The importance of storytelling is often overlooked in today’s society. If you asked 100 people what some of the most important things were that are responsible for where our community is today, they might come up with something like technology, infrastructure, or transportation.
While those things bring us modern convenience and the standard way of living we’re used to, the society we live in today would not be what it is without storytelling. You’ve heard the saying that humans are creatures of habit, we use the influence and traditions of the past to forge our way into the future.
Each generation passes on to the next, a legacy of knowledge, lessons, habits, and traditions with pride. We use history as a communal knowledge pool, studying how the decisions of our ancestors would create long term effects. Doing so helps shed light on the problems we face today, an advantage not experienced by other species walking the earth.
Through storytelling, we transfer knowledge, making it one of the most important traditions to the survival of the human species.
Storytelling: The Human Species’ Most Important Tradition
What would the world be without written and spoken languages? Can you imagine where society would be without the knowledge learned through each period passing on to the next? Things might be chaotic, and no matter who created inventions or advances, they couldn’t be passed on, improved upon, or further developed.
That’s why storytelling has earned it’s the rightful title, the human species’ most important tradition. Every time a story is told, it contains information that is important to the audience. It could be a lesson, an anecdote, a story meant to uplift, pass on knowledge or culture, or help deepen the understanding of a specific topic.
Stories teach us important things like how to strive to do better, or to right wrongs, how to forgive ourselves and others, how to love, and how to be just. The greatest stories in history are often a reflection of the world we live in, created to teach us things about our interactions, how to come to terms with our humanity, and what matters are significant.
Although loved by many but not all, most people can recognize great stories in literature such as The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. In the series, a world of elves, hobbits, and giants vastly differs from our own. But in the end, the reader learns that great suffering and encroaching evil are not forces too significant to overcome even when the force of good seems too small for victory.
Barbara Hardy was quoted in The New Yorker, saying, “We dream in narrative, daydream in narrative, anticipate, hope, gossip, learn, hate, and love by narrative,” which demonstrates the power held in storytelling.
Storytelling is Universal
Storytelling happens across all cultures, all periods, and in every country across the globe, making it a universal practice. Although, sometimes, through the 20th century, many cultures gave storytelling much less importance. Around the world, we saw a rise in technology, convenience, and automation.
Rather than focusing on what makes us human, some cultures began to focus on science, and life became more mechanistic. Rather than focus on the narrative, analysis moved into the spotlight.
Corporations began to treat human employees like disposable resources. Demand, consumers, numbers, analysis’ became the most important with corporations focusing on how to manipulate each. While the material standard of living may have risen due to these processes, it made humans miserable.
In the end, storytelling is winning the battle since you now see everywhere how corporations and businesses are re-implementing storytelling in leadership. And with great success, because it’s a part of the collective human culture that helps people connect on a deeper level, no matter the circumstance, relationship, environment, language, or otherwise.
Why Are Stories so Powerful?
Storytelling may appear to be frivolous, but in reality, they’re a central component to many aspects of the human condition. That’s what makes storytelling so powerful. You’ve likely heard the saying that humans are social creatures over and over again. They’re also highly intelligent creatures.
Storytelling helps humans dive into creativity, explore intelligence, and develop innovation. Our minds use storytelling as stimuli, allowing cognitive exercise and training. Brian Boyd, author of On the Origin of Stories: Evolution, Cognition, and Fiction (2009), believes that stories are tools.
Boyd writes that storytelling brings together the critical elements of alliance-making, pattern-seeking, intelligence, cooperation, and an understanding that other beings have their own beliefs. For example, there are countless religions practiced around the world; each studied and passed along widely through storytelling.
It’s not uncommon for religion to cause disturbances and even war in some cases. Still, the truth of the matter is that storytelling, even in the case of faith, makes humans stronger. Boyd believed that a story is a thing that does instead of a thing that is. Storytelling, as a tool, is measured through its utility rather than it’s aesthetic representation.
The most successful stories play on a listeners’ dilemmas, allowing the listener to triumph, overcome, or learn. In essence, they’re useful, and the most successful stories are worth their weight in usefulness to the listener or reader.
Stories Make Information More Digestible
Aside from intelligence and socialness, another critical aspect of the human condition is our emotional intelligence. We use emotions to communicate with one another to convey messages to ourselves and others.
Using emotion in storytelling allows the listener or reader to connect the information presented through emotion, something all humans share – emotional intelligence. Many stories contain anecdotes, helping the audience learn something through the connection of knowledge with emotion.
Connecting emotion with information makes that information more digestible. Think about reading a textbook and reading a novel. A novel is much more pleasant to read because the story is ripe with emotion rather than the factual, dry textbook. Now consider a moment when a teacher told you a great story, and something clicked, at that moment you grasped a concept you have been struggling with for weeks.
Whether it was math, science, English, or history, it was the anecdote, the story, that helped you form the connection and understanding in your mind. Storytelling helps information become digestible, which is yet another reason why storytelling is so compelling.
Storytelling Provides Role Models
Remember that the most successful stories are those that help people triumph, learn, and overcome. People who have something to share with others and do so through great storytelling, often become celebrities, to a certain degree.
They’re charming, charismatic, engaging, and, most importantly, finding a way to passionately and emphatically pass on knowledge to the masses. Think of people like Dave Ramsey, Joe Rogan, Marshall Rosenberg, or Brene Brown. Each has its forte, their experience to share, and the emotion they use to help others’ connect the information to become digestible, useful.
Storytelling doesn’t just create superheroes like Spider-Man and Batman; it creates role models and modern-day heroes who are in it for the success and rise of others.
Storytelling is the Hub of Leadership
Most problems that humans face tend to boil down to a lack of great leadership. It explains why some nations become developed and technologically advanced while others struggle, why some governments become corrupt, and why even developed countries still struggle with starving children, crime, and other issues.
The institutions that people form over time succumb to corruption because there’s a lure of comfort through the status quo and mediocrity. The world waits for leaders naturally born or otherwise to step up and solve the problems that everyone faces. But when the right leaders come forward, through storytelling and other techniques, followers are inspired.
The impact of great leadership creates a following of those who are inspired enough to fight for the same causes. On the downside, it can be tough to differentiate great leaders who genuinely care for the people and those who are creating followers to appease their ulterior motives.
Either way, storytelling is the hub of leadership. Leaders who are charismatic, bold, and excellent at conveying a message through storytelling reach the masses. The lead, inspire, and help bring others in on new ideas, new triumphs, and help them see a new perspective, a new vision. If you’re focusing on becoming a leader yourself, there are tons of ways to improve your storytelling, so keep on reading!
How to Become A Great Storyteller
Whether you want to write great stories to improve your career as an author, or you want to become great at storytelling to become a more inspiring teacher, the opportunity is there. Some folks cultivate their storytelling skills to become a great leader among their family, friends, or in the workplace.
Whatever you caveat is, there are plenty of ways to work towards becoming a better storyteller.
In that case, what is it that makes a good story? The definition of a great story is debatable, but here’s what we think:
A great story grabs the attention of the listener, cultivates a connection between the storyteller and the audience, and ends satisfyingly.
So, here’s what you need to make a great story.
- Attention grabber
- Cultivate a connection
- Provide a satisfying ending
It seems relatively simple, right? Let’s dive into more details on each topic.
Getting Your Audience’ Attention
To get your audience’s attention, and hold it, is a skill that must be learned and developed over time. Some folks in the world are natural-born storytellers, and possibly without even realizing it, simply have what it takes to grab their audience and hold them in awe. For the rest of us, it might be a learned skill, and that’s okay too!
Begin with a Hook
If you dive into a story, especially a long-winded one, people may not have the context first to understand it and follow along. That’s why a good story starts with a hook. You might hook your audience by saying something like, “Let me tell you about the greatest story I’ve ever read..” Rather than diving in and saying, “There was a man who lived by the river, and each day he took his cows out to graze.”
See, if you jump into the second statement, you might lose the interest of your audience, because talking about a man, river, and cows may not well be attractive to people. However, if you let them know ahead of time that you’re about to describe the most fabulous story you’ve ever read, they’ll see that you’re going to dive into something amazing after you give some context of the story.
Starting with a hook also serves a secondary purpose, which is to see if your audience is interested in the first place. For example, say your friend walks up, and you say, “I’m so glad I’ve run into you, I have to tell you the craziest thing that happened last night!” Now, your friend has the option to respond for you to continue or decline the chat or topic.
If your audience doesn’t bite, then you know not to continue with it. It saves both you and your audience the time and breathes of a wasted or unwanted story.
Make Your Point
What will be the point of your story? Will it tell of adventure, excitement, explain grief, or teach the audience something? How many times have you been chatting with someone who, halfway through a story, says, “Wait, I forget what the point of my story was!”
I’ll admit, sometimes when I jump into too many details and start following a rabbit down the hole of my own story, that’s a statement I make. You don’t want to be found guilty of telling stories without ever getting to the point; it’s not fun. Skip the details that aren’t necessary and get to your point.
If you’re telling a story to incite laughter, get to the funny part already. If you’re telling a story to teach someone something, don’t give details that don’t matter or “muddy the waters.” When you take the focus away from the point, it makes your story null and void.
The critical takeaway is never to stray too far away from your punchline. Have a vision for it, give the necessary details, and then drop the point of the story gracefully.
Timing is Everything
If you tell the perfect story at the wrong time, guess what? That makes it a terrible story, and no one will like it. It’s like a comedian coming in and telling jokes at a funeral; no one is going to think it’s funny (okay, most people won’t). How will you know if it’s the right time to tell a story?
It’s yet another skill you’ll have to develop. It’s more of an art rather than an exact science. You can start by making sure it’s your turn to speak in the first place. Don’t talk over anyone or interrupt other people.
Your story should also be relative to the topic that’s already on the table. If everyone is reminiscing about the college days, you don’t want to bring up a story about your grandmother who passed away. It’s not the right time or the right mood for that.
Keep in mind that your audience may need some context. Rather than diving into a story that may only be appreciated by some of the audience, give a little background so that the whole audience can enjoy it.
Show, Don’t Tell
In writing and storytelling, the author or speaker should show the audience things rather than telling them something. Here are two examples of a short sentence to illustrate the point.
“This woman had the worst dance moves; it was so funny. The way she was moving her body was hilarious.”
“This woman on the dance floor was kicking her right foot out with her toe pointed while throwing thumbs up over her left shoulder. It was such a strange dance; her body was moving in spastic jerks completely off-beat to the music!”
The first sentence tells the audience that a woman is dancing funny, but without building any emotional connection, so it’s unimaginable. The second sentence describes how the woman is moving paints the picture for the audience to see themselves.
When telling your story, help the audience create a picture in their mind that they can make their own decision about, rather than being told how they should feel or what they should think.
Describe in Detail, Not in Fact
What’s more pleasant to listen to or read, annoying facts, or vivid details? For most of us, we’re going to choose graphic details over effects. Earlier, we talked about how it’s easier to learn from a teacher who tells you a story about the way something works rather than telling you factual information and hoping you can make the connection.
That’s the key to any story. While some facts will help detail the story, you don’t want to bore your audience with too many details, right? So, how do you separate vivid, exciting information from annoying facts?
Mostly, you want to woo your audience. Tell the audience details that are relatable, surprising, important, and those details that can help the audience develop an understanding of the scene. Each feature you share should support the punchline or the point of the story.
If you’re telling a story about how you backed your car into a pole this morning, you don’t need to say to the audience that you were wearing black jeans. You could, however, tell them that a bird flew into your windshield with a loud thud, causing you to jump and hit the gas pedal too hard.
Those details are relatable to the story, a little surprising, and support the punchline. They don’t offer up too many ideas that shy away from the point of the story.
Practice Your Skills
You can practice telling stories in a million ways from the written word to public speaking. There are plenty of opportunities to get in the practice you need. Think about why storytelling is essential to you and try focusing on opportunities that help you out with the type of storytelling precisely.
If you’re a comedian, you might take any chance you get to speak in public and work on connecting with your audience out loud. Taking the quiet time to write jokes and stories will help you too, but you likely need practice with your delivery. Offer to give speeches for people, or offer to end your weekly staff meeting with a quick stand-up bit.
If you’re a theatrical actor, storytelling for you may be essential to get into character and deliver a top performance. You may ask your friends to help you run through lines so that you can get more practice in.
For those of you interested in storytelling via the written word, there are countless ways to practice. You can start with a quick search of writing prompts to get your creative juices flowing.
Cultivate a Connection
Remember that one of the most critical aspects that makes a story great is that it fosters a connection with the audience or listener. There are many ways to help your audience build that connection; let’s take a closer look.
Use Personal Information Cautiously
No one wants to connect with something that isn’t life like or unhuman. Connection requires emotion. The easiest way to communicate with others is to share things about yourself. You don’t have to let people in on your deepest darkest secrets to be a great storyteller.
We have a joke about my coworker who’s charming and charismatic; people flock to her wherever she goes. She’s a person you can talk to for 45 minutes, and it seems that only 10 minutes have passed. She has a way of making people feel like they know her so well from all the chats they have.
But, when anyone thinks about it, they don’t know too many personal details about her or her life. We like to say she’s worked her magic again when she makes one of us feel that way, or she’s deflected a personal question without the person asking realizing it.
The point of the story is, you may have to let people into a certain degree, and tell personal things. However, you can do this cautiously and still tell great stories.
Use the Right Standpoint
When you’re telling great stories that help others connect, you must take care to use first-hand details. First-hand details like thoughts and feelings help your audience get into the story.
Rather than saying, “I think she was sad,” you might say, “I saw her eyes well up with tears, the apples of her cheeks were flushed, and the room felt melancholic around her.”
Although you’re telling a story about someone else, giving them first-hand details of what you experienced, helps the audience experience the girls’ sadness from your point of view rather than from an outsider’s perspective.
Provide a Satisfying Ending
Have you ever watched an epic movie only to have the ending ruin the whole thing? A lot of people were upset at the ending of Game of Thrones, probably for similar reasoning. If the end isn’t satisfying, you’ve effectively let the whole story flop. Here’s how to prevent your end from ruining the rest of your story.
Know When to Stop
When the story has come to an end, end it. Don’t keep going. It sounds simple, but there are tons of folks who muck this one up. If the point of the story has long since passed, then you’re just boring the audience with unnecessary details.
The ending of a story should have an appropriate climax, punchline, and evoke just the right feelings. If you need help with this one, go back and watch videos of things like presidential campaign speeches, personal development videos, and TEDx Talks.
What you’ll find in common with each is that the speakers and their stories are just the right way to convey the message they’re trying to send. Doing so is considered to be “ending on a high note.”
Now, you have all the components of a great story, no matter the topic or style of delivery. The only thing left to do is practice!
Wrapping Up
Storytelling is one of the most important things humans do, for our humanity, for our survival, and for our ability to grow and continue to be in this world as we are. Storytelling may not get all the credit it deserves, but you’ll get the credit when you practice your storytelling skills.
Some people are born with the natural ability to put an audience into a state of awe. Others struggle to face more than one person and speak publically. Whatever amount of skill you start with, it’s 100 percent possible to become one of the greatest storytellers of your time.
With a little bit of practice, you can follow this guide and find yourself connecting with any audience, any time.