The power of storytelling

FOR as long as I can remember, I have always loved stories. I recall the moments my brother and I will sit by my mother and listen to her tales or the moments my grandmother told stories to my cousins and I while we all listened with rapt attention.  Those stories of a long time past were full of wisdom and anecdotes that made sayings easier to remember or in other cases, warnings easy to heed. Growing up, I loved to tell stories to connect with others. I would sit down with friends of my parents and tell stories of other members of my family. Stories have always been a way to connect with others. In a world that is so divided,  I think stories bring us together in ways we can only imagine. Stories though do not have to be confined to fiction,  they are so much more than fiction. An article in Tony Robbins puts it simply, “We tell stories every single day. How we see the past, how we envision the future – those are stories. How we convey a message, how we describe a product or service – those are stories as well. A pitch, a presentation, a plea – all stories”

As the world deals with the painful effects of corona virus, it is easy to sweep aside its cost. The statistics are alarming but when they do not affect us personally,  it becomes easy to view them as just numbers.  Stories can change that. As the article in Tony Robbins points out, “Stories emotionalize information. They give color and depth to otherwise bland material and they allow people to connect with the message in a deeper, more meaningful way”. Stories help us empathise with others.  The numbers are not just figures on a spreadsheet,  they become real people with real lives. Clare says, ‘We can relate to an individual much more easily than a group. First-person narratives are helpful in seeing people as individuals rather than as a group, like ‘patients’, ‘refugees’ or ‘the homeless”.  One of the most moving stories I heard in these crazy times is the story of a woman in the United States who lost over 30 of her relatives to corona virus.  Watching her tell her story was heart-rending and deeply painful. Of course I knew people were dying in the United States but to put a face to the numbers made it significantly more real.

Listening to an individual story helped me humanise the pandemic. It was no longer a far away TV news item, it was a human problem. “When a story catches our attention and engages us, we are more likely to absorb the message and meaning within it than if the same message was presented simply in facts and figures”. That is the power of storytelling.  The Empathy Museum’s Clare Patey says, ‘Stories have a transformative power to allow us to see the world in a different way than we do if we just encounter it on our own. Stories are an entry point to understanding a different experience of the world.’ This is another aspect of storytelling.  It widens our worldview and shifts our perspectives.  Because the story is not told from our point of view, we get to experience the world through another person’s eyes and suddenly we have a fresh new perspective on life. It is no wonder then that readers are often seen as intelligent.  This is because they look at life from so many perspectives and through different lenses.

In fact,  as a voracious reader, you have lived a thousand lives. Books contain stories,  some of these stories are fictional while some are not.  Those who read them enjoy the powerful effects of storytelling. As a reader, there are so many things I know that I was not taught but I discovered on the pages of a book. Books taught me patience, empathy,  kindness and love. The deep feelings I experienced along with the characters carried into real life. And because I read so many stories, I understood that everyone has their own personal stories that make them who they are and those stories are not any less important than mine. “When someone tells us their own personal story, we catch a glimpse of a view of the world that may be slightly or radically different from our own. When we see the world as they see it, or walk in their shoes, the experience can inspire empathy within them.” This very important connection with other people’s stories is further strengthened by a research in Neuroscience. In an interview by The Health Foundation, Cathy Patey points this out, “ Storytelling and listening is a two-way process. There’s some evidence from neuroscience, which suggests that when I am telling you a story and you’re listening to my story, our brain patterns begin to mirror one another. We are connecting, and the empathy is on not just an emotional but a physical level.”

The world is getting divided, day by day, along so many lines; black and white,  rich and poor, male and female, single and married. It is so easy to see what divides us but if we look closely we will see our similarities too. Stories can help us do this, it can help us look at life from others’ perspectives and see that maybe we are not that different after all.  In the wake of all the civil unrest and killings plaguing the world, we need empathy and love. Stories are an important way to develop empathy for others. Clare notes this,  “Developed and used purposefully, storytelling can contribute to inclusion and connection, build confidence, and bring about change.”   Change is one thing the world desperately needs and that is one of the powers of storytelling,  it has the power to effect change.  So next time you meet someone and you think you have nothing in common,  take the time to listen to their story, you just might find something in common with them.

• Wale-Olaitan is an educationist.

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