The Power of Stories

Why is storytelling a powerful means to inform and persuade your donors? Our brains are built to learn from stories. Stories grab and hold our attention, and help us to understand and remember messages.
Stories touch our emotions and create empathy, which is needed to engage people.

Our brains are built to learn from stories

Our brains are hardwired for stories as a way to organize information and help us to orient ourselves. They help us to make sense of our complex world. Humans are focused on understanding and recognizing patterns to learn about new concepts and ideas. Stories offer the patterns needed to help us grow and learn.
Since the beginning of time, humans have educated younger generations using stories.

Stories grab and hold attention; they help us understand and remember

Stories help people remember messages, and if the story is strong and impactful enough, people can remember them for a lifetime. How many stories do you remember from your childhood? Stories bring facts to life and infuse them with passion. You hear a good story with your head and your heart. You become an active participant instead of a passive listener.

A story engages your attention on different levels, so when the central message is shared, it stays with you. Stories stick! Storytelling provides a stronger and deeper experience than just a rational and factual presentation.

When you only tell your donors a lot of facts, there is high chance they won’t remember. So stories help us to remember by activating many parts of the brain instead of only activating the parts used to process factual information.

Stories touch our emotions, engage us, inspire us.