10 Effects Of Storytelling & How It Improves Your Writing

People love stories. Stories put people’s mind into motion picture mode and serve as a kind of escape from boring trivial facts. You really don’t need to study anything to be able to add a story to your writing. All you need to do is to simply tell a story. You have your whole life to get stories from. Everything you experience in life has a corresponding story that can be created from your memory of the event.

Stories can be used as an introduction to a message, an analogy to a concept, evidence to a claim, or even as a solution to some problem. You can also use stories to change people’s moods. If you want them to feel happy as they read your stuff or as they listen to you, tell a happy story. It’s as simple as that. But wait! That’s not all.

Here’s a list of other things that stories can do:

1. Stories establish interest. You can grab people’s attention by simply telling a story. Convincing stories automatically create attention and involvement with your audience.

2. Stories help build rapport. Establishing rapport with people is a primary element in persuasion. Since people obviously don’t have enough time to observe your actions to determine your credibility and trustworthiness, telling a short story about your past experiences allows them to get a good picture of who you are.

3. Stories create memorable hooks. They can highlight your central ideas and allow your presentation to have a greater impact. They are also easier to remember than the facts we present in our writing or speech.

4. Stories demonstrate your personality. People can tell from a story whether you are sincere, outgoing, friendly, etc. Reading your story is just like watching you in action.

5. Stories encourage participation. Facts presented alone cannot convince people to move into action. If you can provide tales that tap into people’s motivations, beliefs, and innermost feelings, you will cause your readers to be moved by your story.

6. Stories create involvement. Whenever we read something, there is a certain point when the mind begins to wander. Telling a story allows your readers to step back inside your world. If you can tell a story in such a way that it comes alive in people’s mind, your readers will actually feel that they are part of it.

7. Stories persuade without revealing your intention. People pay good money for stories that can provide answers to their problems or even the chance to temporarily escape the backdrop of their mundane life. It’s basically the reason why many people in the movie industry make lots of money; they tell captivating stories.

8. Stories simplify complex ideas. A story can help your readers understand what you are talking about and what you want them to do as long as the timeline or character development is not confusing.

9. Stories tap into hidden memories and beliefs. People spend a lot of time daydreaming, worrying about their future, reliving their past, and so on, but most of the time the things we think about are only superficial. A story, however, can give access to repressed memories, hopes, and dreams.

10. Stories trigger emotions. Abstract concepts such as love, courage, hope, success, and happiness are full of emotional and powerful associations. These can contain dozens of meanings in just one simple phrase or sentence. What more if you put a story around these concepts? Additionally, the more your readers can see, hear, smell, feel, and taste the elements of your story, the stronger the emotions that they experience while reading it.