[Originally published in October 2013]
Jonathan Gottschall wrote a couple of articles and a book on this based on research from Melanie Green among others.
Here in a nutshell:
In business, storytelling is all the rage. [In this world of earned media, skippable advertising] without a compelling story, our product, idea, or personal brand, is dead on arrival
What is going on here? […] Entering fictional worlds “radically alters the way information is processed.”
[In fact] the brain doesn’t look like a spectator, it looks more like a participant in the action […]
Highly absorbed readers also detect significantly fewer […] inaccuracies, missteps […] Importantly, it is not just that highly absorbed readers detected the false notes and didn’t care about them (as when we watch a pleasurably idiotic action film). They were unable to detect the false notes in the first place
So what?
(1) If you know where you are going, use stories
- To change minds, tell stories. You’ll appeal to your audience’s emotions and will have an easier time convincing them
- To learn a skill, gain experience, listen to stories. It will be as close as it gets to learning by doing.
(2) If you don’t know where you are going, do not use stories
- To form an opinion, make a decision, be aware of the stories other tell.
- To help others make decisions, use logic but avoid stories. It is a fine line, and you may feel that the end justifies the means, but beware, sooner or later your stories will fall like a house of cards: you’d better have a robust skeleton then.
Sources:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Jonathan+Gottschall
http://www.fastcocreate.com/1680581/why-storytelling-is-the-ultimate-weapon
http://www.fastcocreate.com/3020044/the-science-of-storytelling-how-narrative-cuts-through-distraction http://www.communicationcache.com/uploads/1/0/8/8/10887248/the_role_of_transportation_in_the_persuasiveness_of_public_narratives.pdf
(note: I found the supporting research a bit puzzling: especially I am wondering whether the cause is the story and the consequence fooled people, or the other way around, i.e. people who can be fooled are more transported by stories…)
