Why you should learn to tell a story?
Humans are different from other species not only because of their intelligence but the way they put their intelligence to action. From the action, they gather their experiences, share their experiences and convey them in a way that inspires more people around them. Starting with their single thought, they have been able to weave powerful, impactful and uniting narratives which has brought humans together and made them not only survive but thrive as a race. It is their ability to relate facts from the past, imagination of the future, together with the context of the present which has made them capable of articulating and achieving their missions, which otherwise, couldn’t have been conquered by the mental and physical strength of a single human.
Stories uncurl and convey intentions, emotions and values behind the actions and cause a shift in people’s experience. Stories make them see what has been never seen or has inexplicably cuddled in their mind and thus never being felt or made any sense before. From waging wars that built empires to branding that increased market share, storytelling has come a long way. Storytelling has been instituted as a formal discipline, translated from being perceived as an art to something that can be approached with a structure and discipline. However, many aspects of storytelling, I still believe will remain abstract and will be left to imagination because it has a strong component of emotions which are felt and experienced differently by different humans. And hence, there could be as many ways to tell story as many as there are humans and their emotions. For the same content, there are infinite dimensions and within those dimensions, there is a possibility of infinite permutations and combinations.
Still, there are elements which make a great story. A great story is legible, coherent, conveys emotions in a way that resonate with many. A well-structured story also compliments efforts in other disciplines. For example, a well-researched and articulated problem finds comprehensive solution when both the research and solution are complimented by a story. A founder of a venture is able to attract attention of funding agencies as well as its potential customers if the venture has a great story of birth and being.
Stories help us connect the mission of a group of humans with its heart by helping them answer “why” and not only what. For example, Apple as a company, in their Think Different Ad, paid tribute to the most eccentric, unique and well known personalities such as Albert Einstein, John Lennon, Pablo Picasso, Alfred Hitchcock, Thomas Edison whom they believe were misfits in the society, and could dent the space around them and in the world because they thought different. Apple didn’t bluntly advertise its products by simply projecting their features better than the competitors. They portrayed that they valued craziness, genius of those who thought different without any fear and did what they believed and pushed the human race forward. Since everyone wants to cling on or build on what could make them unique, people resonated with this thought and started associating themselves not only with the products of Apple but what Apple did as its heart. This is what makes them the most valuable company across the globe.