[embed SoundCloud link]

At Harmony Labs, our design principles are the result of years of research, experimentation, and collaboration with partners who want to advance narratives that truly move people.

As Executive Director Brian Waniewski says in our latest conversation, these ideas emerged “in the context of real projects where we were figuring out how to help people tell better stories,” which made us realize that we were following the same set of patterns every time.

Those patterns evolved into four core principles that guide how we approach media impact work. We’re sharing them here in the hope they’ll be useful to others—and you can also [listen to our leadership team] discuss how they mark a fundamental shift in how we reach and move audiences.

Audiences on Their Own Terms

“Trying to fix people is fruitless. If you aren’t respectful of where an audience is at and eager to make stuff they want to consume, you’re not making effective organic media.” —Riki Conrey, Principal Scientist, Harmony Labs

Using media and narrative to build understanding across differences means seeing audiences as they are, not as we wish they were. That includes people with values that differ from our own, who make choices that may not look like ours. If our goal is to broaden a base of support or build a coalition, then by definition we are trying to connect with people who don’t already agree with us.

Meeting audiences on their own terms doesn’t mean endorsing every belief; it means starting from a place of respect and curiosity, with as little judgment as possible. In all aspects of our work, we strive to represent audiences in ways that they might represent themselves, often in their own words or through media of their own choosing.

Story for Narrative Strategy

“When we tell a story, we transport people into a world. Instead of deciding whether they agree or disagree, they’re feeling something.” —Elsie Iwase, Strategy Director, Harmony Labs

Story and argument aren’t just different techniques—they operate in completely different parts of the brain. When people experience a story, their mirror neurons fire, and in effect, simulate the protagonist’s experience.

There is nothing like a story for taking people on a difficult journey that ends in an unexpected place. That’s why we center storytelling—whether through films, shows, memes, or short documentaries—over argumentation, which tends to trigger logical defenses, and make audiences less likely to try on a new perspective.

Vision as Offense

“If you’re always defining yourself against something, you’re letting the opposition set the terms of the conversation.” –Brian Waniewski, Executive Director, Harmony Labs

One important way to motivate people is to put a future in it. Too often, traditional communications are stuck playing defense: debunking myths, countering attacks, or narrating the problem. But instead of endlessly reacting, we can tell the story of the future we want.

Unfolding a vision is something stories are uniquely suited to do: visions that people want to be a part of and are willing to fight for. As much as communicators and storytellers may want to dwell, critique, or counter-narrate to defend their work, that instinct rarely grows support. People want a destination: a future that they can live into, one that connects to their current material reality and helps them make sense of, survive, improve, or transcend that reality.

This principle shows up most prominently in our process through the narrative goal, where we help partners align on the story they want to tell, and not just the one they’re reacting to. That’s where change starts to feel possible.

Evolution All Around

“[In our project with Rewiring America], we thought we’d be talking about climate, but what mattered to rural audiences was reliability and self-sufficiency. Once we stopped leading with ‘the planet’ and started listening to what people actually cared about, the message landed.” —Riki Conrey, Principal Scientist, Harmony Labs

Change isn’t something we do to others—it’s something we do with others. When narrative change work succeeds, it always entails mutual transformation. It can’t aim to fix anyone, or convert people to a single set of values. We don’t believe it’s possible, or even desirable, for everyone in a society to share the same worldview. Our strength lies in embracing every dimension of diversity and doing the hard work of meeting people where they are as we try to get along.

Evolution all around also means changing how Harmony Labs understands audiences. Each project builds our capacity for empathy. We learn not to categorize or demonize, but to see how we can move together. The openness to evolve our own practices as we engage with others is what keeps our work alive.

Learn More

These four principles are our way of being in relationship with audiences, with partners, and with the future. We hope these principles spark ideas for your own work in media, storytelling, or strategy.

[Listen to the episode] to hear our leadership talk about these principles in more detail.

Reach out if you’d like to talk about how our approach might help shape your media strategy or creative work.