Controlling the Narrative: The Power of Salience in Political Discourse

In times of crisis people are desperate for stories to explain why their lives are getting worse. This is why storytelling is the most important – but most ignored – aspect of politics right now. The far right offer a simple story, repeated over and over: it's the immigrants. The Trumps and Farages of the world are surging on the back of this simple, effective storytelling. What can liberals and the left learn from this? Can we come up with a better story?

Chapters

(00:00) Intro

(03:02) Who decides what is salient or not?

(08:29) The importance of storytelling

(10:20) People need stories in times of crisis

(14:55) The best storytellers take power

(17:35) Citizen journalists on social media are powerful

(22:29) Tell simple messages

(23:22) What our story needs to be

(25:22) WHY the far right is winning