AAAS Video: ABT Framework/Story Circles

Summary

The video script emphasizes the importance of narrative in effective communication, drawing from the speaker's experiences as both a scientist and filmmaker. It discusses the evolution of storytelling from ancient times to modern applications in various fields, including science. The speaker shares a personal anecdote about transforming a boring documentary into a compelling story by focusing on a central problem. The script introduces the ABT (And, But, Therefore) narrative structure as a tool for clear and engaging storytelling, applicable in both scientific research and everyday communication. The speaker advocates for narrative training, such as 'Story Circles,' to develop 'narrative intuition' and create a 'narrative culture' among peers, ultimately improving understanding and impact in an information-saturated world.

Takeaways

• 📚 The importance of storytelling is emphasized across various fields, including science and filmmaking.
• 🎥 The speaker's realization of the power of narrative came from the editing process of their film 'Flock of Dodos'.
• 🔍 The initial structure of presenting information in a segmented manner was found to be ineffective and boring.
• 💡 The turning point was building the film's narrative around a central problem, which made it more engaging.
• 🧠 Neuroscience supports the idea that narrative structure, specifically problem/solution dynamics, activates and unifies audience thinking.
• 📉 The 'and, and, and' pattern of listing events or facts is identified as monotonous and less engaging.
• 📈 The ABT (And, But, Therefore) narrative structure is introduced as a powerful tool for effective storytelling.
• 🌐 The ABT framework is prevalent in various forms of communication, from speeches to scientific papers.
• 🛠 The speaker developed 'Story Circles' as a training method to help individuals master narrative structure.
• 🔑 The key to effective communication in an information-overloaded world is mastering narrative skills.
• 🌟 The narrative culture, fostered through training and practice, leads to better collaboration and communication among peers.

Q & A

What is the central theme of the advice given in the transcript?

The central theme is the importance of narrative in storytelling, emphasizing that narrative structure is crucial in making any communication, including scientific communication, engaging and effective.

How did the speaker first realize the importance of narrative?

The speaker realized the importance of narrative while editing a movie called 'Flock of Dodos.' Initially, the movie was structured as a series of unconnected segments, which was boring to the editors. By reorganizing the content around a single central problem, the movie became more engaging.

What is the definition of a narrative according to the speaker?

A narrative is defined as a series of events that occur in the search for a solution to a problem. This problem-solution dynamic is essential to creating engaging and effective stories.

Why is the 'and, and, and' structure considered ineffective?

The 'and, and, and' structure is considered ineffective because it merely lists events or facts without any narrative structure, making it monotonous and boring. This form lacks the problem-solution dynamic that engages the audience.

What is the ABT structure and how does it improve communication?

The ABT structure stands for 'And, But, Therefore.' It embodies agreement, contradiction, and consequence, which are essential elements of narrative. This structure helps to create a clear and engaging storyline, making communication more effective.

How does narrative structure impact brain activity according to the speaker?

Narrative structure significantly impacts brain activity. When people watch films with high narrative content, their brains show increased activity and high similarity in active brain regions. In contrast, films without a story result in low brain activity and low similarity among viewers' brain scans.

What are the three central forces of narrative represented by the ABT structure?

The three central forces of narrative represented by the ABT structure are agreement (And), contradiction (But), and consequence (Therefore).

What is the narrative spectrum and what are its two extremes?

The narrative spectrum ranges from AAA (no narrative content, resulting in boredom) to DHY (too much narrative content, resulting in confusion). The optimal form lies in the middle with the ABT structure, balancing narrative elements effectively.

What are story circles and how do they help improve narrative skills?

Story circles are training sessions where groups of individuals meet weekly to analyze and develop narrative structures for their work. This training helps participants practice and refine their storytelling skills, leading to better communication and collaboration.

What benefits have been observed from the implementation of story circles in scientific communities?

Participants have reported improved communication skills, better narrative structure in their work, and more engaging presentations. The training has led to more effective project plans and a shared narrative language among colleagues, fostering collaboration and understanding.

Outlines

00:00

📚 The Importance of Narrative Structure

The speaker emphasizes the significance of narrative in effective storytelling, drawing from personal experience as a scientist and filmmaker. They recount the creation of their film 'Flock of Dodos,' which initially lacked a compelling narrative structure. Through the process of editing, they discovered that focusing the film around a central problem (the intelligent design movement) made it more engaging. The speaker highlights that narrative structure is crucial in various fields, including science, and that a well-structured narrative can transform a collection of facts into a compelling story. They also mention the need for simplicity, metaphors, and analogies in effective communication.

05:01

🎬 Avoiding Monotony in Storytelling

The speaker discusses the common issue of monotony in storytelling, particularly in first drafts, which often consist of a series of events or facts listed in an 'and then' pattern. This approach is noted to be ineffective and dull. The speaker shares anecdotes from their film school days and the advice of a screenwriting expert, Frank Danielle, who warns against this pattern. The speaker also points out that even scientists fall into this trap when presenting data without a narrative structure. Neuroscience research is mentioned to support the idea that a problem-solution dynamic in storytelling activates and unifies the audience's brain activity, making the narrative more engaging and memorable.

10:01

🔍 The ABT Narrative Structure

The speaker introduces the ABT (And, But, Therefore) narrative structure as a key to effective communication. They explain that ABT encapsulates the central forces of narrative: agreement, contradiction, and consequence. The speaker provides examples from popular culture, such as 'The Wizard of Oz' and historical speeches, to illustrate how ABT is used to create compelling narratives. They also discuss the prevalence of ABT in scientific papers and the benefits of using this structure in research communication. The speaker further explains the 'narrative spectrum,' which ranges from too little narrative content (AAAA) to too much (DHY), and positions ABT as the optimal form of narrative.

15:02

🌐 Building a Narrative Culture

The speaker shares their experience in developing a narrative training program called 'Story Circles,' which aims to teach scientists and communicators the art of storytelling. They describe the process of the training, which involves analyzing narrative structures in published abstracts and developing narratives for their own research projects. The speaker highlights the benefits of this training, such as improved communication skills and the creation of a 'narrative culture' among participants. They also mention the success of the program in various institutions and the growing adoption of the ABT framework in scientific journals and other organizations. The speaker concludes by emphasizing the importance of narrative in being understood in today's information-saturated world.

Keywords

💡Narrative

A narrative is a structured account of events that are interconnected and lead to a particular conclusion. In the video, narrative is emphasized as a crucial element for effective communication, especially in science, as it helps to organize information in a way that is engaging and comprehensible. The speaker realized the importance of narrative while working on the film 'Flock of Dodos' by structuring the information around a central problem.

💡ABT Structure

ABT (And, But, Therefore) is a narrative framework used to structure stories. It consists of an agreement (And), a contradiction (But), and a consequence (Therefore). The video illustrates how this structure makes communication more engaging by providing a clear narrative flow, as seen in examples like 'The Wizard of Oz' and scientific research papers.

💡Problem-Solution Dynamic

The problem-solution dynamic refers to a narrative structure where a problem is presented and then resolved. It is highlighted in the video as a powerful way to engage audiences, whether in films or scientific communication. The speaker's experience with the movie 'Flock of Dodos' showcased how focusing on a central problem made the documentary more compelling.

💡Story Circles

Story Circles are a training method designed to help individuals develop their narrative skills. The video describes this process involving small groups meeting regularly to practice narrative techniques, such as the ABT structure, to improve their communication skills. Examples include scientists from the USDA and USGS who benefited from this training.

💡Scientific Communication

Scientific communication is the practice of conveying scientific information to diverse audiences. The video discusses the challenges scientists face in making their work understandable and interesting, emphasizing the need for narrative structures like ABT to enhance their presentations and written work.

💡Monotony in Communication

Monotony in communication occurs when information is presented in a repetitive and unengaging manner. The video uses the term to describe the initial, boring structure of the 'Flock of Dodos' documentary and how transforming it into a narrative solved this issue. Monotony is often linked to the 'and, and, and' pattern.

💡Functional MRI

Functional MRI (fMRI) is a brain imaging technique that measures brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow. In the video, fMRI studies are mentioned to highlight how different types of narrative content affect brain activity, showing that well-structured stories engage the brain more effectively than random sequences of events.

💡MRAD Structure

MRAD stands for Methods, Results, and Discussion, a standard structure for scientific research papers. The video explains how this structure naturally incorporates a narrative form, presenting previous research (Methods), identifying gaps or new questions (Results), and discussing the implications (Discussion), similar to the ABT structure.

💡Narrative Intuition

Narrative intuition is the innate sense of understanding and creating effective narratives. The video describes it as the ultimate goal of narrative training, enabling individuals to instinctively structure information in an engaging and comprehensible way. This skill is crucial for both storytelling and scientific communication.

💡Engagement

Engagement refers to capturing and maintaining the audience's interest. In the video, narrative structures like ABT are shown to enhance engagement by creating a compelling storyline that the audience can follow, making information more memorable and impactful. The speaker's experience with the 'Flock of Dodos' film underscores this point.

Highlights

The importance of storytelling in various fields, including science, and the necessity to understand narrative structure.

The author's realization of the power of narrative through the process of making the film 'Flock of Dodos'.

The initial boring assembly of the film, leading to the discovery of the need for a central problem to create a compelling narrative.

The transformation of the film's structure around a single problem, making it more interesting and coherent.

The prevalence of narrative structure in different areas such as sports, religion, politics, and its increasing recognition in the science world.

The challenge of improving the narrative structure in scientific communication quickly enough.

The comparison of presenting facts without structure to a bowl of spaghetti, illustrating the need for a clear narrative.

The definition of narrative as a series of events in the search for a solution to a problem.

The recommendation from senior voices in the science world for scientists to engage in storytelling.

The potential of narrative to make scientific work more citeable, as suggested by a 2017 scientific paper.

The distinction between narrative and other elements of communication such as simple language and metaphors.

The critique of the 'and, and, and' pattern in storytelling, leading to monotony and lack of engagement.

The neuroscience behind why narrative structure is more engaging and unifying for the audience's brain.

The introduction of the ABT (And, But, Therefore) narrative template and its application in effective communication.

The prevalence of the ABT structure in historical speeches and everyday media, highlighting its universality.

The development of the Narrative Spectrum as a tool to understand and improve narrative structure in communication.

The creation and impact of Story Circles, a training method to enhance narrative skills among scientists and communicators.

The long-term benefits of narrative training, as experienced by participants who saw improvements in their work over time.

The establishment of a narrative culture among groups of people who have undergone the Story Circles training.

The integration of narrative structure into scientific reporting and its adoption by scientific journals and organizations.

The importance of narrative in an information-overloaded world and the call to action for individuals to improve their narrative skills.

Transcripts

there's a little piece of advice that's

been going around in recent years which

is that we all need to be storytellers

we know that we've been telling stories

since back when we were hanging out in

caves it's a great thing to aspire to

but how the answer is you need to

understand one thing and that one thing

is narrative narrative is everything I

realize this first as a scientist then

as a filmmaker but the problem with

narrative is that it can take a long

time to grasp how important it is let me

tell you a little story about how I

first realized this

I made a movie called flock of Dodos it

was about the controversy over the

teaching of evolution vs. intelligent

design we interviewed a bunch of

creationists and scientists and then I

had a team of editors who began to put

the footage together and in the

beginning we assembled it as a series of

segments so we had a segment on

evolution segments on creationism

segment on intelligent design one on

school boards one on Charles Darwin on

and on and as we watched the movie week

after week

my editors began to find it so painfully

boring it wasn't boring for me I was

interested in the material and

furthermore this is my life's project I

had everything at stake with it but to

them it just was boring and we began to

build more and more tension until

finally in the sixth week by the editing

suite I ended up throwing everybody out

locking the door locking myself in for

the next three days as I worked around

the clock and slept on the couch and

ordered in pizza and Chinese food trying

to figure out what was wrong with this

movie until it finally dawned on me what

if I built all the information around a

single problem the question of who was

behind this intelligent design movement

as soon as I set it up that way and

began to build this structure all the

other information focused on that

central problem it began to make sense

and be much more interesting and that's

what is meant by narrative structure

when I brought it back to the editors

they loved it they took at the final

distance we ended up premiering at a

major Film Festival and it aired on

Showtime for a couple of years so that

was my life altering experience with

narrative since then I've come to

realize it's everywhere from sports to

religion to politics you name it

including science

I think the science world is getting

better with communication the real

challenge that I have is are we getting

better fast enough like a narrative

structure is critical to telling a clear

tale in science or in any communication

I watch people take a whole bunch of

facts and ideas and they kind of throw

them together it looks like a bowl of

spaghetti and then you say to them let's

let's apply a little bit of structure to

this let's think about the order in the

way in which we present it and suddenly

it untangles into one long nice piece of

string there's a tail that goes from

beginning middle to ending wonderful

narrative is different there's lots of

different parts to communication there's

being able to use simple language being

able to express yourself in metaphors

and analogies even improv acting

training can be useful but those are all

elements of content a narrative is about

form which is more important but also

can be a more difficult challenge the

word narrative is being used everywhere

these days what exactly does it mean in

Houston we have a narrative I offered up

the simple definition of a narrative

being the series of events that occur in

the search for a solution to a problem

this problem solution dynamic may be the

strongest bridge between science and the

humanities

and this means that the failure to grasp

the power of narrative can be deadly yes

senior voices in the science world are

now recommending that scientists engage

in storytelling even science popularizer

Alan Alda urges scientists to story tell

in 2017 a scientific paper proclaimed

narrative will make more people cite

your work but how to do this as the

question let's begin by talking about

what is not a story as part of my

training as a filmmaker I went to film

school at the University of Southern

California one of the real gems at USC

film school was Frank Danielle a

legendary expert on screenwriting in a

1986 speech he talked about first drafts

of screenplays but his words apply to

first drafts of pretty much everything

he said monotony is a problem in first

drafts there are several reasons for it

one usually is the fact that the scenes

follow in the forbidden pattern and then

and then and then notice what he

identifies this pattern of and and and

this is referring to just listing events

or facts which can be numbing my film

school classmates Sean hood who's now a

major screenwriter in Hollywood

remembers this problem from back when he

was just getting started after film

school I'd go out and I'd teach and I

would I'd sit down and I'd start telling

my story and I could see the executive I

could see her eyes to start to glaze

over I would lose them slowly through

the pitch this happened and this

happened and this happened and then this

happened and that's boring he's talking

about the and and and for me it happens

to everyone including scientists who

give a talk where they say and here's a

graph of this and here's a graph of that

and here's a pile of data when

scientists are called to testify before

Congress they often march into those

committee rooms thinking that if they

show up with the right set of facts

they're going to be able to win the day

but presenting only facts is the N

Mandan form which is a recipe for failed

communication that's a horrible thing to

say but the annan ends are quite

forgettable and I so if you were to ask

me some

and ends I've heard I forgot them I mean

that's one of the wonderful things about

getting older you can use that as an

excuse

somebody said did you go to such and

such a lecture I don't remember all you

have to do is go to any cocktail party

and the first five stories you hear are

all gonna be and and and and and and

it's all about the me me me me me of the

person telling you that story the core

problem is what social psychologists

Paul slovic says citing Daniel Kahneman

that the brain is lazy the and and an or

a a a is basically the default form it's

what we start with very easy to do just

rattle off pieces of information and in

fact it's what happened with my movie

our first draft just as Frank Danielle

would have predicted was AAA structure

now it's not that there's anything wrong

with this structure so long as all the

facts are accurate it's fine it's just

that it's boring and that's our problem

so what's the matter with AAA it just

doesn't excite neuroscience is beginning

to shed some light on this for example

Yuri Hasan at Princeton University uses

functional MRI to study the brain

activity of people watching films one

group watches films that don't tell a

story for this they use video footage of

random people at a park there's no

problem solution dynamic at work this is

what AAA is here's some kids and there's

some trees and there's a trash can and

nothing to focus on really with no story

two things are seen in the brain scans

of viewers very little activity and very

little similarity in which parts of the

brain are active from one person to

another the index of similarity is low

around ten to twenty percent one person

is watching a car drive by another might

be watching people then they use footage

from suspense stories this is high

narrative content very clearly

problem-solution material he's got a gun

but it's pointed at someone therefore we

may be about to see something bad not

surprisingly there's lots of brain

activity and the index of similarities

are

70% as everyone is thinking the same

thought will he pull the trigger this is

the power of narrative the

problem/solution dynamic activates the

brains of the audience and unifies their

thinking so how do you draw on this

power actually some people figure it out

on their own when I started lecturing

students I used to do the end and and

and at least in lists and lists and in

fact in my early days but clumsily but

still black so that I started throwing

in butts I started throwing and did you

know there's this other crazy thing

related to it and you see students going

from this to that suddenly to more

formally understand this transformation

from boring to interesting we return to

Frank Danielle's speech he went on to

say in a dramatic story the pattern

usually for the connecting scenes is and

but therefore these are the ABT words

they embody the three central forces of

narrative agreement contradiction and

consequence we like to color code them

blue for agreement red for contradiction

green for consequence the ABT is a one

sentence template that conveys the core

elements of narrative whether fiction or

nonfiction for example we can talk about

the story of a little girl named Dorothy

and her life on a farm which is boring

but then one day a tornado takes her to

Oz therefore she has to find her way

home

that's the ABT narrative summary of The

Wizard of Oz or we could talk about a

scientist who works on biochemistry and

physiology but has come to the

realization that the important questions

are at the molecular level therefore is

now doing the following molecular

experiments once you absorb the ABT

structure you begin to realize it's

present wherever there's effective

communication like the Gettysburg

Address it's only three paragraphs and a

perfect abt we have a great and mighty

nation but now we're engaged in a

terrible Civil War therefore is up to us

the living to make sure these men did

not die in vain

Martin Luther King jr. began his I have

a dream speech with an abt paragraph and

every day on the front page of the New

York Times you see the ABT structure

where paragraphs even start with the

word but

look for the ABT enough and you start to

feel like it's everywhere learning about

the ABT for the first time is like when

someone tells you there's an arrow in

the FedEx logo once you see it you're

never gonna unsee it the ABT really

shows up everywhere and now here's the

clincher guess where I first learned of

the ABT elements from the co-creators of

the animated series South Park they

talked about the power of the words but

and therefore in a documentary it's been

the secret of their success over the

years so our scientific papers written

this way the answer is yes narrative

structure already exists in the

reporting of scientific research and by

definition it does and there's a well

understood formula for that under

structure the structure is called mrad

and the scientific community came up

with it around a century ago as a way of

forcing the scientific community to use

this narrative structure so it goes

previous researchers have looked at this

and this but they haven't looked at this

element before therefore we had these

methods we found these results and this

is our discussion after formulating the

ABT I took it further by creating the

narrative spectrum for which the ABT is

the optimal narrative form to one side

of it is one way in which communication

goes bad the dreaded aaaa we've already

discussed where the narrative content is

zero and things become boring at the

other end is too much narrative content

we call this D H y standing for despite

however yet three words of contradiction

you sometimes get this form among

academics who can talk on five narrative

planes at once despite this however this

yet this but this contrary to this they

can follow each other but outsiders are

totally lost the ABT is both template

and tool that can lead you to the real

goal what I've termed narrative

intuition the ability to sense narrative

structure in all situations guess what

you need to achieve this narrative

structure can seem simple at first but

it takes a long time to master as

Christopher Vogler says the journey to

understand and articulate these ideas of

narrative is truly endless what this

means is that everyone could bend

that from narrative training the version

of what we've developed is called story

circles it has two parts it begins with

the one day teaser event called a demo

day where up to 50 people are shown the

basic elements of story circles out of

that group are formed the story circles

of five individuals who will meet for

the 10 one-hour sessions one per week

these can be held over teleconferencing

or in-person each hour is a set workout

consisting of narrative analysis

analyzing the narrative structure of

published abstracts and narrative

development using the narrative tools

and language to strengthen the narrative

structure of their own research projects

writing and presentations after running

for prototypes we now have groups

putting the training into practice for

example research scientists at the US

Department of Agriculture we started

story circles with a small group of

scientists and there was some initial

skepticism about it the people came

together I don't think they quite knew

what they were doing and the thing that

was surprising was that within this

first couple of weeks they were coming

back to us and telling us how they had

seen applications in the work that they

were doing but the results didn't happen

immediately it took a year of putting

the training to work for them to really

see the transformation the great thing

about story circles in the way it's run

is it was run we met every week for

about ten weeks it was very difficult

like going to practice but I also am a

musician and I recognize that you have

to practice you have to practice your

scales you have to practice your

arpeggios and by the end of the ten

weeks I felt I got a lot out of story

circles but it wasn't until I was

actually into this and using it for over

a year that I felt like I really got it

recently we had to put together a

project plan and usually involved a

group of scientists standing together

and saying this is what I'm gonna do and

how can I work together with everybody

and this was a very difficult project

because we went from the molecular to

the remote sensing and I brought the ABT

concept to the table

they were very frustrated they were like

we don't have to do it this way we just

want to write it up and it was terribly

boring it was horrible we couldn't get

it but I always put the ABT in there and

eventually people started coming around

and when we got evaluated we got the top

score no revisions necessary we were

told it was one of the best project

plans ever written yes the training does

take time you can't learn it all in a

day but it's worth the investment so in

Australia we have this saying you don't

to be that guy that's too busy digging a

hole with a spoon that he won't go over

and pick up the shovel this is what

Heidi Kuntz the USGS graduate of story

circle said at the end of their circle

that quote the hour per week dedicated

to flexing abt tactics is indeed helping

me find more time in my schedule that's

what happens when you pick up the shovel

so we interview graduates of story

circles from USDA and USGS in Fort

Collins Colorado

for their thoughts on the training I

found I was an and and-and-and-and-and

type of scientist it started in ways

that didn't expose us our own work

immediately but just sort of our

thoughts about other people's work and

then went deeper into our own work it

really has helped me refine how I look

for news and I felt like I could become

a better researcher that's the real

power of doing the story circle is that

you know you you have all these great

perspectives and we now have a more

narrative culture among co-workers

the net result of the training is what

we call narrative culture groups of

people who now speak the same narrative

language of the ABT as described by jeff

Morissette who ran a circle for usgs in

colorado the aha moment I think for us

was realizing that by going through the

story circles we created a little

network of people who kind of could

speak the same language I think you call

it the culture you create that culture

and it's really kind of small tight-knit

sort of like collaboration and

friendship or you know you've got the

person that then you can say now I've

got four people that when I'm submitting

an abstract and it's a quick turnaround

it's due tomorrow is you send it to alls

I mean you say can you guys check this

out and they can say a little much on

the and you haven't what's the Dubs key

template you kind of just have this this

efficient way to really break down but

you really got a group of people that

can help bounce ideas off of and

communicate better the ABT framework is

now spreading at least two scientific

journals have incorporated it into their

writers guidelines and the National Park

Service recently released a 50 page

report that presented the ABT twice and

used it to structure their case studies

between story circles demo days in the

actual story circles we've now involved

over 1,000 scientists and communicators

from government agencies universities

and corporations one of the most

important resources emerging is the

Facebook group we've created for

graduates of the full 10 one hour story

circle sessions

I said in the beginning that narrative

is everything and it is it's been the

most important thing that I've learned

in my 40 year journey from science to

cinema and back I've gotten at least a

little bit better with narrative and you

can too and you need to because trust me

in today's information overloaded world

narrative is the key to being understood

to learn more about this read houston we

have a narrative or visit our story

circles training website