Whether it is through writing or oral, storytelling is a performative act. There might be a discrepancy between the reality and your story. It is not a direct representation of what happened. In fact, it can never fully encapsulate an event objectively. But how we tell that story and use words, narratives and characters might subtly or explicitly reveal some of our underlying structures, beliefs, values and patterns. What we call the underwater iceberg!

A crucial aspect in storytelling is an appreciation of the 'iceberg'. The iceberg is a great metaphor for allowing you to engage with what is out there. A lot of us see things happen, we look at the news, for example, and we treat individual news items just as events. Even in our day to day we often feel like we are just firefighting; we’re just reacting to the events that hit us and we’re just rushing from one challenge to another. But, metaphorically, that is just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ that is above the surface of the water. It’s what hits us in our daily lives. The ‘Iceberg model’ demonstrates that storytelling can go beyond a simple description of events that have taken place, and/or are in the process of unfolding. It's about understanding that below the surface of what is more immediately apparent, there are patterns and structures connecting different events which result in certain outcomes. But more significantly, it’s about understanding the values which underpin behaviour. How we tell our story, the linguistic tropes, the arc we use, and characters, should engage with the underlying patterns, structures, beliefs, and values that we are challenging and/or championing. Once we are reflecting on these underlying glacial structures, we can actively use this self-awareness in our stories and lives and might even be able to change and alter some of these processes, questioning our  assumptions and values. Ultimately, engaging with our own and trying to understand other’s icebergs is a way of transforming the way we act and see the world.

Let's look more concretely why an Iceberg approach might be fundamental to one of today's contemporary crises, climate change. This crisis is often approached through an objective scientific lens. To fix the climate, we must be rational and objective. We need to create new innovative structures,  implement those net zero policies, and propose new conservation schemes. But, how can these actually change our behaviour? What are the mechanics underlying our behaviour? As we have seen with the iceberg metaphor, to change people we must change the hidden part of the ice. We need to question the values, assumptions and processes that underlie our behaviour. Instead of looking at climate change through a rational lense, we must complement it with an emotional perspective that encourages people to re-evaluate their value systems, like, for example, how participating in community food growing in one’s spare time is more fulfilling and generates greater well being compared to other high-carbon emitting pastimes.

Activity (20 minutes): Mapping onto the Iceberg Metaphor

Take a few minutes now to explore your community food growing initiative in terms of the iceberg metaphor:

1. What is an example of a radically hopeful act you did that contributes to community flourishing?

2. How did you feel in that moment?

3. What were your practical values that determined what you did?

4. What were your motivations?