Movement-building storytelling does more than just explain your idea—it builds energy around it. It gives your audience a reason to care, a place in the story, and a sense that something bigger is underway. In this edition, we break down how Hamish McKenzie structures his TED Talk to create that effect—and how you can use the same moves to give your message more traction, urgency, and staying power.

Some talks are about what you've built. Movement-building talks are about what you believe.

You’ll see this strategy in TED Talks, high-profile keynotes, and brand storytelling—especially when someone’s introducing a shift in how we work, live, or create.

Movement-building storytelling reframes identity. It positions your idea inside a broader change—and helps people see themselves in what comes next.

The result? Longer-term alignment, deeper buy-in, and more durable influence.

You don’t have to be leading a cultural revolution to use this. Even in everyday settings, this kind of storytelling helps you get people on board, get them to care, and get them to take action.

Today we’re looking at how this plays out in “This Is What the Future of Media Looks Like,” a TED Talk from Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie. It’s a masterclass in movement-building storytelling—structured around belief and designed to spread.

In today's edition, we’ll break down three moves worth borrowing:
→ an opening that sets a belief in motion
→ a clear arc of transformation
→ an unexpected metaphor that reframes what change can look like

Let’s dive in.

#1: He opens with a bold, high-level assertion.

Movement-building talks don’t just ask the audience to consider a new idea. They place the audience inside a turning point and make the stakes feel personal.

That urgency starts right away. In this kind of storytelling, the first minute sets the tone, frames the moment, and signals that something bigger is happening.

Speakers can do this in a few ways: naming a shift already in motion, spotlighting a quiet rebellion, calling out what’s broken, sharing a personal turning point, or painting a bold vision.

McKenzie starts with this:

He’s naming a once-in-a-century transformation and putting the audience directly in the center of it.

Note that he doesn’t say “media is changing.” He says “we” are living through this change. That small shift makes the moment feel shared—and the story feel deeply relevant.

How to use this: Open with a shift that’s already in motion—something your audience is feeling, noticing, or quietly pushing back against. Whether you're launching a product, sharing a case study, or introducing change at work, frame your idea as a timely response to that shift.

#2. He structures the talk around a clear arc of transformation

At the core of McKenzie’s storytelling is a simple, familiar shape:
​an old system, a disruption, and the emergence of something new.

This arc works because it mirrors how people naturally make sense of change—by looking back, seeing what broke, and imagining what could come next.

He names each phase with simple, memorable language:

• The temple — top-down, centralized media
• The chaos — fragmented platforms ruled by algorithms
• The garden — a slower, more human model built on trust and autonomy

By walking the audience through that sequence, he gives the audience a path to follow.

They don’t have to leap to the future; they’re guided through the logic of how we got here and where things are already heading.

This is makes the talk feel coherent, persuasive, and hopeful.

How to use this move: Use a three-part arc to lead your audience through change. Whether you’re introducing a strategy or rethinking a model, show where we were, what disrupted it, and where we’re heading. Give each phase a name to make it stick.

#3: He uses a metaphor that runs against the dominant tone of his industry

Tech and media often describe change in terms of speed, scale, and domination. McKenzie takes a different route.

In a moment of cultural exhaustion and acceleration fatigue, he offers something unexpected: a garden.

The metaphor does three things:

• Reframes disruption as growth – It shifts the story from upheaval to something organic, inevitable, and worth tending to.
• Disrupts dominant narratives – It challenges the assumption that fast is always better.
• Creates emotional resonance – A garden feels personal, resilient, and communal—especially for creators seeking ownership and stability.

It is a brilliantly timed counterpoint.

It makes the future feel less like something to brace for—and more like something we might actually want. Maybe even something better than what came before.

This isn’t disruption-as-destruction—it’s disruption-as-restoration.

How to use this move: If your idea lives in a space where everyone’s using the same tone, metaphor, or mindset—choose the opposite. A well-placed contrast resets expectations and makes your message stick. It doesn’t have to be a metaphor. It just has to shift the frame.

Wrap-up

McKenzie’s talk shows how powerful your message can become when you frame it as part of something bigger.

That’s the real win of movement-building storytelling: spreadability. It makes your idea easier to remember, easier to share, and more meaningful to align with.

​

Until next week,
Meghan
Founder, The Good Deck

​