Getting your stories straight
As well as facts, it’s important to have a couple of examples of your problem in practice. People respond to other people’s stories far more than they respond to
facts or statistics. Remember what the last statistic was that you learnt? Probably not. Remember the last piece of gossip you heard? You probably do.
So you need to find people who have experienced the problem that you’re campaigning to change. These people are sometimes referred to as ‘case studies’. There are a number of people you could ask for help in finding these people:
- Your local Rethink group
- A local Rethink service
- Other mental health services or service user/carer group
- Professionals who are sympathetic to your problem
- Any personal contacts that you may have.
Once you’ve found them, you need to get clear information about what has happened to them. You need to demonstrate exactly the effect of the problem on their quality of life.
So ask some straight questions.
- Find out really basic information about them, like age, background, where they live
- Find out what was happening to them before the problem had occurred – get some positive examples of their life then
- Find out exactly what sort of problem occurred – when did it start, when did it end
- Find out what the negative consequences of the problem have been for them and for family or friends
- Find out if any help was available to them
- Find out what they think the solution is for them
- Find out what their aspirations are – it’s important to be able to make your stories sound like they happened to a real person with real hopes and dreams
- Find out if they’d be prepared to speak publicly at meetings or in the media and what support they would require to do so.
You do not need to find too many people who have had this experience, but it’s good to have up to about five examples. It’s also a good idea to have a range of
people – e.g. young and old, male and female, people of different ethnicity, people of different class backgrounds. That way your campaign will appear relevant to a wide range of people.
It may take some time to find people with personal experience of your problem and who support your solution, but it will be worth it. Case studies will help you to get media coverage, they will add credibility to your campaign. Having the chance to speak to someone who has experienced a problem will help to persuade your targets of the need for change.
Remember to get people’s permission to use their stories and offer to anonymise them if they want.
