Everyone loves a good story. Whether it be
a movie, a book, or a play, stories draw people in. Just think about the Ewoks
in Return of the Jedi. They were enthralled with C3-PO’s story—a
story that convinced them to join in the fight. When persuasion is needed to
get a group to join your side, a story is a good way to accomplish that goal.
There are many situations where a
persuasive story can be useful. For instance, in court. If you are an attorney,
you tell your version of the juror story—a story of the case that the jury
members will never forget (Diamondstein, 2014). This story breaks down the case
to just a handful of easy to understand messages. Ideally, the result of this
presentation is that the jury sees the case from your point of view, and you
win.
Political campaigns also benefit from
persuasive storytelling. Of course, the point to such a campaign is to get the
candidate into office, and telling their story is valuable to that endeavor.
This is how the Republicans won in 2004. As James Carville noted in Poletta
(2011): “They produce a narrative, we produce a litany. They say, ‘I’m going to
protect you from the terrorists in Tehran…..’ We say, ‘We’re for clean air,
better schools, more health care.’ And so there’s a Republican narrative, a
story, and there’s a Democratic litany.” In other words, the Republicans told a
story about how they will keep the country safe and sound, while the Democrats
just listed items important to them.
The Republican strategy worked because it
transported (Poletta, 2011) the audience out of themselves into a world they
can picture living in. Transportation takes place when the audience starts to
have an emotional connection to the events and characters in the story (Zak,
2013). In this case, the Republicans told a story of an America that was safe
from threats—an America that everyone wanted and can see happening.
At my own employer, there are several
potential opportunities for persuasive storytelling. For example, moving from
an office-based situation to an e-working/work from home situation. By making
this change, work-life balance can be easier to achieve, resulting in a higher
morale amongst employees.
Duarte (2011) suggests that a good
presentation alternates between the way things are and the way things could be,
ending with a world transformed. Applying this to the above scenario, let’s use
John as an example:
·
The way things are: John arrives at work
after a bad commute; he comes into the office sick, potentially causing
coworkers to get sick; and he has to leave early or miss days for personal
appointments.
·
The way things could be: John has more
time with the kids with the elimination of the commute; he can still get some work
done when he is not feeling well without going into the office; and when he has
personal appointments, he can go right back home to do some more work.
·
The world transformed: John has a higher
production and a higher level work/life balance.
There are times in life when we all feel
like John. This transports us into his world and we can see how the transformed
world would work. Persuasive storytelling, when used successfully, does just
that. It makes us see what that more perfect world is—and we want to take
action to make it reality.
References
Diamondstein,
L. (2014). Using storytelling techniques to craft a persuasive legal story. The
Brief, 43(2), 57-61. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.proquest.com%2Fdocview%2F1507803326%3Facc
Duarte, N. (2011,
November). The secret structure of great talks. TED Talks. Retrieved from: https://www.ted.com/talks/nancy_duarte_the_secret_structure_of_great_talks
Polletta, F. (2011,
March). Storytelling in politics. Contexts. University of California, Irvine. Retrieved
from: http://faculty.sites.uci.edu/polletta/files/2011/03/Contexts-Storytelling-in-Politics.pdf
Zak, P. (2013, December
17). How stories change the brain. The Greater Good. Retrieved from:
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_stories_change_brain
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