At work, we encounter endless ideas every day. Though these ideas come in different shapes and sizes, one thing is constant: there are many, many of them. For your ideas to stand out and win over an audience, you are going to need a special skill. What separates a good idea from a great one is your ability to tell a story. Ideas are worth nothing if you can’t persuade people to believe in them.
Read on to unlock the superpower of storytelling to give your ideas impact.
We were taught emotion lives outside of work
Aristotle taught that persuasion has four components: ethos, kairos, logos, and pathos.
- Ethos is about credibility. How credible are you as the presenter of the information?
- Kairos is about timing. Is this the right time to give people the information?
- Logos is about logic. To convince intelligent people at work, you must have a factual, evidence-based argument.
- Pathos is about emotion. You must connect the audience to why they should care about your topic — you have to make them feel strongly.
Most of us are comfortable with the first three items of Aristotle’s formula, but we don’t like the emotion part of it. People often worry that being emotional will undermine their message.
But this worry limits our ideas. To convince someone, we need all four parts of the formula — as well as considering credibility, timing, and logic, we need to connect emotionally.
Feelings give good facts the power to change minds
Humans see and filter the entire world through the lens of stories. Everything we remember, we remember as a story. Stories are how we remember the past, interpret the present, and imagine the future.
Memory is wrapped up in story. At its core, a story is a collection of facts surrounded by why we should care about them. So storytelling turns facts into memories — into things that stick and convince. Psychologist Jerome Bruner’s research indicates that facts are 20 times more likely to be remembered if they’re part of a story.
How many memories can you share about work that start with, ‘When I…’? When you interviewed for the job, got promoted, got fired, attended a weird networking dinner, or had a running joke with a workmate — those are all stories.
Our brains are hardwired for storytelling
Anytime you want to move a person’s point of view from A to B, a story is often the quickest way to get them there. The logical or rational part of our brain forms conclusions, but it’s the emotional part of our brain that converts us, that prompts us to act on these conclusions.
Neuroscience can help us understand why. Storytelling triggers oxytocin, the ‘trust hormone’, building confidence in your information. It also triggers a dopamine response, which boosts memory and motivation.
So when it comes to persuading a person — getting them to believe or behave differently — you need to connect with them emotionally. Action and change are the byproducts of a good story.
Storytelling is about people — and people mean everything
Stories connect us to other people. From cave drawings to Instagram stories, narratives build trust and connection. The world of work is a world of people — and your ability to connect reflects your ability to get the work done.
Think about the most engaging person you’ve met at a party. Chances are, they shared a story with you. People who approach conversation as a fact-finding mission don’t tend to make a social splash. By telling a story, you make an impression. You create intrigue, leaving room to discover the hard facts of who you are later down the track.
These principles govern politics as much as they govern parties. Think about big appeals made by crafty politicians. Nobody gets elected based on the fine print of a policy suggestion. It is about how they sell the story of that policy. Where does it fit in the narrative?
What makes a good story?
The key ingredients to a story are tension and resolution. Tension is our hook in, and resolution is the satisfying diffusion of that tension. There is nothing more boring than everything going right for someone. We need interest, challenge, and struggle to craft a good narrative.
This is the golden rule: the minute something changes, you’ve got a story.
A change could be something going wrong — forced friction you need to confront. What happened? How did you deal with the problem?
A change could also be setting yourself a goal. Some tension now exists between where you are now and where you want to get to. How are you going to get there? What obstacles will you have to overcome on the way?
Your story lies in the non-linear journey towards your outcome. Without change and struggle, why should anyone pay attention?
Stories are everywhere — hidden in plain sight
Stories are used constantly at work, but you might not have spotted them before. You’ll see stories in your organisation’s brochures, blogs, website, and social media. You’ll also see stories in reports, business cases, and proposals.
Think about how qualitative data is used — people include quotes and write summaries of people’s experience. And think about how quantitative data is used — you’ll see data points presented in graphs and then made real.
Look at the testimonial page on your organisation’s website, for example. You’ll see happy clients telling story after story, inspiring people to trust what you do.
Stories at work come in many different forms. They can be written, spoken, videoed, made into PowerPoints, and so on. As long as you’re presenting a narrative that connects with an audience, you’re storytelling.
Write Online can help you tell your story
To unlock all our storytelling trade secrets, check out Write Online’s Storytelling at Work series.
We’ll go into detail about what makes a great story, share our top tips for spinning a captivating narrative, and teach you how to present your story at work.