At work, narrative can mean an account of events or a frame for those events. The words around it show which sense you mean. Teams may shape, build, or challenge a narrative. They often use around, about, or surrounding to identify its topic.
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Learn "Narrative" in depth →Corporate communications: framing a topic
PR and comms teams often discuss the narrative around an event and try to shape how people understand it. Surrounding also works in formal writing. About is a plain choice when no strategic tone is needed.
"The communications team wants to change the narrative around the merger by explaining its effects on staff, customers, and shareholders."
"We need to shape the narrative surrounding our expansion into Asian markets, with input from the local teams."
The verbs carry different claims. "Shape" means to influence the frame, while "drive" means to advance it and can sound forceful. Build or develop stresses gradual work. None of these verbs gives a team full control because facts and other voices still matter.
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Use "Narrative" yourself
Strategic alignment: fitting evidence into a narrative
Once a narrative exists, new facts may support, weaken, or change it. "Fit into" asks if a fact is consistent with the frame. "Counter" means to answer an existing frame with a different one. Good strategy work also tests the frame against relevant metrics and does not force sound evidence to fit.
"Does this evidence fit into the narrative we presented to the board, or should we revise it?"
"Fit into" and "fit within" are both natural. Fit with is also common and means to be consistent with something. Yet facts are not simply inside or outside a fixed box. A mixed result may qualify the narrative, while other results may support, challenge, or counter it.
What doesn't work
The phrase "say the narrative" is usually not natural. Say what the narrative is, or use tell for a story. For strategic framing, choose a precise verb such as "shape," "build," or "challenge." Also avoid "fit onto the narrative." Use "fit into," "fit within," or "fit with." "Make a narrative" is possible in some contexts, but "create" or "develop" is often clearer. Choose the verb that matches the real action.
Practice scenarios
Practice using narrative in situations like:
- announcing a merger or restructuring and naming what the story needs to communicate
- checking whether new evidence supports or undermines a narrative already presented to leadership
- responding to an external narrative you need to push back against
Useful practice phrases:
- "We need to shape the narrative around [event]."
- "Does this fit into the narrative we presented to [stakeholder]?"
- "Our goal is to counter the narrative that [claim]."
Want to actually use "Narrative" naturally at work?
Understanding it is one thing. Practice its nuances, see how it works in real workplace situations, and use it yourself with feedback.
Start the "Narrative" learning path →A narrative can be told, built, shaped, supported, or challenged. The best verb depends on the action.
Use the right pairing, then check the frame against evidence and the people it affects.