Stories come up trumps for trust

We live in interesting times…again.

2025 is barely a month old and the mood music is already deafening.

The noise around misinformation has cranked up in volume with the return of the new (old) President to the White House.

As the fact-checkers scatter, the thorny issue of trust in public figures and institutions has been reignited.

The Edelman Trust Barometer 2025 highlights that widespread grievance with institutions is badly eating away at our trust in them.

Almost two-thirds of people hold a moderate or high sense of grievance against our institutions.

So deep runs the distrust that 4 in 10 people would approve of ‘hostile activism’ in response – online abuse, threatening violence or damaging property.

It’s not the rosiest of pictures.

Thankfully, the report also points a way forward.

To address the root causes of grievance, businesses and governments need to ensure “quality information” is available to local communities, as a foundation for rebuilding trust.

The Edelman report also found that government leaders can gain trust when they have a positive impact on lives.

There’s an ever-growing need for sharing a story of hope – and stories have a unique role to play in building trust.

In the quest for “quality information”, stories come into their own.

When it comes to making communities feel seen and heard, they connect with people emotionally, build empathy and understanding, and show a human side.

Establishing a strong narrative taps into the unique ability of stories to bring clarity to the complex and provide meaning.

Supplementing the big picture narrative of change, tales of real-world impacts and lived experience can then provide relatable evidence for communities.

So, what are the three key components we need to embed in our approach to help build trust with our communities?

1. A narrative of change

We are so susceptible to stories due to their ability to convey change. Our brains have evolved to become change-detecting machines, constantly on the lookout for differences and then desperate to find a resolution or answer.

Thanks to this neurological nuance, we find a change narrative irresistible, so we need to set up a narrative that:

• Starts with a context and the challenge we are trying to overcome.
• Leads people through the journey, being transparent about the hurdles that need to be tackled.
• Shows the destination, the outcome we are aiming for, the better world we want to create.

2. Stories of success

Laying out a narrative is one thing. Making it real is another.

We need tangible examples to bring reality to the big picture.

Stories are what our narrative looks like in action. The change that is happening. The people on the journey or who have reached the destination.

Real people, real experiences, mean an emotive pull, a deeper connection with the narrative. Relatable characters people can align and identify with.

Our social platforms provide a perfect platform for these everyday examples to be shared and celebrated.

3. Trusted storytellers

So, stories can help us build trust.

But who tells the story is a huge factor in how much trust we put in them.

The EAST behaviour change model, where S stands for social, highlights how influenced we are by what others say and do.

The Edelman report, like so many other similar trust studies before them, shows that CEOs and politicians score low when it comes to people trusting what comes out of their mouths.

But our frontline staff – teachers, doctors, social workers – and our neighbours and peers, are all considered highly trustworthy messengers.

Again, our social channels give us an ideal outlet to allow our staff and residents, patients and customers to tell stories people will trust.

With the rise and rise of AI-generated content – more than half of LinkedIn posts were recently found to have been AI-influenced – stories double-up in defence against trust.

As our AI detectors become more honed, we are quickly learning what content deserves our attention and trust.

It gives stories even greater emphasis in providing a very human connection, something beyond ChatGPT, Claude and chums (for now).

And it means quality information trumps quantity every time.

Join our webinar on storytelling

If this has given you some food for thought, why not come along to our next webinar on 14 May: How social has changed storytelling – or has it?

James will be leading the conversation, along with Orlo’s Head of Marketing and Communications, Helena Hornby. They’ll be joined by very special guest, Simon Carr – Social Storyteller for the Ministry of Defence’s science and tech arm, Dstl.