politicians to support certain issues. While statistics may factually help sell a specific argument, they don’t do much to appeal to the emotional side of the politician. All too often, lobbyists who have worked for too long in and around the public sector focus solely on the social or economic statistics and neglect including a human side to their political ask.

Another critical element of effective storytelling when it comes to lobbying is identifying your cast of characters, or in this case the people that will be impacted by the issue you are lobbying on. Identifying real people and including real perspectives from their individual or collective experience will help convince the person you are lobbying of the need for legislative change. While not always possible, it’s best if the story’s characters are constituents, or voters that are connected to the politicians you are lobbying in some way.

The final and most important element of the story is to include a positive ending: Let the politicians know how they can benefit, and what the positive outcomes will be should they decide to support your ask. While lobbying must include the truth, good and bad, make sure your story includes an outcome that not only improves things for your stakeholders but provides a benefit for the politicians.

The next time you are looking to influence government bureaucrats or elected politicians figure out how you can connect the statistical dots to the human face. Look to include real life examples alongside the statistics and information you are presenting. You may be surprised that the politician’s heart shows and they respond favourably to your message when you present it with real people and a positive outcome.