Why Stories?
Our brains are wired for stories. It’s how we connect, relate, and remember. Even when there is no story, our brains will conjure one. We take random facts and create narratives subconsciously to make sense of what we find. It’s how our brains work.
We also recall stories up to 22 times more than facts or figures alone.
Facts alone don’t engage our brains. They back up our subconscious decisions and help us process information, but they don’t capture our attention like stories do. That’s not to say we don’t need facts. We most definitely do, but not at the expense of story.
If you want people to pay attention to your facts and figures, present them in narrative form. Stories are an effective tool to advocate for your ideas, especially when you can weave facts and figures into your story. People will pay more attention to them and you will engage more regions of their brain instead of just a tiny piece of it.
The stories don’t have to be grand or long. You are not trying to write a novel (unless you are). You are trying to engage your audience.
No matter what kind of story you are trying to tell (a short story to lead a speech or email or an entire screenplay), the techniques are roughly the same. You need a beginning, middle and end. You need a narrative arc and throughline driving your point. You need emotion.
Stories are important for three reasons
1. Stories shape how others see you. The stories you tell will influence how people see you: whether they would hire you, buy from you, or even like you. Your stories also influence how your audience feels.
2. Stories are tools of power. When you tell a story, your audience slows down to listen. Sharing a story lets people hear your insights more effectively.
3. Stories persuade. If you can hook your audience with a story and then add in facts and figures to drive home your point, you can move people to action. You can persuade your audience by taking them on a journey that engages their emotions. That is the real purpose behind stories—to make people feel.
There are four elements of successful stories.
A purpose
Why are you telling the story? What do you want your audience to feel, think, do by the end? This purpose (or throughline) should drive your narrative action. Everything in your story should align with that purpose. Keep in mind that an effective purpose takes into account where the audience begins their journey and where they are at the end.
Grab attention
Before you can affect an audience, you have to get their attention. You can do this with a hook. What would draw them into your story? What hook can you add to make them stop scrolling and read? Think about why people would want to listen to your story. This goes back to your purpose. What are you trying to say? How can you reel your audience into the story? Hooks can take many forms. They could be surprising truths, breathtaking action, shocking introductions, visual effects, or an unusual approach. Even an intriguing opening sentence works if it makes the audience ask questions that makes them willing to read on to find the answers for.
Engage
Engaging an audience relies on appealing to their emotions. You have to make them care. So ask yourself: Why would someone care about your story? How can you tap into their emotions in your narrative? Here are some tips: There are three elements that make a story relatable, engaging, and compelling.
The story has a main character.
This could be you (as the storyteller), your client or anyone who can represent your typical client. Your main character should be someone who either has something to teach or can act as someone that your audience can empathize with or hate (if your main character is a villain/antagonist). Audiences need someone they can care about. This is essential to tapping into the empathy center of the brain.
There has to be consequences for the main character.
In stories, this is called. The more you can “raise the stakes” or make the consequences of their actions or non-action dramatic, the higher the tension will be in your story. In stories, there is nothing more important than tension to keep people hooked. This means your main character needs a challenge, obstacles to face and overcome, and conflict. What does the main character have to go through to reach their goal?
There has to be logic.
Stories have to make sense. This means having a strong narrative arc that leads your audience from the beginning to the middle to the end in a way that ensures they won’t get lost. Every step should logically lead to the next step in the journey or result in severe consequences for getting off track. For example, if a main character chooses an illogical next step, they should suffer for that decision, either from a major delay, a new obstacle, a significant loss. But even missteps on the character’s part should play out logically in the story arc. This is called Story Logic.
Next Steps
If you feel unsure about your stories, try sharing them with others. Ask if they felt anything from the story? If so, what did they feel? Did you change their perspective? Were they engaged? Was there anything that confused them? Where did the story go off track for them?
The best way to learn how to tell stories (beyond learning the foundations of storytelling) is to practice writing them.
To learn more about telling strong stories, check out: