Why stories about "the community" fail to fire our imaginations

Councils talk extensively about how projects will contribute to the wellbeing of the "community" ... which makes sense, given this is councils' role. Unfortunately, our brains are wired to care more about the story of one person rather than a whole lot of people.

"People care about things that move them ... [and] the story of one person can do that to you very powerfully. But it's harder for five people to do that to you, really hard for one hundred, and for a million ... the people just become a statistic from which you are detached." (Randy Olson, 'Houston, We Have a Narrative')
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This is why giving specific examples of how your project will improve individuals' lives is really powerful. (This is not always possible in a local government context, but it's worth considering when writing your reports and consultation documents.)