The power of storytelling in internal comms

When you hear the word storytelling, you probably think of marketing, brand, or advertising. But the truth is, storytelling is just as important inside an organisation as it is outside.

Over the past few months, we’ve been working on a major transformation project with a client. Aside from the complexity involved, the real challenge has been defining how the client should talk about the changes. How to explain what’s happening in a way that makes sense to colleagues, makes them feel part of it, and still gets across the hard truths.

That’s where storytelling comes in.

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Why facts aren’t enough

Too often, internal comms can read like they’ve been written by committee. Long lists of initiatives. PowerPoints full of jargon. A few half-hearted ‘we know this is difficult’ lines. People don’t connect with that.

Facts tell you what is happening. Storytelling explains the why, paints the bigger picture, and shows colleagues where they fit in. It’s the difference between saying “We’re introducing automation" and "We’ll use automation to take away the admin that slows you down, so you can focus on the work that really matters.”

Same change. Different story. And it makes all the difference.

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EVP and reward are stories too

This isn’t just about transformation. When you’re talking about your EVP or your reward offering, you’re also telling a story. A story about the deal between people and the organisation. About what it feels like to work here. About the value colleagues bring, and the value they get in return.

This stuff can’t be positioned as a ‘programme’ or a ‘framework.’ You need to tell a story: “Here’s what you told us matters to you. Here’s how we’re responding. Here’s how it feels to work here, and what makes us different.”

Reward comms are the same. You can hand people a spreadsheet of numbers, or you can tell the story of how those numbers reflect contribution, fairness, or opportunity.

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Storytelling doesn’t mean spin

There’s a danger that when leaders hear ‘storytelling,’ they think it involves dressing things up or putting a positive gloss on bad news. That’s not it.

Good storytelling is about clarity, honesty, and humanity. It’s about giving people the context they need, not just the headline. It’s about connecting the dots between strategy and day-to-day work. And yes, sometimes it’s about sitting with uncomfortable truths – but doing so in a way that shows care.

In the project I mentioned, we’ve been careful to avoid over-promising or sugar-coating. Instead, we’ve focused on three principles:

• Make it real: use everyday language and examples people recognise.
• Make it balanced: acknowledge the challenges as well as the opportunities.
• Make it human: remember there’s always an emotional impact, not just a business one.

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How to build your story

So how do you actually do this in practice?

1. Start with the “why.” Don’t launch into structures and processes. Begin with the reason for change, framed in customer and colleague terms.
2. Paint the future. Help people imagine what better looks like. If you don’t, they’ll only focus on what they’re losing.
3. Anchor in what’s familiar. New concepts land more easily when you link them back to existing pain points or frustrations colleagues already recognise.
4. Be consistent, but not robotic. Everyone should use the same core narrative, but encourage leaders to tell it in their own words. Authenticity matters more than sticking rigidly to the script.
5. Keep it human. Stories aren’t just for town halls and slide decks. They live in 1:1s, team huddles, corridor chats. Every leader is a storyteller, whether they realise it or not.

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Why it matters

At its heart, storytelling is what turns a business strategy into something people can believe in. It gives meaning to the numbers. It connects the individual to the bigger picture. And in moments of change – whether that’s an operating model shift, an EVP launch, or changes to pay and benefits – it can be the difference between people feeling like change is something which is happening to them, and feeling part of it.

And if you don’t tell a clear and compelling story – if you don’t explain the why – people will write their own – and it might not be the one you want them to believe.

If you’d like some help with storytelling, whether it's about organisational change, your reward offering, or a new EVP launch, we'd love to chat.

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