In my previous post in this series, I highlighted that one of the defining features of a good story is that it takes you somewhere. If stories direct people’s attention, they also help us connect and take people with us. This post offers another perspective on why, when we hear a story, we can’t help but lean forward and engage. In short, it’s because our brains are participants, not observers. They can’t help being part of the action, and the reason for this is linked to our social wiring. Finally, I explore the implications for presenting in a way that incorporates this key principle of storytelling: it’s about them, not you.
Month: March 2021
Invisible Threads Part 2: What makes a good story?
I once attended a webinar on the power of storytelling in the business world, in which the following definition was offered: “Story is truth, well told”. There are two elements at play here: the truth, and the telling. Truth without telling could simply be called facts; a story, however, has to ring true, and it has to be told in a way that’s meaningful. Perhaps one interpretation of “truth, well told” is that story is how we make sense of truth. In a previous post, I was inspired by the idea that our brains care more about possibility than truth; this is probably one reason why our brains love a good story. Cutting deeper, what is it that forms the bridge between plain and simple truth, and a story that we buy into? After all, a “good story” can be a complicit fantasy – we know we are being taken for a ride and we go along willingly, often for entertainment value – or it can be deception. We like stories, but we also care about the facts, because we want to trust the storyteller. What makes something “ring true”?
All & None of the Above 