How to Create a One-Minute Message About Anything

A simple but powerful framework sets you up for success.

Storytelling is the most powerful form of communication because the human brain has evolved to understand the world through narrative. Hattaway’s methodology uses a narrative approach to communication that leverages the brain’s focus on storytelling.

We use an Aspirational Narrative framework, which has the ingredients you need to communicate about any topic. It starts with putting people in the picture. The goals are people’s aspirations related to the topic. The problems are challenges they face in realizing their goals. The solutions are programs, policies, products, and/or activities that help them achieve their goals.

For example, we created a narrative about the field of public health to help experts explain the value of the field to leaders in government, business, and local communities:

People—experts trained to diagnose the health of communities

Goal—to keep our communities healthy

Problem—waiting to treat people after they’re sick or injured

Solution—prevent sickness and injury with science, data, and community engagement

These ideas help people understand the topic, but they also communicate ideas that make it meaningful.

From there, we craft a One-Minute Message that fleshes out the ideas in 150 words or less—the number of words spoken by the average American English speaker in about a minute.

Read our article in apolitical: “How an Aspirational Narrative Can Sell Your Policy.”

Listen to The Art and Science of Aspirational Communication on Inside Social Innovation.

Get tools for public health communication from PHRASES (Public Health Reaching Across Sectors).