What makes a safety story work? Exploring the key attributes of leaders’ effective storytelling in safety-critical contexts

Safety storytelling is recognised as an effective approach to leader safety communication. However, not all safety stories are equally impactful. Despite this, few studies have examined what makes safety storytelling effective. Drawing on narrative persuasion and leadership research, this thesis investigates the attributes that contribute to the effectiveness of safety storytelling, its outcomes, and the mechanisms underlying this process. To do so, I present three studies: an interview study, a survey study, and an experimental vignette study. Ultimately, this thesis advances our theoretical understanding of safety storytelling and offers evidence-based guidance for leaders on crafting and delivering impactful safety stories.