So, I’m back on the subject of the advantages of storytelling, as these are the answer to “Why you should work with it. Part 1”, and will cover some more of these in this blog post.
Involves emotions:
As mentioned in the last blog post, stories have an advantage when it comes to memory. And in order to achieve this advantage, the story must follow the complex, artistic structure that fiction uses.
So, what distinguishes this “artistic” aspect, which is so crucial to understand if one wants to work effectively, consciously, and strategically with storytelling? It involves context, emotions, thoughts, and obstacles. The story starts from a highly human level; the emotional, increasing our interest in engaging with it.
“Whether stories are firsthand or relayed to us in another form, it becomes important to turn them into the more formal story-form to help us remember particular events and to communicate effectively with others. For communication, memory, and learning purposes, stories are likely to be richer, more compelling and more memorable (Schank and Abelson, 1995, p 7) than the abstracted points we ultimately intend to convey or learn when we converse with others. “ (Green, Strange och Brock, Narrative Impact)
Emotions are significant for decision-making – not solely, but the emotional factor is present. This is demonstrated by research, for example the research and conclusions of Kahneman in Thinking, Fast and Slow.
My mother was an expert in stories. She was that in the scientific sense of the word; as a literature scholar, she knew most about the official narratives of literature. But when I say she was an expert in stories, I mean it in the broader sense of the word; she could create and live stories. It manifested every day in my home and in my everyday life. Many of the stories she shared with me still live within me today – and can pop up as assistants in entirely unexpected situations.
Interactivity Builds Trust
One of the advantages of storytelling is its interactivity. A story activates the recipient’s senses. Personal references that reinforce the message are brought forth. We move through time and space and experience the sequence of events from within. By activating their own references, the recipient creates a kind of “artificial firsthand experience,” thus increasing the trust capital; a relationship-building process begins. When we create our own images of “how it actually was,” the truthfulness is also reinforced.
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