Have you ever wondered why stories are powerful and why some stories are more powerful than others? As we discover more about human behaviour and gain a deeper understanding of the way people communicate, it becomes evident that Limbic or emotional communication contributes to a larger part of our communication.

Let’s simplify that statement and look at why we tell stories. Our main purpose for telling stories is that it shows that we are more interested in other people than ourselves, it gives us credibility with people and makes us far more interesting.

When we are talking about ourselves the energy is very low, especially when we are being honest about the details that is. This is why children exaggerate facts as they intrinsically feel that the energy is low and therefore exaggerate to increase the energy of the story, they want to get your attention and keep it, they know that it’s only high levels of energy in the communication that will do that.  The solution to this is very simple: Just talk about others and not yourself.

When we speak about others we introduce energy into our conversations, we have actually introduced the energy of that particular person and the energy surrounding the story, into our emotional presence, the more people we can include the more energy our listeners will experience and the more credibility we will have as the person telling the story.

Look for the opportunities to introduce lots of energy into your stories, it will make you a better storyteller.

Photo: Unsplash/Alejandro Escamilla