Storytelling is a powerful and essential tool in Mass Communication. You need it to capture the attention of the masses and keep their attention riveted to get your message across to them. Mass Comm students need to master it to be able to engage audiences effectively and convey complex ideas in the simplest ways possible.

In this article, we will talk about the best storytelling models you can use across various mass media platforms to get your messages across to the target audience successfully. The storytelling techniques we have chosen are the ones that follow a structured approach, make the content emotionally resonate with the audience, and enhance its clarity.

Let’s begin.

Best Storytelling Models for Mass Comm Students

1. The Hero’s Journey: One of the most classic storytelling models, it was popularised by Joseph Campbell – the famous 20th-century mythologist. Here, the story follows a protagonist who embarks on an adventure, faces a crisis, and ultimately gets transformed due to his experiences. This model is excellent for narratives meant to inspire and motivate audiences.
2. Three-Act Structure: One of the most often-used storytelling techniques for television and film production, it divides the story into three parts: Setup, Confrontation, and Resolution. You may also see it in news reporting, documentaries, public service announcements meant to raise awareness about social issues, and even, advertising and marketing campaigns that showcase how a product or service solves a given problem.
3. Freytag’s Pyramid: This storytelling model outlines five key stages: Exposition (sets the scene, introduces the main characters, and presents the initial situation), Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Denouement (ties up loose ends, provides closure to the characters’ arcs, and reveals the outcome of the events). Mass Comm students might use this storytelling technique to build tension and make their narratives more compelling.
4. Inverted Pyramid: The classic storytelling model used in journalism, this technique starts with the most critical information and narrows down to the least important details. It ensures that the essential message is conveyed quickly so that audiences with limited time can get all the important info right in the first paragraph.
5. The Star Model: A great approach for case studies or success stories, this model focuses on Situations, Tasks, Actions, and Results (STAR). Hence, the narrative highlights how the achievements or the outcomes came about.
6. The Mountain: Freytag’s Pyramid and The Mountain storytelling models are somewhat similar in the way how they begin. However, in The Mountain storytelling model, there’s no ‘falling action’ after the ‘climax’. There’s an Initial Situation, a series of escalating challenges, a Climax, and then, a quick Resolution. It is an excellent storytelling technique to maintain suspense throughout the narrative with a quick conclusion at the end.
7. The Fishbone Diagram: The Fishbone Diagram, also known as the Ishikawa or Cause-and-Effect Diagram, is a visual representation of what can be the causes of a specific problem or event. It resembles a fish skeleton, with the problem at the head and potential causes as branches. It’s a great analytical storytelling technique for explanatory and investigative pieces and can help with identifying and analysing root causes in various contexts.
8. The Sparkline: Developed by Nancy Duarte, this model contrasts the current reality with the desired future. Highlighting the gap between the two is a great way to motivate the audience to take action. It is a great storytelling technique for persuasive communication scenarios, such as presentations and strategic messaging.
9. Monomyth: Much like ‘The Hero’s Journey’, the Monomyth storytelling model is a broader concept that emphasizes the common elements of heroic narratives worldwide.

We can say that the movie ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ used The Hero’s Journey as it highlighted Miles’ personal growth and heroism while ‘Black Panther’ used the Monomyth storytelling model as the latter focused on T’Challa’s transformative journey, universal themes, and cultural significance.

Real-World Examples of Storytelling Models for Mass Comm Students

Here are some real-world mass media campaigns for Mass Communication students that 

employ these storytelling techniques:

• The Hero’s Journey: “Share the Load” campaign by Ariel is about a husband who realises that he is seeing the ‘silent separation’ from his wife due to the unequal distribution of household chores. He decides to share the load and the family dynamics change. See how the protagonist faces a crisis, realises his mistake, and takes action to achieve a positive outcome.
• Three-Act Structure: The “Reunion” campaign by Google Search is a touching story of two friends who got separated due to the India-Pakistan partition. The narrative shows setup, confrontation, and resolution, showcasing how the grandchildren of these friends used Google Search to help them reunite.
• Freytag’s Pyramid: “Touch of Care” campaign by Vicks is based on the true story of a transgender woman adopting an orphan as her own. This shows all the elements of Freytag’s Pyramid storytelling technique as the ad builds tension and emotional engagement and highlights ‘caregiving’ in the end.
• Inverted Pyramid: Most of the news coverage by The Times of India employs this model where the most critical information about events is covered first and the additional details are covered later in the decreasing order of importance.
• The Star Model: Many success stories covered in the LinkedIn “In It Together” campaign follow the Star Model storytelling techniques. You can see the Situation, Task, Action, and Result showcasing how LinkedIn helped these professionals achieve their goals.
• The Mountain: “Da Da Ding” campaign by Nike employs this storytelling model to show how female athletes overcome various challenges until they triumph. The tension and excitement are maintained throughout the ad until the climax.
• The Fishbone Diagram: The public health awareness campaigns by the Ministry of Health often use this model. They analyse the key causes of health issues (such as the spread of dengue) visually to educate the public about them.
• The Sparkline: Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission) employed this technique to show what a clean environment could look like motivating citizens to participate in the initiative.
• Monomyth: The “Make in India” campaign launched in 2014 can be a prime example of a monomyth narrative in Indian advertising. We see the nation facing challenges in manufacturing and economic growth and the government’s calls for participating in India’s manufacturing revolution.

We see their initial hesitation until the government offers them incentives, infrastructure, and policy support to encourage investment and growth. Then, we see businesses and entrepreneurs crossing the threshold and start investing in India. With supportive government policies, they overcome obstacles like skill shortages and bureaucratic hurdles. The narrative ends with showcasing how the campaign led to India’s manufacturing growth story.

Conclusion

At SMS Varanasi, we encourage our Mass Comm students to observe how they can use various storytelling models to make their communication across mass media more effective and engaging. Let’s discuss this in detail later.