Abstract

The Story Funnel is a new model of how audiences respond to stories – from first attraction, through involvement and transportation, to new thoughts and behaviours. By helping students consider the power of stories and how stories impact themselves and others, the Story Funnel shows what storytellers (whether creative professionals, brands or individuals driving social change) must do to engage their audiences and drive action. This paper introduces the Story Funnel and its corresponding story ingredients, providing a simple framework that supports students as they develop stories in a range of contexts, along with a clear rubric for assessment.

Session and activities

The Story Funnel is a new model of how readers and listeners respond to stories – from first attraction, through involvement and transportation, to new thoughts and behaviours. By helping students consider the power of stories and how stories impact themselves and others, the Story Funnel shows what storytellers (whether creative professionals, brands or individuals driving social change) must do to engage their audiences and drive action.

We will briefly introduce the research underpinning the Story Funnel and the structure of this new framework, before working through each of the Funnel’s five stages (attract, involve, transport, transform, act). Along the way we’ll share real-world examples that demonstrate how the Funnel plays out in practice – these might include LinkedIn posts, crowdfunding pitches or films about frontline challenges in Trump’s America.

We’ll then share what we’ve learned from introducing the Funnel within an undergraduate module at LCC, showing how it has been used to support students as they write non-fiction narratives.

The Story Funnel plays a vital role in identifying the six ingredients required in every story, including those that lead to immersion, those that change audiences’ behaviours and those that drive action. We’ll share these ingredients and show how the Funnel and the ingredients combine to provide a clear and consistent rubric for assessing creative storytelling work.

As we’re sharing a new framework, we look forward to a lively discussion and welcome conference participants’ views on how the Funnel might be used in other contexts across and beyond UAL.