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Essentials of Successful Storytelling

Who, what, when, where, why and how: these elements are essential to communicating a story successfully. Though these elements may see obvious, they are key to engaging ANY audience.

When communicating your research or creative activity, begin by first creating a ‘pitch’. A story pitch is a brief description (100 words max) that sums up the 5 ‘W’s and 1 ‘H’ of your work.

A (fictional) example: “I study the wildlife diversity found in white clover lawns, as compared with fescue grass lawns. In this three-year study, our team maintained and observed 12 plots in rural Indiana (six planted with clover, six with fescue). We found that clover lawns hosted more than 58 times the diversity of insects and birds per square meter. This research is important because recent studies reveal a significant decrease in native birds and insect species in the US over last 40 years. Our research will inform conservation policies and promote greater diversity of species in areas such as parks, and residential lawns.” (100 words)

Use the pitch you’ve created to guide how you communicate your research, wether that is on social media, through external news/TV/radio/journals, or in other venues.

Looking for help? Email Research Promotions and Communications Specialist briannephillips@boisestate.edu for help crafting your pitch.

The 5 'W's and 1 'H'

Who?

  • A successful story must explain ‘who’ the research or creative activity is meant to impact. Will it impact a specific population or demographic, a region, a country, a species, (etc.)?
  • “Who are you?” Your story should also answer questions such as ‘why are you conducting this research’, and ‘why are you the person most qualified to comment on this topic?”
  • “Who is involved in this work?” If your are conducting research or creativity activities with others researchers or artists, or with support from a stakeholder, include them in your story.

What?

“What is the story?” Your communications should clearly and concisely sum up what a research project or creative activity is trying to achieve. You want your audience to understand “what is the big deal?” For example, is your goal to:

  • find a cure?
  • create a new technology?
  • bring together a community?
  • challenge perspectives?
  • answer a question?
  • solve an existing problem?

When?

  • “When was your research conducted or creative activity completed?” If your research or creative activity was completed more than six months ago, explain why it is timely to cover it now.
  • “When can your research or creative activity news be shared with the public (is it under embargo)?” This is especially important when working with external media, who will plan when to share your piece of news in their busy news schedules.

Where?

“Where was your research or creativity activity conducted?” This is an exciting element of your story because it is a chance to create an atmosphere for your audience. Did you conduct your work in a lab, out in the field, on a mountainside, in front of a computer, in a dance studio, on a stage, in a warehouse? Providing details about where you completed your work helps make it more real, visible, and interesting to your reader. While another day in the chemistry lab might seem unexciting to you, it can be novel and exciting for those of us who have not had your experiences.

Why?

“Why is the research important?” To answer this, you need to make it clear to media why your news will be of interest to the common viewer/audience. Answer this by explaining the intended impact of your research or scholarship.

How?

  • “How did you conduct your research?” It’s important to realize that (unlike in a piece for a science journal) when communicating the ‘how’ of your work to a general audience, you can generalize and be less specific. For example, this article about “zapping crystals” provides an understanding of how geochronology research is conducted without getting too deep in the weeds.
  • “How will this research have impact?” You’ve explained who you believe this research will impact, but how will it get there? Will it be used in decision-making by legislators? Will it be applied to education? Provide examples of how your research could be used to have the anticipated impact.