Why Are Stories Such Powerful Means of Communication?

SeanMcDowell.org

The first time I ever spoke at a student retreat, I asked my dad for some speaking advice. He said, “Son, I have three words of advice for you: stories, stories, stories.” In other words, if you want to be an effective communicator, tell stories. Now that I have been a public speaker for over two decades, I can see the wisdom in his suggestions with even greater clarity.

People remember stories and relate to them. Jesus is remembered partly because he told remarkable stories such as the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), and the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1-20). People have always loved stories. And they always will. As I wrote in a previous post, human beings are “storytelling animals.”

But have you ever wondered what it is about stories that makes them so impactful? Why do we enjoy a good story from a friend? Why do we love movies so much? In his excellent book Marching Off the Map, student culture expert Tim Elmore offers some fascinating insights from neuroscience:

Part of the answer, at least, is because our brains become more active when hearing a story. Consider what it feels like to listen to a presentation, where the speaker uses boring PowerPoint slides with lists of bullet points. No doubt, it can engage certain part of our brain. The visual aid helps, but the data listed on the screen is limited in how much it harnesses our minds.

When we hear a story, however, things dramatically shift inside us, according to researchers in Europe. Not only are the language processing portions of our brain activated, but any other portion we’d use when experiencing the events of that story are as well. If we hear about the sweltering heat of a summer day, the preoptic areas of the anterior hypothalamus portion of our brain lights up. If a person tells us how delicious their lasagna was last night, our sensory cortex lights up. When a friend describes how fast he was running on a track last week, our motor cortex is ignited. In other words, the better the storyteller, the more portions of the brain are engaged. It can be far superior to relaying mere facts. In many cases, the listeners actually feel as if they are experiencing the story itself. It is an experience.

Simply put, a story can put your whole brain to work.[1]

Yes! God has physically wired our brains to respond to narratives. We feel, experience, and sometimes even taste certain aspects of a story. That’s why stories are such powerful means of persuasion.

So, if you want to genuinely influence people, don’t give mere facts and data, tell good stories. Want to be a good parent? Tell your kids meaningful stories. Want to be a good salesman? Tell powerful stories. Want to be a good speaker? Tell good stories. In fact, for anyone who wants to make a real difference in life, allow me to close with three words of advice: stories, stories, stories.

Sean McDowell, Ph.D. is a professor of Christian Apologetics at Biola University, best-selling author, popular speaker, part-time high school teacher, and the Resident Scholar for Summit Ministries, California. Follow him on Twitter: @sean_mcdowell and his blog: seanmcdowell.org.

[1] Tim Elmore and Andrew McPeak, Marching off the Map (Atlanta, GA: Poet Gardner Publishing, 2017), 141-142.