The Power of Storytelling
The Storytelling Series: Part 1 of 5
Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels
Storytelling. It dates back centuries - millennia even. From cave drawings, to stories told orally and passed down from generation to generation, to the stories we know today that are printed in novels, condensed into memes, or strung together into the 280-character limit of Twitter posts.
The History
Evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar states that 65% of all human conversations take the form of storytelling (The Atlantic). And according to National Geographic, “Some of the earliest evidence of stories comes from the cave drawings in Lascaux and Chavaux, France … which date as far back as 30,000 years ago” (National Geographic Society).
30,000 years ago. Sorry, but if anything is worth repeating, it’s that.
An article called “The Science Behind Storytelling” on Medium states that narrative has essentially kept us alive. In an evolutionary sense, human beings needed to take advantage of “our problem-solving ability, and in particular, our ability to solve problems as a group.” A story was the only way to “create an idea that persisted from one day to the next and … make it durable in our minds.” And these stories remain because we automatically attach them to the self: our ability to empathize and our ego.
The Psychology
Stories are all around us. They are built into the very fabric of our cultures - even before any form of written language existed.
So it would make sense that, as said by Jennifer Aaker, a professor of marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, people remember information when it is woven into narratives “up to 22 times more than facts alone.” (The Atlantic).
But Why Is This, and How Does This Happen?
Well, psychologist Pamela Rutledge said, “When you listen to stories and understand them, you experience the exact same brain pattern as the person telling the story.” (Tales For Tadpoles). This is something known as a “narrative transport,” as certain types of stories cause our brain to release different chemicals.
At Content Marketing World 2018, Joe Lazauskas said that “neuroscientists have this saying that neurons that fire together, wire together. So, when we’re hearing a story and our brain is lighting up, you have all of these neurons that are then wiring together, which triggers us to remember more of the information we’re getting.” (Content Marketing Institute)
Furthermore, according to a Content Marketing Institute article, “stories trigger the release of [the neurochemical] oxytocin” (Content Marketing Institute). Essentially, this chemical and others link heavily with our emotions and our ability to empathize. And I think we all know how strongly our minds and memories like to hold on to strong emotions. Even if they are not our own.
We are more likely to remember stories over facts because of our ability to empathize with others even if those stories and people are completely false and nothing but a work of fiction and fantasy.
Kendall Haven, from the mediaX Seminar Series, even describes “four major concepts from his ‘Story Influence Theory’ that can be applied to actual corporate communication challenges”: engagement, transportation, relevance, and influence. (Stanford, YouTube) The four major concepts are:
Engagement builds the initial interest someone will have with a story.
Transportation means that “if people are able to transport themselves into the story, they are prone to then trust the story” (Stanford, YouTube).
We need relevance to empathize or else we’ll just ignore the story altogether.
And in the end, we have a story that has influenced us in a rather impactful way.
When we are left with a story that has influenced us, it will stay with us longer and take on more meaning than those that did not.
Photo by George Milton from Pexels
So Why Are Stories So Important?
Stories provide us with a way to make sense of our world - to try to make something as illogical and senseless as the events of our lives into an easily explainable, eloquent story. You know the phrase “everything happens for a reason,” right? But stories do more than explain our everyday lives, they also …
Connect us with others - past and present (heritage, traditions, family, culture)
Give us space to explore our values (ideas, goals)
Create meaning and patterns
Allow us to feel hope and inspiration amid discouraging circumstances
Help us come to know ourselves better, and deeper
Let’s look at an example …
Showing vs. Telling
We can simply list the facts:
Ted, 65, is an avid golfer, now retired from his accounting firm, which he sold last year.
Ted’s son, Jack, 38, is an entrepreneur whose company builds fitness apps.
They took a mountain climbing trip celebrating Ted’s 5 years in remission from cancer.
Or, we can tell a story:
It was a warm August evening in the Rockies. Jack took a moment to admire the setting sun, then crouched down, extending his right hand to his father, helping him over the last outcropping. They had reached the plateau where they would make camp for the night.
It wasn’t easy for Jack to get time off work, but building fitness apps for other people would have no meaning for him if he couldn’t take a long weekend to celebrate the health of his own father. It has now been five years since Ted was declared in remission, and Jack is grateful for that fact every single day.
Now, it depends on who you are, but I’m guessing more of you will remember that Ted was in remission from cancer and his son Jack took him hiking over the fact that Ted is 65 years old and Jack is 38.
Numbers and facts won’t hold a story together. Characters and emotions will.
Coming Up Next
This is the first part of a series of posts. There are three main components of showing vs. telling in order to create successful brand stories that are worth exploring individually. They are conflict, decision, and discovery.
At the end of this series, we’ll bring each piece of storytelling together to show you what elements to include to write an impactful brand story for your business.
Can’t wait? Book a call with KBC today, and we’ll help you uncover your story to bring it into reality.
Listen to the podcast episode here.