Hardwired to enjoy stories
Stories are a universal part of the human experience. They are shared in every culture and have been handed down from the most ancient of times.
Scientists have begun to study the role of stories and a recent article in Scientific American summarizes their research.
People are social creatures. We have the ability to empathize with others, to put ourselves in their shoes and imagine what they are thinking and feeling. This theory of mind is a fundamental element of our social abilities and to understanding why stories play an important role in our lives.
Stories help us develop relationships. Gossip around the water cooler is how we keep track of what others are doing, compare our behavior to others, and share information.
Stories help us learn. If you are learning to sail a small boat and you are told to duck your head when the boat comes about on a tack, you might remember. If the person teaching you tells a story about the time he forgot to duck and got knocked out of the boat into freezing 50 degree water, you are much more likely to remember.
Stories shape our beliefs and persuade our decisions. We are much more likely to be inspired to action or to change our minds if we are swayed emotionally by characters and narrative in a story than if we are simply presented with a logical argument.
How do stories fit into marketing and sales, especially in the copy of a website?
A story about a project or company that your visitor can relate to. Include your company in the story, playing a natural role, adding value to the company in the story.
Stories of customers you have worked with. This goes a step beyond the typical “they had a problem, we fixed it” case study.
A story of a customer engaging with you. Walk the reader through the narrative in a way that is credible to the reader and that answers questions they have about your company.
If you make the reader feel protected, if the reader trusts the protagonists, these stories are much more likely to be read and to achieve “narrative transport”, that feeling when you are in the story and can’t stop reading.
Stories work because they creative a visual impression which is one way many people think. In your sailing example, it’s easy to visualize someone getting knocked by the boom and tossed into the cold water. Telling someone to duck doesn’t create that visual image.