STORYTELLING is the act of framing an idea as a narrative to inform, illuminate, and inspire. A good STORY builds trust, boosts sales and inspires people to dream bigger. Ideas wrapped in STORY are easy to understand.

Our brains are wired for STORYTELLING. IF PEOPLE AREN’T ENTERTAINED THEY STOP LISTENING. Those who have mastered the skill of STORYTELLING can have an outsized influence over others. That person can actually plant ideas, thoughts, and emotions into a listener’s brain. EMOTION DOMINATES LOGIC. You cannot inspire unless you are inspired yourself. PASSION IS CONTAGIOUS

When telling a STORY of mental simulations of sights, smells, and tastes the brains of both the speaker and the listener showed patterns of activity in exactly the same areas. They were “NEURAL COUPLING.”  Whether you want to motivate or engage your audience by reaching their hearts as well as their minds you have to deliver your STORY to emotionalize your goal as theirs. Steve Jobs, Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill, Richard Branson all moved the audience to action by igniting the listener’s passion.

People relate better to STORIES than they do to mountains of data. STORIES educate by adding SOUL. Once the audience is connected then they can be educated. DEFYING EXPECTATIONS IS A SUPERIOR STORYTELLING STRATEGY. It works because the human brain can’t ignore novelty, Steve Jobs was expert at this.

COMBINE HUMILITY WITH HUMOR AND YOU HAVE STORYTELLING GOLD. The amygdala releases dopamine into the system when humor is experienced. Dopamine greatly aids memory and information processing. THE BRAIN IS PUTTING UP A CHEMICAL POST-IT NOTE, THAT SAYS “REMEMBER THIS!”

ENGAGE, “NEURAL COUPLING.”

Categories: PERSPECTIVES Philosophical Perspective

ron winnegrad

Ron Winnegrad has been a Perfumer and teacher for 46 years. As a perfumer, Ron has been able to express the world he sees through a rainbow of olfactive and emotive visions. As a teacher, Ron has helped others to see fragrance through his own multi sensorial lens.