Storytelling & Narrative: What's the difference?

“Storytelling is a superpower”, they say. “What’s the narrative?”, they ask.


Storytelling and Narrative. They're definitely different, but hard to tease apart. I thought I knew the difference, then got called out and realized I didn’t. Yes, it was a little embarrassing. Here’s how I think about them now:


A story is an account of incidents or events. There’s a ton of frameworks, techniques and approaches that can be used to tell the story, but in the end a story is just that: an account.


Narrative is about making choices around these incidents or events: which of them to relate and in what order. What you end up with is a representation of the story, rather than the story itself. Change the order of events, and you have a new narrative of the same story.


Maybe the easiest way to think of them is this:

Narrative is Story, reshuffled.


But here’s the best bit. Narrative can transform Story into knowledge.


Each event within a story is a block of knowledge the audience requires to move onwards.


A good storyteller arranges these blocks so they are revealed gradually. This means hiding and obscuring the truth of what’s being told in order to tell it (yep, this feels a little mind-bending).


Speaking of mind-bending, the master of reshuffling the order of events may well be the filmmaker Christopher Nolan. Almost every one of his films play with time and the relation of different events. They lead us somewhere expected, yet unexpected.


People call him a storyteller. But perhaps he’s more an architect and designer of narrative.


This skill of narrative design is hugely undervalued. And it doesn’t just show up in Hollywood. You can use it in all kinds of places: your next team meeting, a job interview, running a workshop, or simply sharing an idea.


Even if you don't believe you can become a good storyteller (you can, btw). you might just be a future maestro of narrative design.


Perhaps it'll become the next chapter of your story.



P.S. Christopher Nolan is one of our big influences at Wavetable. We initially included him on our website's 'Inspirations' page because of the way he blends Art & Science. Now we know there's another reason: narrative design plays an enormous part in creating transformative ways for people to learn and discover.

Keep exploring

Wavemakers
Richie Hawtin’s next musical frontier? High school science class
How a DIY noise machine became a portal for learning & creativity - courtesy of a legendary electronic music artist
Groove Theory
The Blank Slide Shuffle
How to use pitch black to great effect
Groove Theory
Understanding the Presentation Spectrum
Why most presentations shouldn't feel like TED talks
Groove Theory
Storytelling & Narrative: What's the difference?
It's subtle, but incredibly important
Groove Theory
What people really want from new technology
They don't want features, or even benefits. It's about something more human
Groove Theory
Christopher Nolan's 26 principles for creative work
And why it's worth being a jack of all trades
Groove Theory
Why David Marchese's skills remain underrated
How The New York Times journalist is able to go further than most