Samuel Adams used storytelling, complete with characters and a plot, to help Americans understand his arguments during the Revolutionary War. Today, the Public Affairs Council wrote on their blog that the Campaign for Free Enterprise is using a similar strategy to inform Americans about the power of free enterprise.

We know that job creation and free enterprise are issues that impact real people in this country, and that's why sharing their stories is one of the ways that we communicate. We will continue to advocate for free enterprise because it is the economic system that enable Americans to innovate and create jobs.

Dana Wilkie, communications and editorial director at the Public Affairs Council, writes,

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce did it by using the tools every good storyteller does – creating protagonists, posing a threat or obstacle and illustrating some “transformation” in which the heroes either deliver the goods or win the day.

Dana also explains why storytelling is so powerful, particularly when policy issues are involved.

Storytelling. This, says former White House communications director Kevin Sullivan, is the most powerful way to drive a public affairs message home and inspire people to act.

“Paint a picture,” Sullivan told those who attended the Public Affairs Council’s National PAC Conference in Miami, Fla., in February. “Build a drama, be a storyteller... it's the most effective way to communicate. People remember stories."

Do you think our storytelling is effective? Do you have a story about the power of free enterprise that you'd like to share with us? Let us know!