Developing model‐based storytelling to share systemic insights to the public during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract Communicating dynamic insights to a wide audience constitutes a long‐standing challenge among system dynamics modelers. We propose that telling stories is a compelling way of introducing feedback insights, as well as an understanding of how our individual decisions are linked to social behaviors in our day‐to‐day living. These decisions often involve moral and ethical trade‐offs. In this article, we use examples and heuristics to illustrate how the process of building a system dynamics model can drive a storytelling project. In a complimentary manner, the process of storytelling supports and enriches a model building project by exploring new dynamic hypotheses. © 2024 The Authors. System Dynamics Review published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of System Dynamics Society.