Identify Narrative Communities
Before identifying Narrative Communities, two tips for easy listening:
Tip one – when listening, try to think about two broad categories of conversation:
- Dominant Discourse: Accepted beliefs or narratives that uphold the status quo. They often reinforce the very systems or perspectives we’re trying to transform.
- Alternative or Catalytic Discourse: Voices or stories that challenge the dominant view. They open space for new perspectives—ones that can shift culture in the direction we want to go.
Tip two – you might want to sort your data into insights (e.g. What are the overall trends and patterns? Who/What are the most influential voices? What are they saying? Do they interact? What are we not seeing in the data?).
Now you’re ready to identify Narrative Communities – which are the crux of Culture Hack Labs’ methodology.
A Narrative Community is a group of people talking to each other about a specific topic. They might not know each other personally—but they’re part of the same narrative “echo chamber”.
You will assemble a picture of the narratives communities, and what narratives they represent.
The table below lists a few of the Narrative Communities identified through the TOT Listening Model:
| Narrative Community | Description |
| Land Back | Land as reparation, advocating for Indigenous stewardship to protect nature, biodiversity, and cultural traditions |
| Food sovereignty | The right to control food production, closely tied to land sovereignty. |
| Bioregionalism | A redefinition of land through ecosystems rather than national borders, emphasizing that humans and nature are one. |
| Greenwashing: Development & Growth | Land is a commodity or asset to be owned, managed or offset, climate change can be mitigated while continuing development and growth agendas. |
NEXT STEP: Look at the case study that illustrates the LISTEN step on the Culture Hack Labs methodology. Then once you have completed LISTEN, you can move to UNDERSTAND.