The Science Of Storytelling

Storytelling and marketing go hand in hand. If content creators can capitalize on this innate need for community, intimacy, and storytelling, and understand how to persuade consumers by applying experiential and emotional storytelling into their marketing campaigns, they’ll soon find that their target audiences are more engaged and receptive to their content.

I’m sure you remember in high school laboriously reading—or more likely skimming—through epics like Gilgamesh, the Iliad, and the Odyssey.

It turns out that your teachers were right in pushing you to read, understand, and appreciate ancient literature; they wanted you to recognize that there is an innate human need for storytelling, both in the form of oral narratives and written literature. In its essence, storytelling creates a unique and personal bond between the storyteller and the audience; it offers us a sense of community, a feeling like we belong to something greater than ourselves.

It should be obvious then that storytelling and marketing go hand in hand. If content creators can capitalize on this innate need for community, intimacy, and storytelling and understand how to persuade consumers by applying experiential and emotional storytelling into their marketing campaigns, they’ll soon find that their target audiences are more engaged and receptive to their content.

That said, let’s delve into the science of storytelling and explore how and why the human brain thrives on this ancient art form.

If you’ve ever fallen asleep during a Powerpoint presentation—and let’s be honest, you definitely have—you’ll be happy to know that it’s not entirely your fault. In contrast to storytelling, which I’ll get to in a bit, listening to or reading long-winded, boring corporate jargon lights up just two parts of the brain: Wernicke’s area and Broca’s area, both of which are used strictly for language processing and comprehension.

On the other hand, an enthralling story that grabs and holds our attention activates multiple regions of the brain. Each time a different one of our senses (visual, olfactory, sensory, auditory) is mentioned in a story, that part of your brain lights up. Within a single sentence, five, six, or even seven areas of your brain can be activated. Thus, because the stories flow through multiple parts of the brain and not just the ones associated with language comprehension, the brain has an easier time imagining and in turn, fully comprehending and engaging that content. In short, the more sensory cortices the story activates within the brain, the more powerful that story is. Again, I’ll get to how to achieve this in the next section.

This also means that the story, and therefore the brand or publication, can be more easily recalled because the brain has already built a strong association between the story and the sensory cortices. It’s almost as if stories latch onto our brains and embed themselves into multiple sensory areas—unlike straight facts and information, which use abstract, conceptual language, difficult for the brain to record and remember. (This is why we often use cute acronyms and other memory tricks to recall simple information.)

Content creators can adopt several practices to enhance their storytelling abilities and in turn interact with consumers in a way that’s backed by science:

• John Steinbeck wrote, “If the story is not about the hearer, he will not listen.” Make sure the story revolves more around your users than around you.

• It is not enough to compose a story in which the reader can simply “picture himself;” rather, actually involve the reader, immerse him, and empower him. To do this, hear his voice and let him affect and determine the entire story. In short, make it interactive. This is our secret formula for developing powerful storytelling; it’s the best way to engage all the senses.

• Instead of simply telling your customers that your product works well, develop an engaging story. If your story has a beginning (someone had a problem), a middle (your product was implemented), and an end (this someone is now happy), customers will more likely understand your product and engage with your brand.

• Manipulate emotions. Discover your target audience’s pain and interest points, find out what makes them tick, and use this information to attract and engage potential customers.

• Use simple language. If you overcomplicate your messaging with corporate jargon that’s empty in meaning, consumers will not respond. In contrast, short, easy messaging that uses descriptive words is easier for the brain to comprehend.

Essentially, storytelling, which plays on our emotions, senses, and experiences, is an incredibly powerful tool and much more effective at engaging listeners and audiences than simply spewing stale data. If marketers and content creators can incorporate immersive and interactive storytelling into their marketing campaigns, their consumers will not only better understand, care about, and engage with content messages, but also feel like they’re participating in something bigger than themselves. This encourages consumers to build intimate, close connections with a brand or publisher, which in the end is the point of marketing, isn’t it?