“Nailing It!” Workshop Round 1
Contents
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The One Thing:
Nicholas Kristof’s Advice for Saving the World – The importance of the singular narrative. Once you increase the size of a narrative from one person in need to two people in need, compassion drops in the audience.
Compassion Fade: Affect and Charity Are Greatest for a Single Child in Need – The research article that “Advice for Saving the World” references.
Original ABT:
The US could have collaborative, patient-centered, high-value health care. But care is fragmented, making it impossible for anyone to coordinate. Therefore NCQA is building the market for integrated care.
Dave Atwood
Original ABT:
The Aviation Research Division annually prioritizes safety related research and it is expected in the future that the number of projects is expected to increase while the available manpower and funding are expected to decrease, but there is insufficient means to manage these available resources, therefore systems need to be developed to increase their efficient use.
Erin Whitteck
Original ABT:
The current time to market for pesticides exceeds 12 years and requires an industry investment of over $330 million, and they are essential in ensuring food security. However, the continued use of these valuable agricultural tools depends on their safe application to protect human, animal, and environmental health. Therefore, educating stakeholders about pesticide safety is crucial to supporting drone operator safety and maintaining the effectiveness of these important agricultural inputs.
Jenna MacPherson
Original ABT:
NCQA believes quality cannot exist without equity, and we have dedicated resources to addressing health disparities as part of broader quality efforts, but rhetoric from the incoming administration challenges how we advocate for health equity, therefore we must craft intentional messaging that emphasizes population health while preserving the integrity of our programs.
Revised ABT:
Our dedication to health equity is stronger than ever, AND we are observing progress across both public and private sectors in addressing disparities and social determinants of health that affect quality. We recognize the importance of persisting in this work, AND IF we align internally on approved messaging THEN we can create resources to assist employees in navigating discussions about health equity. This alignment will enable us to protect our programs and find common ground with the incoming administration. BUT these resources don’t exist yet because we have not come together to agree on a path forward. Time is of the essence. Failure to heed market signals and unify around a common messaging framework may jeopardize our programs and hinder our mission to enhance health care quality nationwide. THEREFORE, we will form an internal team comprising a diverse cross-section of employees and health equity experts. This team will develop a messaging guide to facilitate clear communication about our health equity programs to various audiences and stakeholders. Additionally, we will establish criteria to measure the guide’s adoption and provide feedback channels to enable the continuous refinement of approved language, ensuring we effectively address our audience over time. This collaborative effort will allow us to maintain our critical work and potentially garner increased support for our programs in 2025 and beyond.
Mike Paglione
Original ABT:
Today’s national airspace system is the safest in the world, BUT with the introduction of all-electric autonomous aircraft that could change tomorrow, THEREFORE, the research, development, testing, and evaluation (RDT&E) at the Technical Center will be needed more than ever!
Naomi Rodriguez
Original ABT:
The ocean is teeming with marine life, where 75% of marine species are invertebrates such as Idoteid marine isopods. (AND) The accurate identification of Idoteid isopods along the Southern California Bight could inform researchers on current localized species populations. BUT due to a lack of consistent resources that depict these marine isopods, misidentifications are prone to occurring. Therefore, we aim to publish detailed line drawings, SEMs, and molecular data contributions to genetic databases to improve the identification of Idoteid isopods localized to the SCB.
Nicolas Anderson
Original ABT:
The ribbed mussel is a key species in salt marsh ecosystems AND provides critical services that enhance habitat health, BUT its early life stages are poorly understood and may be vulnerable to climate change, THEREFORE we conducted experiments to assess climate-related impacts on this species during its early life stages.
Rob Ochs
Original ABT:
The aviation research laboratories at the FAA Technical Center are the world’s premier aircraft safety research facilities with one-of-a-kind capabilities and world-renowned experts, AND the research results have led to many aviation safety improvements that have saved countless lives, BUT without dedicated funding to sustain and modernize the laboratory infrastructure and create new capabilities, the FAA will be unable to perform research on modern aerospace vehicles and systems, THEREFORE the FAA must create a new capital investment program to sustain the existing laboratories and build new state-of-the-art capabilities to maintain the safest and most efficient aerospace system in the world.
Revised ABT:
The FAA’s legacy of investment in R&D has made the American skies the safest in the world, AND by boldly investing in modernizing our R&D infrastructure, we can accelerate the development of revolutionary technologies like electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) and hydrogen-fueled aircraft, BUT with competing organizational priorities and potential spending cuts, tough decisions need to be made on where to invest FAA’s capital improvement budget. THEREFORE, it is imperative that the FAA make a concerted effort to invest in R&D infrastructure and new test capabilities to revolutionize transportation, create jobs, and stimulate economic growth while maintaining global leadership in aviation safety and shaping the future of flight.
Steve Summer
Original ABT:
The aviation industry has historically had iterative improvements to its aircraft and operations AND our research has adequately been able to address issues to ensure that these improvements were integrated safely. BUT, the industry is currently evolving at a pace and scope that has not been seen in decades creating a revolution in technology that will create widespread changes to its aircraft and operations. THEREFORE, we must evolve the way we conduct our research so that we leverage our collective expertise to address these future challenges.
Victoria Westover
Original ABT:
Marine invertebrates, such as sponges and corals, produce unique natural chemicals that can lead to new medicines to treat inflammation and chronic diseases AND if researchers had access to data on where these species are found around the world, they could more easily discover new compounds for drug development BUT much of this critical data is unpublished and locked away in museum collections THEREFORE we are sharing information about 7.5 million marine invertebrate specimens, giving scientists the tools they need to uncover new drug candidates for saving lives.
Revised ABT:
Marine invertebrates have great potential in drug development, species such as sponges and corals produce unique natural chemicals that can lead to new medicines to treat inflammation and chronic diseases AND if researchers had access to data on where these species are found around the world, they could truly fulfill the potential to contribute to human health BUT that isn’t happening BECAUSE much of this critical data is unpublished and locked away in museum collections THEREFORE we are addressing this BY sharing information about 7.5 million marine invertebrate specimens by publishing on public data bases.
Yume Kamal
Original ABT:
Natural habitats sustain biodiversity, regulate ecological balance, and act as barriers against zoonotic disease risks, but habitat fragmentation caused by urbanization, deforestation, and agricultural expansion, which brings humans and wildlife into closer contact and increases diseases spillover risks; therefore, conserving ecosystems is not only vital for environmental reasons but also a critical public health concern.
Agreement: The first of the 3 forces of Narrative (Agreement, Contradiction, Consequence). This is the set up part of a narrative in which the Ordinary World is established and Stakes are set. Typically, the Agreement section should be a statement about the topic that is non-controversial and contains no problems – this is done to maximize the narrative turn when we reach the Contradiction. In class, the Agreement is colored blue.
And Frequency (A.F.): The percentage of the word AND in a given document or presentation which is used to determine how well a document has been edited. The Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English is a 7 year foundational study that took a quantitative analysis approach to the English language. It found that the ideal percentage of ANDs in well edited documents tend to converge around 2.5%. TIP: You can use this word frequency tool to find the number of ANDs in your own document, then divide that by the total number of words to find your AND Frequency. We consider an AND Frequency of over 3% to indicate that your document or presentation could use some more editing to “trim the fat.” An A.F. of over 4% is indicative of “deadly levels of boring.” The closer to 2.5% you are, the better.
Arouse and Fulfill: A common narrative dynamic in which you first Arouse the audience’s interest in a topic by giving them general information that only hints at what the full topic is about. The Arouse part of the narrative is very short, broad, and lacks context. The Fulfill section is where you provide the full context of the topic that you hinted at in the Arouse. It’s common for presentations to begin with a quick Arouse statement or question to give the audience a general idea of the talk before diving into the specifics in the Fulfill.
BUT/BECAUSE: The general to specific breakdown of the problem. The BUT introduces us to a general version of the problem that is typically no more than 5 words. It’s meant to quickly convey the emotional part of the problem. For example, “BUT that’s not happening,” “BUT we are failing,” and “BUT it’s not working right.” The BECAUSE gives us the specific informational part of the problem.
Christmas Tree (aka Umbrella Problem): The overarching problem of your narrative. Your narrative may have multiple problems. If so, the Christmas Tree is the singular broad version of the problem that encompasses all of the smaller problems. The Christmas Tree sometimes must be very general in order to encompass a wide variety of “ornament” problems.
Consequence: The third of the 3 forces of Narrative (Agreement, Contradiction, Consequence). In narrative, the Consequence is a statement of the action that will be taken to solve the problem. In non-narrative, the Consequence is often a logical conclusion, not an action. For the purposes of this course, we will be focused on the narrative/action type of Consequence. In class, the Consequence is colored green.
Contradiction: The second of the 3 forces of Narrative (Agreement, Contradiction, Consequence). The Contradiction is the statement of the problem. To maximize the effect of the Contradiction, no problems or controversial statements should be used in the Agreement. In class, the Contradiction is colored red.
Context Deficit: A typical problem in ABTs where the Agreement section lacks necessary information to help setup the problem in the Contradiction section. This might involve a lack of explanation on what the Ordinary World is, leaving out the Proximate steps that are being taken to achieve the Ultimate goal, or not helping the audience to understand the Stakes. Having a well setup Agreement section with the right context and Stakes is necessary for achieving buy-in with the audience as soon as possible.
cABT (Conversational ABT): A tool that is a short, general version of an ABT that lacks all specific information. Using this tool can give you an understanding about what the narrative core is of the message that you’re trying to convey. A cABT should be easily understood by a 5-year-old. For example, a cABT for a complicated biomedical process that involves researching a new method to detect tuberculosis could boil down to: “There’s a thing that would be good to know, BUT we don’t know it yet, THEREFORE we’re going to find out about it.” cABTs can also be used as part of the Arouse segment of a presentation. For more information, read this excerpt from Houston, We Have A Narrative on the 3 forms of the ABT.
Dobzhansky Template: A tool used to find the singular theme of an ABT in just a few words and is the central argument that you’re trying to make in a narrative. The template: “Nothing in ________ makes sense, except in the light of _________.” Dobzhansky’s can be used as Arouse statements at the beginning of presentations.
DNA (Dream/Nightmare/Action): A method of grouping facts and information together to make an argument. First, the Dream is laid out in the Agreement where you make the argument of why what you’re trying to do is important (i.e. stating your Ultimate goal) and all the positive benefits that would occur if you where to succeed (a Hope IF/THEN is helpful with this). Then, the Nightmare is laid out in the Contradiction in which you tell the audience the obstacle that must be overcome if we are to ever achieve this Dream. Optionally, you can add a Fear IF/THEN in the Nightmare to project into the future with how much worse things will be if they continue on as they are. Finally, you give the Action in the Consequence that you will take that will lead us out of the Nightmare and towards the Dream.
General to Specific: A common pattern in narratives in which the General idea is laid out first and then the Specific details are filled in. This pattern can be seen in Arouse and Fulfill, BUT/BECAUSE, and THEREFORE/BY. For PowerPoint presentations, slides can be used to give General bullet points and the presenter can verbally give Specific details.
IF/THEN: A tool that is a hypothetical statement in which you project into the future to outline your goals and the stakes. Typically used in the Agreement section in what we call a Hope IF/THEN to help clarify for the audience what it is you are specifically trying to accomplish, why it’s important, and why the audience should care about it. It can also be used as a Fear IF/THEN, typically at the very end of the Contradiction, to outline how much worse things can be if no action is taken. Note: In class, we tend to use Hope IF/THENs for 99% of ABTs and Fear IF/THENS for only 1% because Fear IF/THENs are unnecessary if the Agreement is setup properly.
Informational ABT: An ABT that is crowded with too much information. The information is often put in in an attempt to make the ABT compelling and thorough, but the lack of concision tends to make an audience lose the narrative thread.
Inner Circle/Outer Circle: The two main audiences divided by one major element: context. An Inner Circle audience understand the background context of your topic and often does not need narrative elements to give them context. The Outer Circle audience lacks context and requires narrative to help give them proper context on your topic to understand what’s at stake and why they should care. Examples of Inner Circle audiences could include research project partners or co-workers who work together in the same department. Examples of Outer Circle audiences could include the general public, upper management at your company, a grant committee, or an office of co-workers who are right down the hall from you and don’t understand what it is that you’re doing.
Narrative Index (N.I.): The ratio of Buts to Ands in a given document or presentation which is used to determine the narrative strength. The Narrative Index is calculated as: N.I. = Buts/Ands x 100. A Narrative Index score over 10 is considered narratively adequate. Over 20 is narratively strong and over 30 is narratively fierce. More details can be found on this blog post.
Narrative Intuition: An intuition gained for what types of narratives work and what don’t. Typically, those who practice narrative frequently and get immediate feedback from broad audiences are more likely to have higher narrative intuition as shown by the And Frequency and Narrative Index metrics. Based off metrics, experienced professional stand-up comedians tend to have the highest narrative intuition, followed by journalists in wide publications and politicians. Scientists and researchers tend to rank the lowest. The goal of this course is to increase your narrative intuition through repetition.
Numerical Intuition: An intuition gained by scientists and researchers in which you learn to trust large sample sizes and intuitively understand the importance of them.
Ordinary World: A term derived from Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth. It is a statement of the topic at a broad level, is used in the first half of the Agreement, and is important for properly framing your narrative to orient audiences correctly. An effective Ordinary World tends to be non-controversial and does not include problems. It consists of well established knowledge and things that we know for certain. TIP: To come up with a rough draft of the Ordinary World quickly, try completing this sentence: “(Insert Broad Topic Here) is important for/because ___________.”
Plant & Payoff: Derived from the narrative principle of Chekhov’s Gun that states that every element in a story must be necessary and irrelevant elements should be removed (If a gun is introduced in the first act of a stage play, it must be fired by the final act.) A narrative element that is Planted in the Agreement must be Paid Off in the Consequence. Planted elements that aren’t Paid Off should be removed. The reverse is also true: any narrative element that is Paid Off in the Consequence must first be Planted in the Agreement (or at minimum in the Contradiction). Having a Payoff of a narrative element without first Planting it can lead to a Context Deficit.
Stakes: The thing in a narrative that can be gained or lost. When we ask “what’s at Stake,” we want to know what great thing do we have the potential to gain by what you’re doing, or what do we have the potential to lose out on? TIP: An effective way to set the Stakes is with a Hope or Fear IF/THEN.
THEREFORE/BY: The general to specific breakdown of the solution. The THEREFORE introduces us to a general version of the solution that is typically no more than 5 words. It’s meant to quickly convey the emotional part of the solution. For example, “THEREFORE we’ll fix this,” or “THEREFORE we’ll help solve this.” The BY gives us the specific informational part of the solution.
Ultimate vs Proximate: Narratives operate at several levels. At the Ultimate level, there is a larger scale problem that you need to solve. In your narrative, you’ll make the argument that in order to solve that Ultimate level problem, you need to solve a smaller, Proximate level problem that moves you closer to solving the Ultimate level problem. For example, an Ultimate problem might be that the current method to diagnosis tuberculosis isn’t accurate enough. In order to solve that Ultimate problem, you may need to solve the Proximate problem of finding out how to optimize the chemicals used for tuberculosis diagnosis to make it more accurate. Tip: For a narrative to be effective, you must select the right level of Proximate problem to focus on and build your narrative around. But this is difficult because narratives can have multiple levels of the problem, ranging from more and more Ultimate to more and more Proximate. So, when looking at varying levels of the problem from very Ultimate to very Proximate, it helps to ask yourself “what point am I arguing to my audience that we need to take specific action on?” When your audience can finally picture that specific action you want to take, you’ve hit the right level of Proximate problem. For your narrative, you need to make the case that your Proximate solution is the right one for the Ultimate problem. A Hope IF/THEN can be helpful for this. Here’s the cABT version of a Hope IF/THEN that deals with the Ultimate and Proximate: If we do the Proximate solution THEN we will get a bunch of good things leading to the Ultimate Solution.
Communication Books by Randy Olson
They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein – A book for an ABT like approach to argumentation.
Step by Step to Stand-up Comedy by Greg Dean – A book that takes a structured approach to joke writing with a focus on the AND and the BUT (i.e., Setup and Punchline).
The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler – If you ever wanted an in depth look at storytelling, THIS is the book. Draws heavily from Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey and is based on Vogler’s 7 page memo that reshaped Hollywood.