PART 1: WHY STORY The Science The Philosophy

WHY STORY PART ONE

Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten .

~ Neil Gaiman

WHY STORY PART ONE

Stories makes sense of the world in a way mere facts cannot –that is because they create a shared experience with your audience that improves both your credibility and relatability at a deeply intuitive and emotional level.

That’s because stories show, instead of tell, creating an illusion for the audience that they are actually witnessing the events you described and experiencing first-hand the lessons you learned.

This makes storytelling an express lane to integrated understanding.

The next section summarizes the science behind storytelling and why we are biologically programmed to respond powerfully to stories.

THE SCIENCE WHY STORY

It is no accident that civilizations form around common narratives and origin stories. Stories are the foundation of our identity and the cornerstones of stable communities at all scales because we are biologically hard-wired to respond to stories.

This programming emerges in two forms:

STRESS RESPONSE

MIRROR NEURONS

STRESS RESPONSE WHY STORY: THE SCIENCE

Every story (if it follows the classical story map, see What Is a Story p. 24), includes a dramatic arc. This dramatic arc taps into our instinctual millionsyear-old stress response system. The outcome of this process is what scientists call the “negativity bias.” Humans are hard-wired to focus on what seems threatening or stressful. It is how our ancestors survived long enough to procreate in a wild and unpredictable world. It is how we will survive the climate and extinction emergencies.

By using drama to leverage the stress response, stories reliably capture attention long enough to relay important information.

DRAGONS ARE OPPORTUNITIES

Oh, and just because stories leverage our built-in negativity bias that doesn’t mean that a story is negative or makes us feel hopeless. Over the years, I have heard many people caution against using negative information at all in stories out of the mistaken belief that negative information alone will leave the audience feeling disempowered. While stories with tragic conclusions can result in feelings of apathy and despair (the exact opposite emotional state we want to engineer as conservation storytellers), that doesn’t change the fact that challenging obstacles and visceral threats are the building blocks of the dramatic arc that makes a story relevant and effective.

The important takeaway is to end with a solution or demonstration of how such obstacles or threats can be overcome. Let the audience know that heroes are as real as dragons. Bonus points when you empower the audience to be the heroes!

MIRROR NEURONS WHY STORY: THE SCIENCE

Where does empathy originate?

Many scientists believe it starts with a highly specialized part of our nervous system called mirror neurons. Mirror neurons activate when we see or hear expressed emotion. They empower us to empathize with the expressive people we observe.

And it turns out that they fire more rapidly when we listen to stories.

EMPATHY MIRROR NEURONS &

Empathy is a powerful and authentic persuasion ally. It enhances cooperation and leads to more generous behavior. And it is an essential building block in messages that mobilize.

When we tell stories, we stimulate mirror neurons, which in turn, give rise to an upswelling of empathy that helps carry the audience to action.

Orienting communication around the activation of mirror neurons is easy to achieve . . . when we use stories that relay PERSONAL EMOTIONAL TRUTHS.

THE PHILOSOPHY WHY STORY

Science excels at explaining the causal relationships and structures that define our material world. But it is deliberately unequipped to illuminate purpose or meaning.

The scientific method was developed specifically to uncover objective reality –and it is the best tool we have for doing so! But reality isn’t just shaped by objective structures. The subjective is as much a force in our world as the objective. Subjective beliefs have been the basis of titanic struggles and momentous outcomes throughout human history.

For good and bad, the subjective helps to inform who we are and entirely determines who we want to become.

Stories, unlike science, have the power to change our emotional response to the world and powerfully reinforce alterations to our priorities.