The Science of Communicating Hope

“Anger mobilises, hope organises.” Coombes reflects on what neuroscience tells us about focusing on what’s going wrong in our stories, and becoming “more aware of how our biology might be driving our strategy…asking ourselves whether we are motivated by a desire to punish or to heal,” noticing for example that “when we witness kindness, our brain processes it as if someone is being kind to us, which in turn drives us to be kind.” Also, given that our brains are “wired to accept what is familiar… we need to shift our focus from what currently is, to showing what could be. From raising awareness to changing awareness,” which “on the most basic level, means reinforcing the idea that we are all human beings and that this identity should shape policymaking.” Stories are therefore more than just comms, they are a way to “rewire our brains and reshape our communities.”