West, Stories that Move Mountains, Storytelling and Visual Design for Persuasive Presentations, 2013 Stories touch our emotions and engage us It proves clearly that the use of stories can make your ideas stick in the minds of your audience.’ This was one of the tipping points for me. Although only one in ten students will use the presentation to tell a story, leverage emotion, or really focus on a key message, the evidence shows that sixty-three percent of the audience can remember facts from the story-telling presentations, compared with only five percent from the rest. These are well-educated people, being presented to by some of the brightest students on the planet. It’s not although they had a lot to remember, just eight one-minute speeches. The students are surprised at how little they can remember. After the presentations, the audience is distracted for a few minutes with a comedy video and then asked to write the key points from each speech they heared, working from memory because they have no notes to refer to. Half of the students must argue for one point of view, the other half for the opposite point of view.Īs you might imagine with Stanford students, these are typically good quality presentations that clearly impart data and arguments. All the students are provided the same data. The students are asked to deliver a one-minute persuasive speech to their peers. ‘Chip and Dan Heath run an annual class at Stanford University in California. The following sketches illustrate the power of storytelling versus the limited effect of factual information.Įxample of an experiment proving that stories are much better rememberedThe book ‘Stories that Move Mountains’ describes a fascinating showcase of the power of storytelling: The motor cortex, the part of the brain involved in all our motions, is activated when listening or reading the story. If a storyteller tells vividly about being attacked by a pack of angry howling wolves, having to run for his life, the listener will run with him. The sensory cortex, the part of the brain used for these senses, is activated. If a storyteller tells about a delicious meal, describing vividly the taste and smells, the listener will taste and smell it as well. A power point presentation summing up facts with bullet points activates only our language processing part in the brain, where we decode words into meaning. When you only tell your audience a lot of facts, there is high chance they won’t remember. Have you ever listened to long presentations and had a hard time remembering most of the info, but when you got back home you re-told the good story of one of the speakers? This is because stories stick! Storytelling provides a stronger and deeper experience then a rational and factual presentation. The story engages your attention on different levels, so when the storyteller reveals the central message, it sticks. You memorize the messages of the story because you see the images, hear the sounds, and feel the emotions. You see and hear what the storyteller sees and hears. If a story is well told, you’re experiencing it as if you were there. You become an active participant instead of a passive listener. You hear a good story with your head and your heart. Stories bring facts to life and infuse them with passion. How many stories do you remember from your childhood? Good stories help people remember messages, not only for five minutes but –if the story is strong enough- for a lifetime. How can you attract your target audience to listen when they are bombarded with messages every day? Stories grab and maintain attention they help us understand and remember Most part of our existence, all knowledge and values were transferred from generation to generation just by using oral stories. Since the beginning of time, humans educated younger generations using stories. ‘If I take this action, I hope to get this result.’ This is an unconscious, uncontrollable process. Humans are focused on understanding and recognizing patterns and to understand new concepts and ideas. They help make sense of the complex world. Our brains are hardwired for stories as a way to organize information and help us to orient ourselves. Our brains are built to learn from stories Stories touch our emotions and create empathy, empathy is needed to engage target audiences for your conservation action.Stories grab and maintain attention stories help to us to understand and remember messages.Our brains are built to learn from stories. Why is storytelling a powerful means to inform and persuade your target audiences? Storytelling can do more for your strategic change than you would expect at first sight.
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