[lead]Tell me a story. As children we made such requests and learned by listening to fairy tales before bed, hearing our parents talk about their life through anecdotes, and memorizing songs with picturesque lyrics. It sparked our imaginations and allowed us to create our own storylines as we developed.[/lead]Stories are a shared experience, the base of every social engagement with friends, family and even strangers. We get to know people by their stories. Why? Because we are emotional creatures, and storytelling helps us understand information faster - connecting facts to feelings.

A story expresses how and why life changesRobert McKee

The Bible is the most beautiful and perfect story ever written. A cohesive masterpiece that points to Jesus, the master storyteller. Jesus communicated his message through vivid and detailed parables. He could have chosen to just tell the truth in a sentence but instead, wove such truth in a parable to amplify it, connect with it, and compare it to our lives to meet his standard. Here are three other ways that storytelling has stood the test of time as a powerful medium:

1. STORIES CAUSE RETENTION

Researchers say we’re likely to forget 90 percent of new information we’ve heard within a week. The brain wasn’t made to handle so much data at once; it needs to forget some old information to make room for the new. But how has information survived several generations? The power of storytelling.Storytelling spurs the active imagination of its listeners. Our imagination is infinite but it needs to be engaged with actions, characters, events and images to retain the information being presented. Think about it: God knew our makeup, and it’s no wonder he commanded the children of Israel to tell stories of his deliverance to their children and those children to the next generation and the relay continues. A story goes further because you can summon it in the future.

2. STORIES SURPASS STRATEGY

Imagine being on the popular show Shark Tank pitching your business idea. The Sharks’ initial interest in the product would be your story. What’s the story? They want to know the desperation that drove the entrepreneur to create a unique product. And how that product would meet the need of others. The story piques a Shark’s interest first, then comes the strategy to market the product.Tension sets in the show when the entrepreneur has the best strategy but the Sharks feel the shelf life of such product is limited and won’t take the risk to invest in the company. You can have the best strategy in the world, yet still come up short because the public can’t resonate with the story behind the product.This can be said of other great companies like Apple and the force who was behind it - Steve Jobs. He captured people’s imagination decades ago with a colorful apple to “think different.” That was his story and now Apple is on track to be a trillion dollar company not just for its great marketing strategy, though that’s important. But because of the connection millions have with Apple’s story to think different on how a product can improve their lives.

The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values, and agenda of an entire generation that is to comeSteve Jobs

Isn't that quote fitting, knowing that Jesus was the greatest storyteller of all time? We can have all types of strategies from books, podcasts to other digital mediums in sharing this story without losing sight of the author of the story who’s changed ours.

3. STORIES INSPIRE ACTION

It could be a Shark biting on your company’s idea or the standing ovation at the end of a movie. Each of the scenarios show an action after a story is told. It doesn’t have to be a grand gesture - might be a small step to ignite a dormant passion, to pick up a pen and paper, or a computer and start the next act of your life. Stories are so powerful that Scriptures say we overcome the enemy by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony (Revelations 12:11). The former has nothing to do with us but the latter requires an action on our part - declaring how Jesus’ story impacted ours.

Blog Team Training

One way to link your story with ours at VOUS is to meet us for the Blog Team training on Wednesday’s Creative Night. We get to use our talents, sharpen our skills and have fun along the way. It’s a place where both technical and creative sides join forces to make our storytelling interactive while leading our audience to our message - Jesus. Hope to see you there. Add to Calendar

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