The Real Power of Storytelling

Everything that remains with us, from family talks to penning personal essays, journaling, and TED-talk speeches, appears to have a narrative. Someone or something starts their narrative someplace, then something happens, and then, hopefully, the problem is resolved.

As humans, we are prone to organise our thoughts through stories. They are full of them, from our origin myths to the legends politicians employ to spice up their speeches. Because of stories, we become more relatable to one another and can empathise with one another's emotions.

They’re also a wonderful commercial tool, as well as a strong instrument for spreading scientific information — especially human sciences such as Psychology — and social guidance (such as Covid-19 guidelines). Tell a narrative if you have important information you want people to remember. Build visuals to present data as a story if you want to utilise data to encourage people to take action. Tell stories to transport people and persuade them to change for the better.

Let us begin by considering how storytelling may be used to convince individuals to adopt better behaviours.

Then, as Aboriginal Australians have done for millennia, we will consider how all scientific information may be presented through story forms.

What exactly is a narrative?

A story, tale, or narrative is any nonfictional (biography, memoir, news report, documentary, and so on) or fictional portrayal of a series of related events or experiences. To convey a tale, a series of speech or text, still or moving visuals, or any combination of these can be utilised.

According to Bruner (1986), the paradigmatic and narrative modes of cognition are essentially different. The paradigmatic use procedures to verify and test empirical truth. This is a more scientific method of comprehension.

Good storytelling, riveting drama, historical narratives, personal experience, the experience of others, and religion, on the other hand, are examples of narrative methods of learning.

The employment of a narrative approach tends to make storing and retrieving information from memory simpler.

In general, both narrative and non-narrative (pragmatic) information dissemination approaches are important for encouraging change, boosting knowledge, and influencing individuals to adopt healthier behaviours.

A narrative form, on the other hand, may be easier to absorb and remember.

What are some possible causes for this occurrence?

When a person is "transported" into the tale realm, they are persuaded.

It is believed to result in persuasion because transported people get so immersed in the tale that they begin to embrace the story's proposals; transportation assists the reader/viewer in perceiving the narration as true, as something that occurred to them.

Furthermore, if people develop hopes and sentiments for the characters in the stories, or begin to connect with them, this tendency may become much greater.

Consider the following examples of information delivery:

Which one will be more effectve?

Spreading Knowledge Through Storytelling

Every week, as part of my last years of study, I am forced to read a large number of scholarly publications. It doesn't bother me, and there is always a lot to learn from scientific writing.

However, all of the information that I have come to value and recommend to other readers and viewers comes in the form of popular scientific books or films.

The underlying question is: How can science have an influence on the world if the general public is not aware of its discoveries?

Many of us would immediately assume that the issue is one of information distribution. The “information gap,” on the other hand, does not appear to be the most significant issue. Much information is frequently there in front of our eyes, but the delivery is unsuitable for the intended audience.

Indeed, improved distribution may aid in combating the spread of fake news and phenomena like conspiracy theories, antivaxxers, and climate change denial.

Scientists would be wise to borrow communication methods from the arts and humanities more frequently. Simply presenting additional knowledge about a topic will not always change people’s opinions or convince a sceptic to embrace vaccine, Covid-19 spread, or climate change science, for example.

Recent research suggests that storytelling might aid in the communication of science to the wider population, as part of a larger theme of “framing” as an essential aspect of public outreach. Creative writing, or more generally storytelling, can help us enhance our chances of success in spreading scientific knowledge

For millennia, Aboriginal Australians have been doing it.

Storytelling has always been an integral part of Aboriginal Australian culture.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are descendants of one of the world's oldest cultures. And stories have played an important role in the diffusion of scientific knowledge. Elders utilise narration to teach kids about the earth, water, and land. These stories are referred to as "songlines" or "dreamingtracks."

According to a recent research, Indigenous stories in Australia of catastrophic sea level increases date back more than 7,000 years in a continuous oral tradition unlike any other in the world. Patrick Nunn and Nicholas Reid believe that 21 Indigenous traditional accounts from throughout the continent properly represent events that occurred between 18,000 and 7000 years ago, when sea levels rose 120 metres. They contend that the tales provide factual support for a postglacial sea-level rise that marine geographers have just lately documented.

Narrative communication enables us to learn from the experiences of others, as well as from emotionally charged and riveting stories, and may help us build, reaffirm, or challenge our own beliefs and values.

When we are transported or identify with a story, we are more likely to absorb the information and meaning contained within it than if the same message was conveyed just in facts and figures. There must be a space for data as well. However, the next time we need to communicate critical information, we should keep our audience in mind, as well as the power of narrative.