The Intrigue of Storytelling.
Having finally started my podcast, I’m having a blast talking to my guests! Although they are my friends, it has been absolutely fascinating to learn more about them, their journey and their stories. Listening, with intention, together with sharing anecdotes and experiences create bridge-building dialogue. Telling stories is one of the most powerful means that we have to share, teach, and inspire but it got me wondering why is storytelling so efficient? There’s some evidence from neuroscience, which suggests that when I’m telling you a story and you’re listening to my story, our brain patterns begin to mirror one another. We are connecting, and we feel empathy. How wholesome is that!
Perhaps the first thing that comes to mind when you think of storytelling is a childhood experience of being told a story or a story. We’re all familiar with the classic types of storytelling, such as fairytales and legends, and these oral and written stories filled with princesses and monsters which are continuously evolving, as they are brought to life with all sorts of new technologies and artistic designs. But storytelling does not just take place at bedtime or around a campfire. Stories are part of our daily lives, in the anecdotes we tell to our friends about last weekend’s trip, the books or Instagram captions we read and the films we binge-watch on Netflix.
Storytelling forges connections among people, and between people and ideas. Stories convey the culture, history, and values that unite us all. When it comes to our countries, our communities, and our families, we understand intuitively that the stories we hold in common are an important part of the ties that bind us all together. We all love a good old : “Remember that time when…”. This understanding also holds true in the business world, where an organisation’s stories, and the stories its leaders tell, help solidify relationships in a way that factual statements encapsulated in bullet points or numbers don’t. Good stories do more than create a sense of connection. They build familiarity and trust, and allow the listener to enter the story where they are, making them more open to learning. Storytelling also helps with learning because stories are easy to remember.
I also learnt that there are things about my friends, that we never talked about before, outside of the podcast. It’s funny how we spend so much time with our close and loved ones, we share every small mundane details about our daily lives but rarely delve deep into topics such as our passion, our defining moment in a career, or what we could have done differently. It just never comes up in casual chats! I am so glad that I am getting to know so much more about my friends through their stories, and I cannot wait to share it with all of you! And I’m now constantly looking for opportunities to hear about everyone’s stories so watch out :)