Tell Me a Story

If you want to get your point across tell me a story.  Stories, fable and urban legends have all been around for years for a reason, they are easy to remember.  History’s told in stories; our ancestors told parables to pass on knowledge.  Think about how a chilling urban legend will be remembered for years, how does this happen?  It’s a story.

When we’re told a story we actually go through a metal simulation in our minds, this is why it is much easier to remember than random fact, it’s like we’re actually there.  From Chip and Dan Heath’s book Made to Stick it says this; “Why does mental stimulation work?  It works because we can’t imagine events or sequences without evoking the same modules of the brain that are evoked in real physical activity”.

Our minds have a difficult time piecing random fact together, but put in our minds a vivid picture of the story you are telling and we can recite it almost word for word as if we were there.  So if you are an educator, manager, or anyone that needs to make a point stick in some ones mind (which we all should be striving for) develop your idea into a story, you’ll have a much better chance of the intended remembering it.

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About the Author

Hi, I'm Jeph. I love helping people make smarter business decisions. I consult, speak, facilitate and do project work on new marketing strategies (It's a cross between word-of-mouth and social media). I'm currently a working on a brand new marketing company and freelancing with a few special clients. The marketing industry is changing very rapidly and the only way to stay on top of it is by a philosophy of continuous learning. Do you have an information strategy? Are you learning faster than the world is changing? If not, we should talk. Follow me @JephMaystruck

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2 Responses »

  1. If you are at all interested in buying the Made to Stick book, I reviewed it here… http://www.squidoo.com/RemarkableBusinessBooks#module46683362

  2. This one’s in my on deck circle, reading one of Seth Godin’s originals right now – Permission Marketing.

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