Sunday, February 27, 2011

Business Stories: What Hollywood Says

Here is a link to an article "In Film and in Life, The Story is King". I found this paragraph a great summary.

....the stories that drive professional life — the narrative that is part of pitches, résumés, introductions and every conversation about business goals and achievements — work best when they are grounded in emotion. By and large, they require a hero. Dramatic tension and even a few props help.

There is no scientific data included in the article; it is what one man has determined after a lifetime of work in the entertainment business. He espouses the power of story and cites examples of how stories are used, especially in persuasion. He concludes we all use stories but those who take more care and use them purposefully get better results. Take a quick read, it is a short article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/business/27steal.html?_r=2&src=busln

Monday, February 21, 2011

Business Stories: More Science on Remembering Stories

In Doug Stevenson latest newsletter he includes a section on the science of stories on the brain. He has several sources listed but a new one to me is the following:

In his new book, Brain Rules, molecular biologist John Medina explains this phenomenon. “When the brain detects an emotionally charged event, the Amygdala releases dopamine into the system. Because dopamine greatly aids memory and information processing, you could say it creates a 'Post It' note that reads, ‘Remember this.’”

Interesting. But what strikes me is the amount of research being conducted on the power of stories as communication tools. Why? Are there people who have refused to use stories and need to be convinced of a better way? I suspect that many people include stories without realizing it. Maybe the studies are to help convince people to be more purposeful with stories. Instead of just telling hap-hazard tales maybe we should strive to craft the message better within the story to make our point even more memorable.

Stories are powerful, if your own anecdotal experiences are not enough to convince you the maybe Brain Rules will help convince you. No presentation or training session should ever go story-less.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Business Stories:The Healing Power of Stories

In Steve Denning's latest newsletter he refers to a recent article in the New York Times about a study done on the power of storytelling in the healing process. For years there has been anecdotal information about how powerful stories can be but no hard data, now there is. See the article at the link below, When Patients Share Their Stories, Health May Improve
By PAULINE W. CHEN, M.D.

In the article there is a link to the study conducted on a group of 300 high blood pressure sufferers.

I did not read the entire study results word for word, I skimmed, however there were some caveats about the results (test size, population locations etc) and I hope that means others will conduct larger studies to generate the data needed to convince skeptics.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/10/health/views/10chen.html?_r=2&src=me&ref=health

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Business Stories: Stories in Movies

Many people tell me when they hear the word storytelling they think immediately of an activity for children. I'm also told they identify the activity as something done in libraries. Funny how a word can evoke such strong identifiers and still surround us in so many other ways, movies, music, books, news reports.....

I was reminded of this recently by a feature article in USA Weekend (Oct 2010). There was an article on the stories told in movies. Scorsese, Lucas and Spielberg were interviewed for the article which talked about stories in movies and the development of a ground-breaking middle school class, "The Story of Movies". Films chosen for study had to have children in the key role, include a distinctive style of visual storytelling and have a person who makes a difference in our lives by fighting on our behalf. (The 3 films studied in the class are The Day the Earth Stood Still, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and To Kill a Mockingbird)

At the end of the article Spielberg is quoted "It is quite possible that a child who is taking this course will grow up and tell a great story like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Life is a story. We - all of us - are stories. Film teaches that. And if we could be like the main characters in these three movies, we would be better people."

Mr. Spielberg said it beautifully. Let's not forget that we are all stories and that includes our business lives. Stories are not just for children!