Why are stories so powerful?

Applicable – stories offer greater context and understanding because they personalise a message and make us feel a part of the situation. They offer opportunities to extract life lessons, and demonstrate how wisdom plays out in a practical way.

Personal – stories are relatable to our own experience, and thus they become more meaningful. We identify with the heroes and the villains because we all have those tendencies inside of us. Stories allow us to understand ourselves better because the actions of the characters stir something inside each one of us.

Emotional – stories have the unique ability of arousing our emotions. They can cause us to laugh, cry, cringe or reflect and thus engage with the message on a level deeper than just the intellect. Stories communicate passions, sadness, hardships and joys. They engrave meaning and purpose into our consciousness, as well as offering inspiration and hope.

Digestible – stories make complex topics easy, inconspicuously entering a deeper place within our consciousness. Not only that, but they implant a message even within an unwilling person, since they circumvent one’s ego and pride. Stories don’t tell us something – they show us something.

Memorable – research shows that stories are remembered twenty times more than facts alone. We live in times of mass distraction and people’s attention spans have been obliterated. Thus, stories help to communicate things in an effective and efficient way.