Did you love when your mum would get out the photo album when you were younger and tell you all your favourite stories associated with each picture? Who made you those pyjamas bright red pyjamas you wore non-stop as a child…. How your dad almost started a fire in the kitchen trying to make Crepes Suzette that one time… Stories have been a crucial part of human communication and connection since the dawn of our species. But what is it about stories that helps to bring us closer together?
Sharing your story will evoke strong emotions
Unlike sharing facts and stats and graphs, stories play with our emotions, which creates oxytocin as a result. This in turn creates empathy, which heavily influences how we will react in response to that story. This is why many charities and not-for-profits will use compelling storytelling in their campaigns to ensure a successful response from supporters.
Storytelling can stimulate your memory
When we process stories or encounter an emotionally charged piece of content, our minds produce a handy chemical called Dopamine. This chemical stimulates memory, which means we’re genuinely more likely to remember something we encountered through a piece of storytelling.
Stories help us connect to one another through mutual experiences
Just like when you used to grab a drink after seeing a movie with your friends and dissect the good and bad and scary bits. Or when you feel like you love your favourite couple even more so after hearing the funny story about how they got together during their wedding speeches. Sharing stories, and our experiences of stories is something we have bonded over for a long time.
So, what is your story? Or what is your favourite story from your childhood, or a story you don’t quite know enough about that you’d love your grandfather to share with you? The best time to ask and to immortalise the telling of that story is now, with Memwah!
