From a very early age, we learn to listen intently to stories and look forward with excitement to the ones our parents told us at bedtime. As a result, it hardwires us to respond to narrative over pure information and, most of all, to listen to and remember everything that is said.
Institutional communications have long suffered from an affliction known colloquially as “briefing-note syndrome”. When institutions communicate ambitious reform, a legislative breakthrough, or a complex initiative, they too often default to what feels safe: data points, treaty articles, bureaucratic acronyms, and committee jargon.
Data certainly matters because it informs, but stories more often than not persuade.
In an age of overflowing content, storytelling is one of the most effective communication tools because it converts abstract information into human experience, giving audiences someone to follow, something to feel, and a reason to remember.
The art of storytelling lies in choosing the right storyteller and main character, because they are the route through which the audience understands the issue.
The most effective stories stay factually accurate, acknowledge complexity when needed, and show why the matter affects someone’s freedom, safety, dignity, livelihood, or future.
Storytelling is a technique good politicians have learnt to use widely, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is a good example. In her annual State of the Union addresses, she consistently and effectively uses stories to illustrate key points and bring them to life for her audience.
In her 16 September 2026 State of the European Union address, she used storytelling to demonstrate the EU’s competitiveness and industrial strategy. Rather than citing only macroeconomic targets, capital market regulations, or funding allocations, she built a narrative around two entrepreneurs, Rafał Modrzewski (Poland) and Pekka Laurila (Finland), co-founders of the space-tech company ICEYE.
To show that Europe can foster homegrown tech giants rather than losing them to Silicon Valley, von der Leyen told their story of going from students to satellite pioneers. “ICEYE was set up by two young Europeans, Rafał from Poland and Pekka from Finland,” she said. “They initially met through Erasmus some 15 years ago. Together they founded a tech start-up. They developed their idea around satellite imagery… got Horizon funding, and grew with private investment. Today they are one of the world’s leading space tech companies.”
She then introduced them directly in the European Parliament hemicycle. “ICEYE’s story shows that Europe is the home of innovation. And that we can reignite Europe’s entrepreneurial spirit. I am delighted that the founders are here among us. Let us all welcome Rafał and Pekka. Yours is a true European success story.”
It was clever because instead of merely describing EU policy instruments in the abstract (Erasmus+, Horizon Europe, and the Scaleup Europe Fund), she showed them as sequential stepping stones in a single, relatable human story.
Choosing a Pole and a Finn who met on an EU student exchange also personalised the principles of the European single market, bringing diverse European talent together to build something neither could have achieved alone.
Other notable examples include the European Parliament’s 2024 “Use your vote. Or others will decide for you” campaign. Its centrepiece was a documentary featuring unscripted conversations between grandparents and grandchildren from across the EU. Older people spoke about their experiences of freedom and democracy and what they wanted younger generations to remember. The campaign’s appeal didn’t depend on explaining the Parliament’s powers; it made the value of choice feel personal.
The storytelling choices were precise. Grandparents and grandchildren provided an immediate relationship the viewer could recognise. The older speakers had lived experience, giving them authority without the tone of an institutional lecture. The question at the heart of the film, what might be lost if democracy is taken for granted, gave the conversations emotional weight. Its call to vote followed naturally from the story.
The reach was substantial. Before polling day, Parliament reported more than 504 million video views. Its later account of the wider campaign reported 339 million completed online views and 40% recall, along with higher turnout among people who remembered the campaign.
When the European Commission and Parliament steered the Common Charger Directive (Directive (EU) 2022/2380) into law, the legislative text was an intimidating mixture of interoperability standards, radio equipment directives, and USB Type-C power delivery specifications.
To explain the measure, communicators resisted the urge to explain the technical harmonisation schedule. Instead, they focused their narrative on a universally shared domestic irritation, the tangled drawer of redundant cables.
The Commission’s messaging featured a citizen arriving late at an airport with 2% battery life and the wrong cable, and a household drawer overflowing with obsolete plastic wire.
As the Parliament’s rapporteur, Alex Agius Saliba, pointed out during the debate,
“Today we have made the common charger a reality in Europe! European consumers were long frustrated with multiple chargers piling up with every new device.”
By elevating a micro-annoyance into a clear adversary, the EU reframed an intricate piece of standardisation law as a triumph of everyday life over pointless clutter and electronic waste.
A statistic can tell us how widespread a problem is. A story can help us understand why someone cares about solving it. Strong communications need both.
For communicators in Brussels, where much of the work is necessarily expressed in regulations, targets and impact assessments, storytelling is a valuable skill and one which SEC Newgate EU practises widely with a dedicated team of communications specialists to support and work alongside our advocacy and public affairs experts. By using storytelling techniques, we help provide politicians and regulators with stories that are not only memorable and personally meaningful, but also easy to repeat to their own audiences.
Tim Edgar, Senior Adviser