The Psychology of Storytelling in Business
By: Renata Solórzano
There is no doubt that storytelling is one of the most powerful means of human communication. Stories act a medium through which we learn, develop, and connect with one another. They allow us to pass on culture and history across generations and different societal groups, while also helping us to form bonds over shared experiences or interests1. While the significance of storytelling in human communication is well documented, there is limited empirical evidence exploring the implications of storytelling in the business world. Nevertheless, there is much that can be deduced from the wealth of available information on the use of storytelling in everyday life.
Not only do stories facilitate social connection, which is essential for our survival, but they may also have powerful applications in business. Stories enhance emotional connection, understanding, persuasion, information retention, and awareness2,3, both on an individual and group level. Stories are strongly tied with cognitive processes such as memory and language processing4, which consumers utilize to inform their decisions. Humans generally find stories easier to remember than individual facts, so when presented with new information we tend to code it and store it as stories in our memory bank3,5. This process of converting information into stories enhances memory encoding and recall, thereby, making it easier for us to remember the information and characters within a story. When applied to business, the use of storytelling can make a company or product more memorable, identifiable, and present in our minds2; thereby, building a greater presence in our subconscious. Narratives in business can also facilitate connection with, understanding of, or persuasion by a particular brand, company, or product2. This in turn, has the potential to expand consumer base, which should ideally lead to increased recognition and revenue. Thus, demonstrating the potential power of narratives to impact business development.
The best and most powerful stories are those that elicit empathy and emotions1,4. Sense-based stories, or stories about how an experience or event was experienced across the five senses6, are particularly powerful as triggering our senses can elicit deep emotional response and stronger links to memory. For example, our olfactory sense is strongly related to memory and can trigger deep memories and emotions7. It is for that reason that getting a whiff of a certain smell can instantly trigger a profound sense of nostalgia or even déjà vu. However, since smell cannot be directly conveyed through narrative, a narrative must use vivid imagery and powerful descriptors to trigger memories or emotions associated with a particular scent. The same is true for all the senses; vivid imagery and descriptors that stimulate the imagination and trigger sensory memories will produce a deeper consumer connection8 and make a story more memorable. If successful, this method can create a more profound connection to the story being told or the characters and business within it. Therefore, this tactic has the potential to effortlessly trigger emotions and memories, which when used in business, could generate positive implications in marketing by creating meaningful connections with consumers. This in turn, streamlines the creation of a positive and recognizable brand identity.
In an organization, story construction can play a fundamental role in marketing products to consumers9. Tone and word selection are also important contributors to the success of a story. When telling the story of a business or product, it is important to use a positive tone and language10 in order to build positive cognitive representations in consumers’ minds. Research has shown that presenting a character driven story high in emotional content, or one that presents how a company or product will improve lives through positive consumer experiences, are more easily remembered and better received by potential consumers5. These types of stories elicit consumer empathy and make an organization and their challenges more relatable11,5, and thus, their products more desirable. Research has also found that emotion can mediate consumer responses, so it is unsurprising that storytelling is increasingly used in advertising to increase emotional power12.
Drawing parallels between storytelling in interpersonal communication and in business, can generate an elementary framework for how best to use storytelling in business development. As long as there are services or products to be sold, there will always be a need to influence and shape consumer opinion, and thus, a story to tell.
References
1. Hsu, J. (2008) The secrets of storytelling: Our love of telling tales reveals the workings of the mind. Scientific American Mind, 19(4), 46-51. https://0-doi-org.londonmet.ac.uk/10.1038/scientificamericanmind0808-46
2. Herskovitz, S., & Crystal, M. (2010). The essential brand persona: Storytelling and branding. Journal of Business Strategy, 31(3), 21-28. https://doi.org/10.1108/02756661011036673
3. Woodside, A. G. (2010). Brand-consumer storytelling theory and research: Introduction to a Psychology & Marketing special issue. Psychology & Marketing, 27(6), 531-540. https://0-doi-org.emu.londonmet.ac.uk/10.1002/mar.20342
4. Martinez-Conde, S., Alexander, R. G., Blum, D., Britton, N., Lipska, B. K., Quirk, G. J., Swiss, J. I., Willems, R. M., & Macknik, S. L. (2019). The storytelling brain: How neuroscience stories help bridge the gap between research and society. The Journal of Neuroscience, 39(42), 8285-8290. https://0-doi-org.emu.londonmet.ac.uk/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1180-19.2019
5. Zak, P. J. (2014, October 28). Why your brain loves good storytelling. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2014/10/why-your-brain-loves-good-storytelling
6. Deroy, J. (2018, Aug 16). Sense-based storytelling. Narativ. https://narativ.com/2018/08/16/sense-based-storytelling/
7. Bahuleyan, B., & Singh, S. (2012). Olfactory memory impairment in neurodegenerative diseases. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research: JCDR, 6(8), 1437–1441. https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2012/3408.2382
8. Elder, R. S., & Krishna, A. (2021). A review of sensory imagery for consumer psychology. Journal of Consumer Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1242
9. Moeran, B. (2007). A dedicated storytelling organization: Advertising talk in Japan. Human Organization, 66(2), 160-170.
10. Denning, S. (2006). Effective storytelling: Strategic business narrative techniques. Strategy & Leadership. 34(1). 42-48. https://doi.org/10.1108/10878570610637885
11. Manney, P. J. (2008). Empathy in the time of technology: How storytelling is the key to empathy. Journal of Evolution & Technology, 19(1). 51-61. https://www.jetpress.org/v19/manney.pdf
12. Kang et al. (2020). The role of storytelling in advertising: Consumer emotion, narrative engagement level, and word-of-mouth intention. Journal of Consumer Behaviour. 19(1). 47-56. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.1793
Image courtesy of Canva.
