Storytelling in Architecture, Construction and Infrastructure

Focus on the journey, not only the goal. That's the main principle from storytelling that you can apply on all architecture, construction and infrastructure brand narratives. In this matter-of-fact category, focused on the end-result, the best way to stand out is to do the opposite: show the road. So, today we look at how innovation and a competitive advantage is reached with great narrative building... when it is literally about building!

The famous 'Lunch atop a Skyscraper' picture by Charles Clyde Ebbets, touched up for color

Function and Emotion in Construction

Just like in any other category, the construction and infrastructure world consists of functional and emotional associations . Yet, because we think of this category as something leaning towards the (highly) functional, the emotional part is very often put at the back burner, or even completely thrown out. The norm is to prevent all things construction as pure logic alone.

Yet, anyone who has ever been in touch with this category however, is aware that this notion couldn't be further from the truth. That means that the world of infrastructure has a blind spot that if correctly identified, will lead to a towering (punt intended) - competitive advantage. And my guess is, if you've arrived at this article, you are aware of that. So, let's break it down.

The problem with the logical/functional narrative (in all categories, not just construction) is that everything in life is primarily emotional. Emotions are the fundamental building blocks of all communication in history. Literally all media and all channels have an origin in our first methods of communicating through emotional grunts, gestures, words, dances, art and the written word.

The infrastructure category cannot escape that fact of life. Yet few in the industry seem to embrace it. Which is strange, because in its heart, few things are more emotional than the roofs over our heads. And acknowledging this can lead to simple and immediate innovations. Let's give a few quick examples.

Emotions in Infrastructure

Buildings are associated with numerous feelings, as they represent our homes and our places of work, worship, joy and discovery. They have emotions surrounding them that are about survival, but also about thriving, and even joy. From finding a place to sleep when your holiday goes wrong, to creating a perfect office environment or going to the stadium, the cinema or the theater, it's all pure feeling.

And even within those buildings, the rooms can differ, the differences in old and new furniture can be huge, the Feng Shue... heck even the spirits living in the spaces are often named and discussed.

The emotions surrounding construction projects are also usually outspoken. For large infrastructure projects in the public space for instance, peoples' job performance - and literal jobs - are at stake (look here for more on Government and public storytelling). For medium and smaller projects with contractors in your house or office emotions can run even higher. It's your home, your safety... you want to know what's up and what's going on. Especially when things are wrong.

The Black Box that is Construction

In other words, for the sender of the message in this category, everything is always communicated logically, functionally and technically. Yet for the receiver of the message - the one paying your bills - construction is perceived as a black box. And that's putting it mildly, in some cases.

This emotional awareness is often shunned in communication within the category. The attitude is often 'let's just build this' or 'let's experiment a little to fix this' or 'let's break it down so we can see what's going on'. This is a perfectly normal, perfectly understandable approach to construction of course. One that I myself even have when I'm doing the small chores around the house. Yet, when it comes to presenting yourself in this category, and get more, better and bigger jobs, our first conclusion is obvious... In a category where most players shun emotional awareness, the one that does have it, and shows it, wins.

Mapping negative and positive emotions

One of the best innovation approaches in my experience to start this process with, is to map out negative emotions surrounding the entire category (aka not you specifically), the subsection or segment you are in, your brand (so yes, you specifically) and interactions with individuals who are responsible.

It is based on the principle of embracing friction as the key motivator for people to connect. In the mind of us humans, almost everything in life has frictions - from big to small - associated with it. Instead of avoiding them in communication, embracing them makes an immediate connection, simply because our physiology and our mental space is tuned to recognize frictions.

Of course, the tone of voice stays important there (c'est la tone...). But overall, it will be perceived as honest and trustworthy, two aspects of the field that are lacking sometimes. Furthermore, it can be an incredible source of inspiration to innovate your products and services. Tackling the negative emotions can lead to better interactions with clients, better choices in building material, better positioning of the brand and better choices what to communicate, in what order, and where.

Although we recommend starting with those negative emotions, mapping out the positive ones is, of course, also great to do. This will give you information on what tone of voice suits you best, what specific visual cues and clues your brand should have, and how to approach deeper content such as interviews, photography, social media or brand books.

Showing the Journey in Construction Work

Another great principle to use from storytelling is the idea that 'the journey is more important than the goal'. Of course, construction and infrastructure is very goal-oriented. Yet, that doesn't mean you can use both that goal and the journey in your communication to the outside world.

The principle is one of the fundamental aspects of storytelling. We use stories as 'equipment for living' (Kenneth Burke quote) in which we convey functional information in an emotionally engaging manner, so it will stick in our memories. During the story's journey we learn lessons from the situations that are sketched. This allows us to convey those lessons to others, without those others having to literally live through them. We just 'touch' them with the journey.

As such, showing journeys in your storytelling will have natural appeal from your audience. They are used to experiencing the stories in that way already. And it's relatively simple to do actually in this field. It's also trustworthy, especially in green and sustainable storytelling trends (such as Seamless and Down to Earth) that are increasingly dominant in construction.

So, let's make it practical. Do you know those time-lapse video's of a building being constructed? That's always fascinating to see. It's a very simple example of that underlying rule of thumb: people are more interested in the journey than in the goal. It's also just the simplest example. If you take it a step further, you could think of making content in the realm of 'The Making Of' in your project.

Even if you would only make this once, for one single project, it will have lasting appeal for years: your audience sees people, sees time-lapses, learns about materials, processes, concepts and ideation... and not many in your field are doing that.

Construction as a Highly Creative Field (...for Recruitment Storytelling too)

Another great choice could be to position yourself and your brand 'higher' than others. An underused aspect of construction and infrastructure is its inherent creativity: very often novel and creative ideas have to be used to make the project successful. Plus, this is a specialized kind of creativity. One that relies on aspects such as spacial insight, material knowledge and that builder 'feeling'.

The best example that always comes to mind is an idea we posed for the National Opera and Ballet in The Netherlands. They have a crew of over a hundred builders and makers who create the artistic set pieces used in the plays. It is one of the most highly sought after jobs in this field in my country, especially if you're young and handy with your tools.

In a world increasingly dominant by short-form, 'empty' content, they were struggling to find a connection with new audiences, especially in the creative sectors. The idea was to show them the process itself - the journey of building those sets - as this is something that creatives can learn from and respect. Showing the journey thus helps finding new clients, new employees and new people in the network.

Network communication and storytelling

The last part of storytelling in practice I'd like to address is the presentation of things, especially when it comes to networking. I always use the example of you sitting with a client, hoping they would sign the contract, in two distinct situations. The first one is in a roadside gasoline station restaurant. And the second one is in a great, classy sushi restaurant. In which place do you think the highest chances exist for that contract to be signed?

Now, I'm not saying you should start presenting yourself as something different than you are. In fact, I do not recommend that at all. I say it is much better to present your true self and your true brand, even if that means it comes across as that little bit of a rougher 'builder' feel. That can actually be very beneficial, since in this highly emotional field, the down-to-earth maker-type guy or gal will be most trusted.

Yet, I do recommend something else: present the best version of that, in the best circumstances, with the best and highest parts of joy represented.

How to keep building that narrative

When people are looking for contractors, builders, worker bees and construction experts - for however big or small the project - what they are looking for is proof of capability and trustworthiness. By not avoiding frictions, embracing the journey, and recognizing the highly creative field that it is, there are immediate gains to be made in this field. And they are relatively simple storytelling adjustments.

People are just generally very interested in how things are made and by whom. That sense of pride is cool to shine through. Not just in the end-result, but in everything and with everyone that gets you there.

Love, as always,

Rogier

And check out my book The Whole Story - The Ultimate Guide to Storytelling!