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From Personal Pain to Public Pattern
Every Tuesday, The Productive Disruptive delivers storytelling science, message makeovers, cultural commentary, and a little rebellious hope for anyone still stubborn enough to believe communication can change the world.
Dorian Johnson
May 05, 2026
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Previously on The Productive Disruptive…
We talked about Story of Self last week.
The part of public narrative that answers the question: Why was I called to this work?
This week, we move to Story of Us, where the personal story becomes bigger than the person.
Although personal stories can incredibly powerful, they do also run the risk of strictly garnering sympathies.
“That’s terrible.”
“That should not have happened.”
“I feel so bad for her.”
Acknowledging harm does matter. Compassion matters. Humanity matters.
But in social change storytelling, don’t forget that one story often tells many others, too.
A Story of Us helps people understand: this is not only an individual experience. This is a shared pattern, a shared value, or a shared responsibility.
Years ago, I heard journalist Jon Youshaei explain this storytelling move beautifully.
Think about it like this.
If you want people to understand the lushness of an orchard, you wouldn’t speak about its acreage, number of trees, or inches of rain it got.
You’d highlight a singular apple.
The ruby red skin(we love getting fiber)
The crunch when you bite into it and the juice that drips from your mouth.
The sweetness.
The bruise near the stem.
The apple helps people feel the orchard.
Tatyana Ali’s birth story is one apple in the orchard of maternal health outcomes.
It helps us understand something larger is growing here.
That’s what Story of Us does.
Story of Self gives people the apple.
Story of Us helps them understand the orchard.
It says: Don’t treat this story like an isolated incident. Ask what pattern it reveals. Ask what value is being threatened. Ask who else is connected to what happened.
Because without the “us,” people may treat the story like an exception.
Sad, but separate.
Awful, but individual.
Story of Us helps turn separate experiences into a collective “we” and points to a larger pattern, calling for greater responsibility and accountability.
🧠 Story Science Side Note: Marshall Ganz explains that Story of Us communicates the values and experiences shared by the people you hope to move. Connect it to the bigger “we” so people can see the pattern instead of just the pain or problem.
📝 Message Makeover:
Before:
“I feel so bad for her.”
After:
“I’m angry that this keeps happening, and I want to understand what needs to change so fewer people experience it.”
What does this one story reveal about what too many people are experiencing?
🛠️ The PHacilitator’s Corner:
Take the Story of Self sentence from last week:
I care about ______ because I remember ______, and that moment taught me ______.
Now ask:
Who else is connected to this issue?
What larger pattern does this personal story reveal?
What shared value is being threatened?
What “us” am I trying to call into the room?
Then try this formula:
This is not only about ______. This is about all of us who believe ______ should not be treated like ______.
Example:
This is not only about one patient being dismissed. This is about all of us who believe pain should not be treated like an inconvenience.