What is the role of storytelling in communication? How can storytelling help you get your message across more effectively?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stories have the power to motivate and teach. They are interesting and memorable. That’s why storytelling communication is an important aspect of making your message stick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keep reading to learn about the power of storytelling<\/a> in communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Editor\u2019s note: This article is part of\u00a0Shortform\u2019s guide to storytelling<\/a>. If you like what you read here, there\u2019s plenty more to check out in the guide!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The \u201cS\u201d in the SUCCESs formula for creating \u201csticky\u201d messages stands for \u201cstories.\u201d Storytelling communication inspires action. Stories motivate people to act and they tell people how<\/em> to act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the late 1990s, Subway introduced a line of seven healthier sandwiches, each with under 6 grams of fat. It touted them in an ad campaign with the message \u201c7 under 6.\u201d That wasn\u2019t a very sticky message<\/a> by the standards of this book, but it caught the attention of college student Jared Fogle, who, at 425 pounds, had developed disabling health and mobility problems. He resolved to lose weight and started by trying one of Subway\u2019s low-fat subs. He liked it and developed a diet of a 12-inch veggie sub for lunch and a six-inch turkey sub for dinner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Over three months, he lost nearly 100 pounds, so he continued. He also began walking. A former roommate was so impressed with Fogle\u2019s transformation that he wrote an article for the college paper. A writer for a national health magazine saw the article and mentioned the Subway diet in an article on crazy diets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The story took a circuitous route to national fame after that. A Subway franchise owner tried to get the chain\u2019s national ad agency to pick up the story, but they weren\u2019t interested. So he pushed the idea at the regional level, and an ad campaign was launched on Jan. 1, 2000, coinciding with the annual interest in New Year\u2019s resolutions. USA Today and the networks soon called, followed by Oprah. Suddenly, Subway\u2019s national marketing arm woke up and rolled out the ad nationally. The chain\u2019s sales went up 18 percent that year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A comparison to the SUCCESs checklist shows why the Subway diet story went big and stuck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Subway\u2019s national marketing agency<\/a> missed the Fogle story at first, you can learn to spot inspirational stories to help your messages stick. Just as the majority of effective advertisements draw on a handful of sticky templates, inspirational stories have templates as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The popular Chicken Soup for the Soul<\/em> books are collections of inspirational stories that have been around since 1993. The authors analyzed hundreds of them to understand what makes an inspirational story successful and found that more than 80 percent feature one of three basic plots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The most common plots for inspirational stories are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a challenge plot, the protagonist overcomes a major challenge. The story of David and Goliath<\/a> is a challenge story\u2014David brings down a giant with only a slingshot. Variations include the rags-to-riches story, underdog story, and the persistence story. Jared Fogle\u2019s weight loss is a challenge story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starting with the American Revolution, U.S. history and culture are replete with challenge stories including the moon launch, Seabiscuit, and sports triumphs like the U.S. hockey team\u2019s victory over the Russians in the 1980 Olympics. They\u2019re lessons in perseverance and courage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Connection stories are about people who bridge race, class, religious, ethnic, or other divides. They\u2019re about building relationships. Romance stories such as Romeo and Juliet<\/em> and the movie Titanic <\/em>are connection stories, but the classic connection story is the Bible\u2019s story of the Good Samaritan, about a man who was attacked by robbers and left lying along a road. Several people passed without helping before a Samaritan stopped, treated the victim\u2019s wounds and took him to an inn so he could recover. The Samaritan bridged a divide by caring for a Jew despite hostility between the two cultures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The connection plot is the most common format in the Chicken Soup<\/em> series and is also the basis for many advertisements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The creativity plot features someone solving a problem in a creative way or having an epiphany as Isaac Newton did when an apple fell on his head and sparked his theory of gravity. The MacGyver TV series of 1985 (resurrected in 2016) was built around a creativity plot: the title character had a talent for unconventional problem-solving, which he applied in each episode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another example of storytelling communication that included creativity involved a team at Ingersoll-Rand, a manufacturer of industrial grinders used in auto shops. The team, which was tasked with developing a new grinder in less than a year, came up with a novel way to test whether plastic would make a sufficiently durable casing for a grinder (usually the casings were metal). The team tied pieces of plastic to the bumper of a vehicle and dragged them around, which demonstrated that a plastic composite would work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you find a story following one of the three templates that aligns with your goal, don\u2019t hesitate to make it part of your message. If you know what you\u2019re looking for and can spot it, you don\u2019t need to invent your own story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Former World Bank official Stephen Denning used what he called springboard stories to inspire colleagues and others to help develop solutions to problems. In his book, The Springboard,<\/em> he describes a springboard story as one that creates buy-in on problems and opens up possibilities for change.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, while at the World Bank he was assigned to study the organization\u2019s information management, an abstract topic difficult to grasp or be enthusiastic about. So, whenever he talked to executives and colleagues about information flow, he told the story of an aid worker in Zambia who spent time desperately searching for information to help combat a local outbreak of malaria\u2014information the World Bank could have easily made available. Whenever Denning told the story, colleagues offered ideas for better information sharing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Denning contended that when you present information with statistics or assertions, you implicitly invite your audience to analyze and debate your ideas. But with storytelling communication, you open their minds and enlist their help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Besides inspiring people to act, storytelling communication tells them how<\/em> to act and even let them mentally practice responding to a situation.<\/strong> In this way, stories are simulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, medical personnel and firefighters often tell each other stories about how they handled crisis situations. The stories are inspiring, but also share information about what works and doesn\u2019t work in such situations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, in his book Sources of Power<\/em>, psychologist Gary Klein tells the story of a critical care nurse who noticed an infant\u2019s breathing problem and summoned emergency help. As the staff started the standard emergency procedures, something didn\u2019t seem right to her. She realized the heart monitor was wrong\u2014emergency staff had misdiagnosed the problem and were starting to treat the baby\u2019s lungs instead of his heart. She intervened by knocking a syringe from the neonatologist\u2019s hand and starting heart compressions, which saved the baby\u2019s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The story was an inspiring tale of courage and risk on the nurse\u2019s part, but also warned against relying too much on machines and illustrated what to do in a situation like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n People in other professions also use storytelling communication to inspire and educate coworkers. However, in some cases, the stories go a step further by allowing listeners to mentally practice solving a problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, in one study, a pair of Xerox copier technicians told coworkers a story of how, step by step, they diagnosed a difficult problem and fixed it, despite being distracted by an incorrect error code message. As they told the story, their fellow technicians mentally walked with them through the problem, considering the options and steps to take. The story was a mental simulation in which they could practice their own response. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Studies show that mental rehearsals<\/a> or simulations lead to more effective responses to real circumstances. For instance, researchers at UCLA asked two groups of students to think about a problem that was stressing them. The first group was told to visualize success<\/a>, while the second group was asked to simulate the problem, or mentally walk through it from beginning to end. When the groups reported back on how they had coped with their problem, the simulation group members were more likely to have taken steps to solve the problem. They were also more likely to report that their mood had improved and they\u2019d learned from the experience. The lesson is that simulation or practice is more effective than a positive mental attitude in solving problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\nStories<\/strong> Make Ideas Sticky<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Storytelling Communication as Inspiration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A Sticky Success<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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How to Spot an Inspirational Story <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Challenge<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Connection<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Creativity<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The Springboard Story<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Storytelling Communication as Simulation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Shop Talk as Simulation<\/h4>\n\n\n\n