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Storytelling Canvas
Creating remarkable narratives

Section A:
Story and the Storytelling Canvas

Stories are the oldest means of communica- Through its simplicity, storytelling enables
tion and are part of our daily lives. Oral com- communicating the essence of a very com-
munication, a form of storytelling, is the most plex idea. Great storytellers have been using
effective tool to convince an audience. There the same technique to deliver their message
is no better way to connect with each other whether in theatre, speeches, or presentations.
than through a story.

With the right storytelling framework, we can communicate any outcome. We can build a story
bank of success stories, sell a project more effectively, or simply use it as a personal tool to be-
come a more effective communicator. This is why ITU has developed the following storytelling
framework - the storytelling canvas.

IDEA What? Why? When? Who? Where? How? GOALS 3 G o al s

COMMON GROUND SUPPORT STORIES D E S T I N AT I O N

Who is your audience? Yo u r p r o m i s e t o t h e a u d i e n c e
What interests do you share? PROBLEMS SOLUTIONS

1. 1.

PROOF 2. 2. C A L L TO A C T I O N
Social facts and scientific
evidences to support your
statements

3. 3.

STRUCTURE Organize pillars by creating contrast. “Ups & Downs”

* Developed on a basis of Story Telling Structure by Nancy Duarte

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The storytelling canvas

The storytelling canvas helps you achieve the following:

• Transform very complex ideas into simple ones,

• Build a story bank of success stories,
• Sell a project effectively, and
• Become a better empathic communicator.

Through this canvas, you can achieve a high level of engagement with your audience because
they can emotionally relate to your message.

When telling a story, there are indispensable building blocks to take into account. The storytell-
ing canvas presents 8 pillars. The following gives a short descriptive of the various pillars of this
canvas.

Idea: Goals:
The idea needs to be a simple short expla- Identify the top 3 goals you aim for
nation of what you want to achieve. It briefly when your idea is realized.
touches on why, when, where and how you
want to achieve it. This explanation should be
limited to no more than 50 words.
Remember to use simple and shared lan-
guage. An analogy commonly used is to word
it in a way that can be explained to a 3 year
old.

Support stories:

Support narratives are needed to

Common ground: highlight the problems as well as the
solutions that will lead to the desired
goals of a story.

This pillar helps you create a sense of relatabil- Problems are the challenges that
ity with the audience by identifying common you face while trying to reach your
interests. Without understanding the feelings goal.
of your audience, their benefits as well as their Solutions are opportunities you
disadvantages, you may not be able to move leverage to address those challenges.
them to your new idea. They will hold back as
they cannot connect to your message.

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Proof: Destination:

The destination is your promise to the audi-

Proofs can range from social facts to
ence. It gives you a picture of what the future
scientific evidence.
will look like when your idea is realized.
They should portray the challeng-
es and opportunities you previously
identified, as well as good practices
to make your story stronger.
They should also provide evidence
to strengthen the depth of your nar- Call to Action:
rative. Social and scientific facts help
reinforce the core message of your
In one sentence, your “call to action” should
story because they make it easier for
motivate and inspire your audience to em-
listeners to trust your narrative.
brace your idea and join you in the transfor-
mation journey.

Structure:

Structure helps you organize outcomes for Through contrasting stories leading from
the 7 previous pillars to create contrasts a current state (“what is” narrative without
and develop a meaningful storyline. the idea), to future state (“what could be”
Stories have “ups and downs” that create narrative with the idea), your audience can
required contrasts and transport the audi- embrace and be moved by your idea.
ence on a journey.

Nancy Duarte, a lead-

ing communication
author, has pio-
neered a storytelling
structure. This struc-
ture has been adapt-
ed to fit the scope
of ITU’s Storytelling
Canvas.

Story Telling Structure by Nancy Duarte

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Section B:
Time

How to use the Storytelling Framework

Group

Time
Time

Stationary
Time

Up to 2 hours
Group

Group
Knowledge wall

What
Stationary
you will need
Stationary
Flip charts or paper to draw the canvas
Guidelines

Sticky notes (yellow, blue, red and green)

Knowledge wall

Knowledge
Outcome wall
Markers
EXPLORING AREA C
Guidelines
IN G ON
Steps HINK VE
RG
TT
Guidelines
Steps
N EN
GE TT
ER HIN
Outcome DIV KIN
1 Identify a story you want to tell your audience G
Access to browser
Outcome

Steps
Tip 1 – Divergent and Convergent Thinking
Steps
• Generates Alternatives • Struggle to • Narrow down options
It is recommended
Access to browser
to use divergent integrate
• Open Discussion and convergent
ideas thinking
• Decisionto gather the neces-
making
sary information • Brainstorm • Emerging
to identify your story. of new • Categorization
The thinking mode is the way that partici-
ideas
Access to browser • Diverse Perspectives • Finding Conclusions
pants are encouraged to reflect throughout the journey. Divergent thinking is sim-
• Build of mutual
• Full Participation understanding • Shared understanding
ilar to ‘brainstorming’, exploring as many ideas as possible without shutting them
down. Convergent thinking is when thinking is narrowed down to a few answers.

EXPLORING AREA
G CO
IN KIN NV
ER
TH GE
NT NT
GE TH
ER IN
DIV KIN
G

• Generates Alternatives • Struggle to • Narrow down options

• Open Discussion integrate ideas • Decision making
• Brainstorm • Emerging of new • Categorization
ideas
• Diverse Perspectives • Finding Conclusions
• Build of mutual
• Full Participation understanding • Shared understanding

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2 Fill in the first part of the canvas according to the following color code:

yellow sticky notes for Proof and Common Ground pillars.

blue sticky notes for Idea, Destination and Call to Action pillars.
red sticky notes for Problems.
green sticky notes for Solutions.
The Storytelling Canvas
IDEA What? Why? When? Who? Where? How? GOALS 3 Goa l s

COMMON GROUND SUPPORT STORIES D E S T I N AT I O N

Who is your audience? Yo u r p r o m i s e t o t h e a u d i e n c e
What interests do you share? PROBLEMS SOLUTIONS

1. 1.

1
PROOF 2. 2. C A L L TO A C T I O N
Social facts and scientific
evidences to support your
statements

3. 3.

STRUCTURE Organize pillars by creating contrast. “Ups & Downs”

Support Story 1 Support Story 2 Support Story 3

PROOF PROOF PROOF

Tip 2 – Large group structure and knowledge wall

2
DESTINATION
IDEA SOLUTION
COMMON
SOLUTION
COMMON SOLUTION
COMMON
GROUND GROUND GROUND

Brainstorming is not effective if the group size is more than 7 people; participants will need
CALL TO

to be divided into smaller groups. It is recommended to use a knowledge wall composed ACTION

of one flip chart for each pillar after an initial brainstorming by each group on the storytell-
ing canvas.
PROOF COMMON PROBLEM PROOF PROBLEM PROOF
GROUND PROBLEM PROOF COMMON
GROUND

IDEA GOALS COMMON PROOF SUPPORT DESTINATION CALL TO

GROUND STORIES ACTION

STRUCTURE

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3 Once you have all the information in section 1, transfer all the elements to fill
in section 2 of the canvas. Below is an example of how your story structure
could look like.

STRUCTURE Organize pillars by creating contrast. “Ups & Downs”

* Developed on a basis of Story Telling Structure by Nancy Duarte

BEGINNING MIDDLE END

PROOF PROOF PROOF

2
COMMON COMMON DESTINATION
IDEA SOLUTION
GROUND SOLUTION
COMMON SOLUTION
GROUND
GROUND

CALL TO
ACTION

COMMON PROBLEM COMMON

PROOF PROOF PROBLEM PROOF PROBLEM PROOF
GROUND GROUND

Tip 3 – Your perfect structure

An impactful story has a logical structure: a beginning, a middle and an end with clear
transitions from the beginning to the middle and from the middle to the end.

The middle of your story consists of stages. Each stage is composed of support stories
(problem & solution) and relevant proof and common ground.

It is not mandatory to have Proof and Common Ground for each Problem and for each
Solution, however, for a trustworthy and engaging story, it is recommended to support
each statement by a social or scientific fact and to introduce common interests.

Tip 4 – Throughline

It is critical to make sure that all components of your story structure are aligned with what
you are trying to say in your story, leading seamlessly the reader from the idea to the
destination.

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Stationary

Outcome
Outcome

Upon completion of this exercise, you will have a structure of your storyline successfully
Knowledge wall
developed.
Steps
You can then use that structure as a base for further composing the narratives for your
story, such as with written reports, presentations, videos, etc.
Guidelines

Access to browser

Key takeaways
Outcome

• Well-structured stories help you convey complex ideas into simple narratives.
• They will help you sell a project more effectively.
•
Steps The storytelling canvas helps you establish an emotional connection with your
audience and allows them to relate to your message in a more meaningful way.

Access to browser

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