Communicating With Stories

One of  NOAA’s  Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management’s biggest frustrations was showing the impact of their work. They oversaw policy and funding for state coastal programs around the country, but it was a hard story to tell to the public and to NOAA and Congressional decision-makers.

As director of communications for the office, I recommended they tell the stories of how the office’s funding and science have made a difference to real people and coastal communities.  To help staff in our scattered locations understand how to “think story,” I organized an online workshop with a national expert in storytelling for non-profits, then followed up with guidelines for how to look for stories.

When we redid the heavily policy-oriented website, we included a section called “Stories From the Coast,” which we updated as new stories came in from the field. Several of the stories were highlighted on the main NOAA website, increasing their exposure within NOAA and with the public.