- Our brains are wired to respond positively to stories.
- Stories activate our sensory centres, so unlike dry facts, stories aren’t just read, they’re experienced. They engage our whole brain.
- And that means storytelling can work for all types of learners – auditory, visual, kinesthetic.
- A connection forms between the storyteller and the audience, creating a sense of trust and familiarity that facilitates learning.
- Stories make complex ideas easier to grasp.
- People are much more likely to remember facts when they’re embedded in a story.
- Why am I selling this so hard – everyone likes a good story!
So how can I incorporate a story into my work?
At this point you’re probably thinking this won’t work for you because your work is about abstract concepts that don’t lend themselves to anecdotes. But with a little creativity, it’s very possible to do.
Here are a few styles that can apply to most fields.
The Anecdote
The easiest way to introduce a story is to share an interesting anecdote around some of the seminal figures in the field (think Archimedes running naked through the streets yelling ‘Eureka!’) or of how a theory was discovered (Newton and the apple). Of course, this depends on such stories actually being available. This is much easier to find in fields such as history, geography, or literature than in more abstract areas.
The Application Story
What are the real-world applications of your findings? All you have to do is paint a picture of what this would look like in practice.
For example, a finding that cytokines and a B cell subtype are the potential causes of most autoimmunity in people with Down syndrome could briefly describe the struggles of someone who has that condition or a caregiver, and describe a scenario where they could be prescribed therapeutics to alleviate their symptoms and how that would improve their lives.
Or a comparative analysis of the philosophies of Kant and Hegel could illustrate their differences through how two people might approach a common (preferably amusing) ethical dilemma, one taking a Kantian approach and the other following Hegel.
Personification
Some excellent examples of this are the animated films Osmosis Jones and Inside Out. The former reimagines the human body as a city and its various cells and organs as citizens and districts, while the latter is set in the mind of a young girl, with its various characters being her thoughts and feelings. The concept is solid and could easily be applied to a variety of academic fields beyond medical science and psychiatry.
You could use personification to describe the interactions of subatomic particles, for example. Or you could use it to describe the various actors in an economic theory. The possibilities are endless.
The Scientist’s Journey
In the book Houston, We Have a Narrative, scientist-turned-filmmaker Randy Olson talks about how most scientific writing just piles details on top of each other: this and that and the other thing. Instead, he proposes creating a strong narrative arc in the writing of a paper, what he distills down to ‘And, But, Therefore’. You present facts and findings, but there’s a problem, therefore you find a solution.
This simple structure, when used right, immediately creates a narrative arc – momentum, setback, resolution – that is at the heart of all good storytelling. A paper structured this way is a story in itself, taking the reader with you on the journey of discovery.
