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Summary on storytelling
Topic: Storytelling
by Clare, 2018 Cohort
Note: This entry was created in 2018, when the task was to “summarise a key reading”, and so may not represent a good example to model current primer entries on.
Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of telling stories. It is central to human communication and can be found in most of our everyday interactions. A story is an account about real or imaginary people and events, told as a means of entertainment or transmission. Though stories are usually seen as an end, they are rather a tool for efficient communication.
Indeed, human thoughts are constructed and remembered in a narrative structure. The conscious brain is on a perpetual journey from a thought to another one, encounters difficulties and tries resolving them. This chain of thoughts contains the three main elements of any story : the setup, the confrontation, and the resolution. Because the construction of stories is so similar to the one of human thoughts, they are easier to understand and remember than cold hard facts and have therefore become our most effective educational tool. Moreover, listening to a story teaches respect and concentration as the child must stay attentive if he wants to understand.
Ira Glass believes that there are three main components to a good story: an interesting anecdote, an attractive beat, and a moment of reflection. The anecdote is the series of events occurring, the content of the story. For a story to be interesting, the listener must feel there is a destination to the journey. For Ira, a catchy beat is one that permanently raises questions. A way to keep the listener hooked is repetition. Even if the events are not interesting, the repetition of a word, an idea or an emotion triggers the interest of the brain ; if it is repeated, it must be important.
Finally, the story must lead to a moment of reflection. Fairy tales are very efficient to invite people to reflect upon moral values such as humbleness, hard work, generosity, etc (in Cinderella for example). It is almost impossible to think of a religion that does not rely upon stories to teach its principles. A principle only makes sense if it is contextualised and explained, which is exactly what a story does. Some communities are completely centred around oral storytelling. For Aboriginal Australians, it was the only way to pass on crucial knowledge to the next generations. The stories taught members their role in the community, Indigenous laws, landscape, political relations with neighbour tribes and moral values. They were a true survival tool.
Since the development of writing and other media, storytelling has become rather an individual action than a collective responsibility. The author of the story controls the message it conveys therefore transmitting his own values instead of those of the community. Storytelling then becomes a way of controlling the population. For example, after World War II, the French government communicated the narrative that most of the French population had resisted the Nazi occupation when most people had really been passive.
This technique is also used in marketing, most advertisements are stories : A woman is in her house (setting). Her kid comes running with a stain (confrontation). The great ABC laundry detergent cleans it all (resolution).
Who controls the narrative controls the effect it has on the listener, consciously, but mostly unconsciously. Therefore, storytelling is both an amazing communication tool and a very dangerous one.
Explore this topic further#
- Wikipedia page{.link-ext target=”_blank”}
- Ira Glass on Storytelling Video{.link-ext target=”_blank” }
- Mead, G, 2014, Telling the Story- The Heart & Soul of Successful Leadership, Wiley & Sons, San
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Storytelling in the Primer
Disclaimer#
This content has been contributed by a student as part of a learning activity.
If there are inaccuracies, or opportunities for significant improvement on this topic, feedback is welcome on how to improve the resource.
You can improve articles on this topic as a student in "Unravelling Complexity", or by including the amendments in an email to: Chris.Browne@anu.edu.au
Note: This entry was created in 2018, when the task was to “summarise a key reading”, and so may not represent a good example to model current primer entries on.
Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of telling stories. It is central to human communication and can be found in most of our everyday interactions. A story is an account about real or imaginary people and events, told as a means of entertainment or transmission. Though stories are usually seen as an end, they are rather a tool for efficient communication.
Indeed, human thoughts are constructed and remembered in a narrative structure. The conscious brain is on a perpetual journey from a thought to another one, encounters difficulties and tries resolving them. This chain of thoughts contains the three main elements of any story : the setup, the confrontation, and the resolution. Because the construction of stories is so similar to the one of human thoughts, they are easier to understand and remember than cold hard facts and have therefore become our most effective educational tool. Moreover, listening to a story teaches respect and concentration as the child must stay attentive if he wants to understand.
Ira Glass believes that there are three main components to a good story: an interesting anecdote, an attractive beat, and a moment of reflection. The anecdote is the series of events occurring, the content of the story. For a story to be interesting, the listener must feel there is a destination to the journey. For Ira, a catchy beat is one that permanently raises questions. A way to keep the listener hooked is repetition. Even if the events are not interesting, the repetition of a word, an idea or an emotion triggers the interest of the brain ; if it is repeated, it must be important.
Finally, the story must lead to a moment of reflection. Fairy tales are very efficient to invite people to reflect upon moral values such as humbleness, hard work, generosity, etc (in Cinderella for example). It is almost impossible to think of a religion that does not rely upon stories to teach its principles. A principle only makes sense if it is contextualised and explained, which is exactly what a story does. Some communities are completely centred around oral storytelling. For Aboriginal Australians, it was the only way to pass on crucial knowledge to the next generations. The stories taught members their role in the community, Indigenous laws, landscape, political relations with neighbour tribes and moral values. They were a true survival tool.
Since the development of writing and other media, storytelling has become rather an individual action than a collective responsibility. The author of the story controls the message it conveys therefore transmitting his own values instead of those of the community. Storytelling then becomes a way of controlling the population. For example, after World War II, the French government communicated the narrative that most of the French population had resisted the Nazi occupation when most people had really been passive.
This technique is also used in marketing, most advertisements are stories : A woman is in her house (setting). Her kid comes running with a stain (confrontation). The great ABC laundry detergent cleans it all (resolution).
Who controls the narrative controls the effect it has on the listener, consciously, but mostly unconsciously. Therefore, storytelling is both an amazing communication tool and a very dangerous one.