“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in this world” Phillip Pullman
Storytelling is one of the most productive and effective ways to get people on board to support your project or idea!
I just finished reading an article on how storytelling is one of the most useful tools to help folks remember what you are trying to put across. One of the reasons for this is that storytelling actually activates the same area of the brain in both the storyteller and the listener.
So the next time you want people to remember what you are saying or if you want them to understand your idea, create a story around it. Break down your story into cause and effect and watch what happens. Everyone is a storyteller. Everyday is part of your story, so practice telling the story of your day. Then work on creating the story of your project or idea.
“It’s in fact quite simple. If we listen to a powerpoint presentation with boring bullet points, a certain part in the brain gets activated. Scientists call this Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area. Overall, it hits our language processing parts in the brain, where we decode words into meaning. And that’s it, nothing else happens.
When we are being told a story, things change dramatically. Not only are the language processing parts in our brain activated, but any other area in our brain that we would use when experiencing the events of the story are too.” Leo Widrich, The Science of Storytelling.
Gone should be the days of you using bullets and boring language as your form of communication. Be heartfelt and share your story but make it simple. Even tell someone else’s story! The listener will remember they heard the story from you even if you are not the expert.
I am not suggesting you take credit for their expertise but if their story supports your cause then go ahead. Just prefix it with “this is their story.”
Storytelling is one of the major tools Change Canada Consultants uses in our two day Happiness Audit workshop with organizations, businesses, non-profits and individuals.
Share your story of how storytelling is working for you!