Why Stories Matter

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Storytelling is an art form as old as time and the fact that stories are compelling and captive is hard to deny. Phenomena, such as the rapidly growing TED movement, emerging storytelling groups and networks, as well as the frequent use of storytelling components in marketing and advertising, show us that storytelling still draw people in, even in a modern, fragmented, and digital society. But what is the power of the story?

Storytelling is an art form as old as time and the fact that stories are compelling and captive is hard to deny. Phenomena, such as the rapidly growing TED movement, emerging storytelling groups and networks, as well as the frequent use of storytelling components in marketing and advertising, show us that storytelling still draws people in, even in a modern, fragmented, and digital society. But what is the power of the story?

I, as do others, think that Elif Shafak touched upon it nicely in her recent TEDTalk.

While she mainly speaks of fiction, and how her ability to write fiction set her free, she also articulates the power of the story: “Stories gave me a sense of center, continuity, and coherence.”

It has been argued before that narrativity is a necessary complexity-reducing mechanism that helps us make sense of the world and of our lives. By, consciously or unconsciously, telling stories about what is happening around us, we give those events meaning.

A new study from Princeton University takes the power of telling stories even further: It reports that a person can project his or her brain activity onto another person; forcing that person’s neural activity to closely mirror that in the first person’s brain, simply by talking to the person. In essence, by telling you a story, I can make you think like me. It’s obvious how this can benefit anyone who’s trying to change the mindset of others.

And, as famously quoted from Muhammad Yunus, the greatest challenges for social enterprises are often to change the mindset of others. That’s why it’s worth telling the stories of the impact you have as a social enterprise. We’ve done it here, here, and here, and we’ll continue to do so. Not only because we hope that the stories will resonates with our audience – and be a step towards changing the mindset of others – but because they resonate with us: They give meaning to what we do.