Blog 1: Storytelling is THE most basic form of human communication. It is how we pass along lessons from generation to generation AND it is a powerful technique to help others see themselves interacting successfully in the brighter future. Storytelling is a more powerful influence on the human brain than facts and figures. People believe stories more than they believe numbers.

The renowned trail attorney Gerry Spence “the strongest structure for any argument is the story”. He goes on to illustrate the point:

“Storytelling has been the principal means by which we have taught one another from the beginning of time: the campfire. The tribal members gathered around, the little children peeping from behind the adults, their eyes as wide as dollars, listening, listening. The old man – can you hear his crackly voice, telling his stories of days gone by? Something is learned from the story – the way to surround and kill a saber-toothed tiger, the hunt for the king of the mastodons in a far-off valley, how the old man survived the storm. There are stories of love, of the discovery of special magic potions, of the evil of the warring neighborhood tribes – all learning of man has been handed down for eons in the form of stories.”

Stories teach, mobilize and motivate. Research clearly demonstrates that information is more quickly and accurately remembered when it is presented in the form of an example or a story. Gary Klein, scientist and researcher into how people make decisions under conditions of extreme emergencies, says:

“Storytelling is an essential skill for passing along the lessons that we learn from highly-complex, challenging situations.”

Well-told stories reach inside us and pull us along, much better than bulleted points on a screen. Stories give us the actual experience of being there and of learning what is really important about the experience.

Great leaders are great storytellers. We need leaders to mobilize us for our common good.