Stop storytelling, start helping people get things done

“Storytelling” keeps coming up in government circles. It’s on conference agendas. It shows up in website redesign goals.

“We need to tell our story better.”

People don’t typically visit a government website to be inspired. They’re there because they need to do something. They need to get a permit, report a problem, or find out when the construction on their street is over.

When someone lands on your website, they’re usually trying to solve a problem quickly so they can get on with their day. They’re not looking for a narrative arc.

When governments focus too much on storytelling, a few things tend to happen:

• Paragraphs get longer

• Key details get buried

• Language becomes more promotional than helpful

• Pages are organized around what the agency wants to say, not what people need

You end up with content that sounds nice, but doesn’t work. When content doesn’t work, people call staff, submit incomplete applications, miss deadlines, and get frustrated.

(Storytelling has its place, like annual reports, social media, speeches. The problem is when it gets in the way of getting things done.)

If you’re a government agency, you already have a story. You don’t need to manufacture one.

Your story is whether people can get things done. Whether your instructions are clear. Whether you’re fair.

If your services are clear, effective, and fair then you don’t need storytelling to make you look good.

Here’s what that looks like in practice.

Don’t lead with a narrative about housing stability.

Tell people: who is protected, what “just cause” means, when the law takes effect, and what tenants and landlords need to do.

Be direct about the why: This law sets limits on when tenants can be evicted. It provides more stability for renters.

Don’t overexplain your vision. Show it.

What’s changing? What’s faster or easier now? What can businesses do differently? Where do they go for help?

If there’s one thing business people can see through, it’s marketing fluff. Just connect the why to your goals, plainly: This supports the City’s goal of making it easier to start and run a business.

Don’t tell a story about “investing in public safety.”

Tell people: what’s being built, when construction starts and ends, what disruptions to expect, and how it affects emergency response.

Include the why, but keep it simple and real: This project replaces an old building in need of repair and improves response times.

Don’t explain the “importance of compliance.”

Help people complete the task: when they need the inspection, how to apply, what it costs, what happens if issues are found.

Include the why, but not at the expense of getting the thing done: This helps ensure properties meet building and safety requirements before they are sold.

No amount of storytelling will fix services that are confusing, slow, or inconsistent.

Some government content is trying to change what people do.

Use less water. Wear a seatbelt. Report domestic abuse.

People are being asked to act against habit, convenience, or sometimes fear. In those cases, a purely transactional approach often fails. People need to feel the stakes are real and the ask is reasonable.

The why earns attention. The ask (or action) still has to be clear.

The page still needs to tell them, plainly:

• What you’re asking them to do

• How to do it

• What happens if they don’t

Emotion and clarity aren’t opposites. The mistake is to imply an ask instead of making one. Don’t over-rely on a story to make your point. Strip it out and read what’s left. If the ask isn’t there, rewrite.

Water restrictions are a good example. You’re asking people to change daily habits. But the ask is concrete and the stakes are factual.

Don’t open with imagery about dry reservoirs. Keep the why factual: Reservoir levels are at X%. These restrictions are in place to maintain supply through summer.

Tell people:

• What they can and can’t do

• When the restrictions apply

• What the penalties are

• How to report violations

People want to know why something is happening, why a rule exists, why they’re being asked to do something.

But governments often turn the “why” into messaging. They overexplain. They soften. They spin.

When the why starts to feel like messaging instead of information, trust drops.

So keep it short, direct, and objective.

If something costs money, say it costs money. If something is required by law, say that. If something is a policy choice, say that too.

And most importantly: don’t let the why get in the way of the how. People still need to know what to do.

Storytelling often tries to guide how people feel about something.

Government content shouldn’t do that. (Leave persuasion to politicians.)

Don’t be paternalistic. Don’t try to persuade through tone. Don’t wrap information in a narrative to make it more palatable.

Give people the information they need. Clearly, honestly, and completely.

Let them draw their own conclusions.

Instead of asking “How do we tell our story?” ask “Can people understand what to do?”

That means plain language, clear steps, honest timelines and costs, upfront requirements, and no buried information.

When you do this well, people trust you more. Not because you told them a compelling story, but because you helped them succeed.

People sense when they’re being managed. The kind of trust that survives disagreement doesn’t come from a well-crafted narrative. It comes from services that work.

Organize your information. Keep it current. Make your services easy to use. Explain your decisions plainly.

Do that consistently and you don’t need to manage your narrative.

People will still disagree with you. They’ll still complain. But they’ll trust you more when they do.

Government websites don’t need better stories. They need to be better at helping people do things.