Why stories?

Speak to the decision-maker

Whenever we make a decision, our brain follows these basic steps:

1. The prefrontal cortex (behind our foreheads) weighs relevant factors and makes a recommendation.

2. That recommendation is sent to the “decision switch” near the center of the brain.  This switch simply decides A or B?  Even complex decisions ultimately reduce to a collection of binary choices one after another, which is why such decisions take a long time to think through.

3. Then the decision is sent back up to the prefrontal cortex for review.  

Usually our decision matches the recommendation.  But sometimes it doesn’t, and when that happens we explain ourselves with uncanny accuracy: “It just felt right.”

That’s because the decision switch lives in a region of the brain that processes emotions(1).  In fact, the two are so linked that every decision we ever make is, ultimately, emotional.

Feel fast, think slow

According to Nobel prize-winning economists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, 98% of our thinking is done with a system that is emotional, intuitive, and blazingly fast.(2) It makes sense—if a lion is leaping from the bushes, it’s best to just start running.

Because emotions are so fast, they filter what we think. When a piece of information has low emotional value—a series of random dates, or a math equation without context—we find it hard to remember. But when a piece of information has high emotional value—a near-miss traffic accident, or a fiancée’s favorite meal—it’s easy to remember.

Lead with data, statistics, or other abstractions, and your message will generally be forgotten. But if you make people feel something first, they’ll remember your message. And it’s good for business if those feelings are positive.

Stories spark feelings

No matter what you say or do, you cannot force anyone to think a thought, believe an idea, or feel an emotion. We are each sovereign in our hearts and minds. But you can arrange pieces of information that lead people to form their own feelings, thoughts, and beliefs. There is one approach that does that reliably, and it’s been a core part of the human experience since human experiences began: tell a story.

As our minds experience the simulated world of the story, our emotional circuitry switches on, feeling and forming judgments at blazing speed, just like we do in the real world. And if the final emotional calculus is, “this is good,” we remember the topic of the discussion with a positive glow.

Fast food, slow food

In business communication, there is a tendency to focus exclusively on rationality. Well-reasoned decisions are essential for a healthy business, but ignoring emotion is why so much business communication fails to have its intended effect.

That’s because mental processing uses up physical resources like glucose and oxygen. There is only so much fuel available at any given moment, and the brain spends it conservatively in case of emergencies. Whichever part of the brain you activate—emotional or rational—hoards resources for a while.

If you lead with facts and figures, the brain cannot effectively form an emotional reaction. That leads to a lack of emotional context…and being forgotten.

It’s better to feed information to the fast part of the brain—the emotional circuits—to ensure your audience feels what they need to feel. Once you’ve done that, abstract or conceptual information, like statistics about your product’s superiority, have a much greater chance of being remembered.

How to actually do it

The only reliable way to accomplish this is to hone your team’s ability to tell stories.

Whether your business-development representatives need to drive more sales, HR needs to attract more applicants, or you need to convince regulators or other stakeholders to approve your strategic plans, honing your team’s skill in applied storytelling is the single most effective investment you can make.

In approximately 90 minutes, I’ll teach ever member of your board to tell a powerful, personal, true story about why your organization matters. Whether they’re gifted raconteurs or inexpert at expressing themselves, by the end of our session they will be able to captivate a crowd of any size and make them feel in their gut how important the work you do is.