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Imagine watching an entire episode of Scooby-Doo.

The gang rolls up into town.

A haunted mansion, strange noises, and mysterious figures roam the halls.

People are terrified, and something’s clearly going on, so it’s time to roll up the sleeves and get down to business.

Which, of course, leads to the obligatory chase scene that makes no sense(but always gets a chuckle out of me)

After 20 minutes of investigating and shenanigans, what if it were simply declared:

"Yep. This place is haunted. Mystery solved!"

And that’s how it wraps…

Jinkies.

One of the most satisfying parts of Scooby-Doo is finding out who or what's behind the mystery.

The clues, the investigation, the big reveal.

Those strange things we saw earlier suddenly start making sense.

And that's the storytelling lesson.

Sometimes, we tell people what happened without helping them explore what might explain it.

Giving people something to investigate can change how they understand the entire story.

Think about how we communicate public health information.

Since October is Healthy Lung Month, let's use asthma as an example.

Children in this neighborhood have higher asthma rates.

We share statistics, highlight trends, and describe community problems.

That's important information.

But what might explain it?

Someone might think about air pollution. Someone else might consider housing conditions. Another person might have firsthand experience with something we haven't even considered.

And this is where we, as storytellers, have an opportunity.

Instead of immediately offering an explanation, we could ask:

"What do you think might be contributing to this?"

Someone might share an experience that raises a question worth investigating further.

And someone might have absolutely no idea.

We can introduce what researchers have found, share relevant context, and explore explanations together.

It's an opportunity to learn from our audiences while helping them make sense of the information.

In Scooby-Doo, the mystery usually ends with a definitive answer.

Fred pulls off the mask, the culprit is revealed, and someone complains about those meddling kids.

Public health doesn't always work that way.

Several factors might contribute to an outcome.

Just because two things happen together doesn't mean one caused the other; we know that.

But consider this.

Someone's experience can be real and meaningful without explaining what happens to everyone else.

If someone shares something we haven't encountered before, that's an opportunity to get curious.

What might we learn from their observation? Is there something worth exploring further?

We can respect what people share while remaining thoughtful about what the evidence does and doesn't tell us.

After all, who knows what clues we might be overlooking?

And when people help us explore what's missing, they can also help us tell a fuller story.

🛠️ The PHacilitator’s Corner:

Co-creating stories with the people experiencing what we're communicating is valuable.

The next time you're developing a story about a community, try this:

1. Share the observation. 

2. Invite their perspective. What do they think might explain it? What are we missing?

3. Shape the story together. Explore what the evidence supports and how their contributions might change what you communicate.

The people in our stories can help shape how we tell them.

Toodles

PS: Going to APHA next week? I’ll be there Nov 2nd and 3rd, and I’d love to see you

How’d I do?