
To Persuade People, Tell Them a Story - rubikscube
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303482504579177651982683162
======
spodek
When I started to realize the value of storytelling, I gathered a group of
friends to meet regularly to improve our storytelling. I read a bunch of books
on storytelling and distilled their essence into a few parts -- mainly
characters, conflict, struggle, and goal, which I memorize as CCSG. All the
books I read described these four elements as the most important, which my
experience confirms.

I wrote a few posts on the basics of storytelling (not all independent). While
no substitute for practice, observing, and reading comprehensive books, people
have told me they helped improve their storytelling. Storytelling improves
persuasion and a lot more.

[http://joshuaspodek.com/model-great-story](http://joshuaspodek.com/model-
great-story)

[http://joshuaspodek.com/communication-skills-
exercises-4](http://joshuaspodek.com/communication-skills-exercises-4)

[http://joshuaspodek.com/improve-public-speaking-
storytelling...](http://joshuaspodek.com/improve-public-speaking-storytelling-
part-1)

Speaking of practice, look up [http://themoth.org](http://themoth.org) for
great storytelling events and podcasts. The Moth is amazing. (If you search my
blog you can find video of me telling stories at the Moth).

~~~
thro2
> When I started to realize the value of storytelling, I gathered a group of
> friends to meet regularly to improve our storytelling.

I see what you did there

~~~
fudged71
But wait! There was a challenge that was overcome...

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jerf
Correspondingly, when you're being _told_ a story, bear in mind that your
rational thought is essentially being compromised, because we really do have
enormous reactions to stories. Our brain's reaction to stories have little to
do with whether they are true, or whether they are pushing a moral or idea
that is beneficial to you or anyone else.

~~~
utopkara
Also, consider why religious texts prefer to resort to stories rather than
analytics.

~~~
jackpirate
Because it's an effective means of communication? You seem to be implying a
nefarious agenda that's not warranted.

~~~
hsitz
I don't know whether he was suggesting a nefarious agenda, but I do get
discouraged when I see people accepting something as true at least in part
because it gets communicated to them with a good story. People are better than
that, need to realize that the tendency to accept stories is a cognitive bias
that we need to fight against. I've seen people seem to accept the truth of
something that's perhaps plausible, but completely without evidence, just
because it's presented with a good story. See, e.g, Kahneman's little clip on
"Stories" and 'wysiati' here: [http://www.inc.com/daniel-kahneman/idea-lab-
personal-stories...](http://www.inc.com/daniel-kahneman/idea-lab-personal-
stories-more-impact.html) (I think Kahneman's 'wysiati' explains how a false
truth can get accepted by one person, then it gets spread b/c of the story
behind it.)

~~~
coldtea
> _I don 't know whether he was suggesting a nefarious agenda, but I do get
> discouraged when I see people accepting something as true at least in part
> because it gets communicated to them with a good story._

Not very different than when people accept something as true in part because
it gets communicated to them with nice sounding numbers, stats and figures.

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louwrentius
The question is why story telling often works so well. This wsj.com article
answers it: it's about emotion.

It's important to evoke emotion in your story. To be able to evoke emotion,
you must do your homework. You must learn what makes your audience tick. What
do they care about. Create a story that hooks into their world. You need to
create a bridge between their and your world.

Maybe I myself don't have a story to tell right now, but I want to say that I
believe that emotion is vital. Much of my guidance and initial decision making
is often based on (gut) feeling. My emotions tell me that I'm not on the right
track, forcing me to think and reason why I feel this way and figure the
reasons out cognitively.

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nemoniac
Narrative, it's all about the narrative!

As an educator, I don't teach the book, I don't teach the chapter, I don't
teach the lesson. Because that's not what you remember. What you remember is
the story. It's about big stories, small stories, stories that link together
in a narrative. That's what sticks.

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codex
Before humans learned to write, and before the scientific method, stories and
songs were the method that knowledge was passed on from generation to
generation. Memorization was the storage medium, and since there was no
controlled experimentation, that knowledge was always of the form "Once, X
happened, and then Y happened."\--in other words, a story.

Thus, humans evolved to hook into storytelling very readily--especially aural
storytelling. This American Life is perhaps the best example of this medium.

~~~
takluyver
In one of the 'Science of Discworld' books, there's a half-joking suggestion
that the human species should be called _Pan narrans_ \- the storytelling
chimpanzee - instead of _Homo sapiens_ , because of how important stories are
to us.

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JOfferijns
This is very evident when you start watching TED Talks.

Nearly every single one starts with a personal story, which probably means
they are trained to use this technique.

~~~
techtivist
I love TED talks as well, and like everyone most talks leave me with a whoa!
But TED talks aren't a good model to emulate for formal presentations. It's
great if you have an awesome punchline with a jaw dropping assertion, but most
presentations don't. Just think about it how much of the details from the TED
talks you have watched do you really remmember. That's not what TED talks are
for. They are meant to push the viewers into deeper self research by
attracting them with just a tiny dose of hyperbole.

And frankly most day-to-day presentations and even most pitches understandably
don't have something jaw-dropping to talk about, or else they would attract a
TED talk, no? If you're giving a pitch, chances are you have to convince the
investor/audience with an almost complete narrative. Having a story framework
is useful, but it has to have enough information that backs your assertions,
which is not true for a TED talk. Data is important, but the art is in the way
you present them. Having no data might point that you don't have a strong
case, or just didn't care. So have one or two convincing data representations.

And slides are important, to help you say what you wont be able to say
verbally and the second to guide the audience about the structure of your
presentation. Most people aren't great story tellers. It's an art which few
can be trained in. In those cases you need to use your slides to complement
what you are saying and keep the audience engaged.

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RodericDay
That's the key to the "Robin Hood Morality Test":

[http://www.talisman.org/quizzes/robin-hood-
morality.shtml](http://www.talisman.org/quizzes/robin-hood-morality.shtml)

(Read the disclaimer on the website, and also this one here: It's not a real
test, it's just a neat idea that sometimes gives insightful answers)

------
KaoruAoiShiho
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA)

~~~
Luc
It's a TEDx link. Which I knew before I clicked it, because this stuff is
'gefundenes Fressen' for that crowd.

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LukeWalsh
I only realized this truth within the past couple of months. It has absolutely
transformed the way I communicate not only with groups of people but also with
individuals. I think framing advice in stories based on personal experience
causes people to be much more receptive once you provide a call to action.

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pushkargaikwad
I think this "tell a story" has been extremely generalized, it will work in
some cases, it won't in some other cases. Stories are good to get attention
and for entertainment (blogs/seminars/presentations), but there are not too
many who are able to sell their product just on the basis of story. Telling
stories is nice as long as you have something solid to back it up.

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beachstartup
we noticed a sharp improvement in our sales process when we introduced
detailed case studies into our marketing literature.

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Theodores
It is through storytelling that we teach children to read, write, think and
learn. All of us owe our education to storytelling and I don't know what it is
that makes people suddenly think storytelling is the new big thing.

~~~
AndrewKemendo
Careful though, it is important to distinguish between storytelling about
actual figures versus fictional or fantasy figures: Overall, children were
more likely to solve the problem when it was told about a real child than when
it was told about a fantasy character [1].

[1][http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ulterior-
motives/201311/...](http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ulterior-
motives/201311/fables-may-fail-help-children)

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sGrabber
Truth/facts in a engaging or engrossing way is the key.

If you tell a story which is not true i.e if you gas around, you loose
credibility. True story gives credibility and BS would put the other person
off totally, so be careful.

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usablebytes
I remember reading about this in Paul Smith's 'Lead with a Story' book. It
genuinely makes a lot of difference to make people listen to you.

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RivieraKid
Great, now everyone in sillicon valley will pitch by awkwardly telling a
story. But it's still less pathetic than the Steve Jobs imitators.

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vicaya
OTOH, whenever somebody tries to tell me a story, I know (s)he's selling
something and automatically get turned off.

I suspect that the story trick (as all tricks that appeal to anything other
than critical thinking) will backfire soon enough.

~~~
vicaya
Would appreciate a comment from whoever down-voted. I recognize/appreciate the
effectiveness/power of story telling, especially to convey
intangibles/teachings. I (maybe others too) just have an aversion to the story
telling in politics and commercial products.

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krmmalik
I wrote an article on story telling too. [http://blog.krmmalik.com/its-the-
story-you-tell-not-the-prod...](http://blog.krmmalik.com/its-the-story-you-
tell-not-the-product-you-sell)

