Parent Post
For over 27,000 years,
For over 27,000 years, since the first cave paintings were discovered, stories are a part of our fundamental communication methods.
We are likely to never forget a story but would forget it if the same thing was presented to us in bullet points or another purely information-based form.
Here is the science around storytelling and how we can use it to make better decisions every day.
A simple story is
A simple story is more successful than the complicated one.
Use simple language and low complexity to activate the brain regions that make us truly relate to the happenings of a story.
This is why multitasking is so hard for us.
Reduce the number of adjectives or complicated nouns in a presentation or article and exchange them with more simple yet heartfelt language.
How our brains become
How our brains become more active when we tell stories.
Why do we feel so much more engaged when we hear a narrative about events?
If we see a PowerPoint presentation with bullet points, a part of the brain, called the Broca’s area, gets activated.
It hits our language processing parts in the brain, where we decode words into meaning. And that’s it.
But when we are being told a story, things change dramatically.
Not only are the language processing parts of our brain activated, but any other area in our brain that we use when experiencing the events of the story is too.
Exchange story-telling idea suggestions.Do
Exchange story-telling idea suggestions.
Do you know the feeling when a good friend tells you a story and then you mention the same story to him two weeks later as if it was your idea? This is a powerful way to get people on board with your ideas and thoughts.
A story is the only way to activate parts in the brain so that a listener turns the story into their idea and experience.
The next time you struggle with getting people on board with your projects and ideas, simply tell them a story. Storytelling is the only way to plant ideas in other people’s minds.
A story can put
A story can put your whole brain to work.
When you tell others about experiences that have really helped you shape your thinking and way of life, you can have the same effect on them too.
The brains of the person telling a story and listening to it can synchronize.
Anything you’ve experienced, you can get others to experience the same. Or get their brain areas that you’ve activated that way.
Write more persuasively—bring in
Write more persuasively—bring in stories from yourself or an expert.
If you start out writing, it’s natural to think, “I don’t have a lot of experience with this. How can I make my post believable if I use personal stories?”
The best way to get around this is by exchanging stories with those of experts. It’s a great way to add credibility to a story.
Our brain learns to
Our brain learns to ignore certain overused words and phrases that are used to make stories awesome.
Some scientists have contended that figures of speech like “a rough day” are so familiar that they are treated simply as words and no more.
This means that the frontal cortex—the area of your brain responsible for experiencing emotions—can’t be activated with these phrases. It’s something that might be worth remembering when crafting your next story.
Evolution has wired our
Evolution has wired our brains for storytelling—how to make use of it
A story, if broken down into the simplest form, is a connection between cause and effect. And that is exactly how we think.
We think in narratives all day long, and makeup stories in our heads for every action and conversation.
Now, whenever we hear a story, we want to relate it to one of our existing experiences.
That’s why metaphors work so well.
We automatically connect metaphors
We automatically connect metaphors and literal events. Everything in our brain is looking for the cause-and-effect relationship of something we’ve previously experienced.
Let’s dig into some hands-on tips to make use of it.
