The Art of Story-telling

“Stories constitute the single most powerful weapon in a leader’s arsenal.” Dr. Howard Gardner, professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard Graduate school of Education.

Storytelling is one of the oldest forms of entertainment. Traditionally, stories were told to children to influence their decision-making skills or change their actions. Now we also know stories make up the psychological processes in self-identity, memory and meaning-making. Personal stories are thought to be the fundamental nature of the self and the ones we share collectively, make up our cultural identity.

“A story is a journey that moves the listener, and when the listener goes on that journey, they feel different and the result is persuasion and sometimes action,” says Jennifer Aaker, a marketing professor at Stanford’s Graduate school of business.

A powerful story dramatically increases tension from one chapter to the next while transforming our worldview at the same time. Think of it as a 3D fact projected in our brains.

Many great authors have known the power of storytelling and they have used it as a tool to change the world. One renowned author is Isaac Asimov, an American writer and professor of Biochemistry. He wrote more than 500 books, most of them, hard science fiction and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. Down in history, it’s always been books (like twilight), movies and phenomenal political leaders (like Martin Luther King), that have been most influential in changing our cultural identity. Today corporate leaders, public speakers, marketers, bloggers and influencers have started to incorporate the art of narratives into their careers.

Exceptional storytellers have some common key elements that make them powerful and influential. They include truth, narration and practice. Powerful stories stir a paradigm shift in our understanding of the world; they are inspired by biographies, scientific discoveries, literature and even nature. A keen eye for the truth is necessary to inspire curiosity and emotional connection in fictional stories which is crucial to keep your audience hooked to your storyline. In fictional stories it’s common for elements of truth to inspire characters and dialogues, for example you might include a conversation you overheard in a subway station or develop a character that looks like someone you met while hiking. Phenomenal stories make us emotional and anything that is close to nature or truth have a god like power to influence.

The second key element— narration, can make or break your story. Try telling an awesome educative story in a monotone voice and watch your audience fidget and suppress their need to yawn. You will bore them to tears and will eventually tune you out. This is because according to studies people feel like they already know what you are telling them when you speak in a monotone voice subconsciously making them tune out. After the session, very few will remember what you tried to teach them which defeats your purpose.

“Think of your voice as a gift to other people” Roger Love, American vocal coach, “ once you realize there is no difference between singing and speaking; it changes the game”

Roger Love mentioned that sound waves are interpreted by the listener as thoughts, emotions and memories. As a public speaker, I’ve had to go back and relearn syllables, vowels and sentence structure just so I could add depth to my pitch. Diaphragmatic breathing, Tongue twisters and so on also help in pronouncing your words clearly without fumbling. And if a word is too difficult for you, synonyms can always come to the rescue.

The third and last key element is practice. Like any other skill, there’s no secret source of becoming a great storyteller other than practising a lot. With time you grow to be adequate as long as you don’t stop the learning process. Have a threshold of what you would like to achieve and uphold your standards. That way your reputation grows as an outstanding persuader who moved the world with storytelling.