There is an undeniable truth about stories.
Most people absolutely love them. We grew up in our early years listening to bedtime stories. We go through school learning to read with stories as a mechanism that allows us to understand concepts and emotions.
We watch movies and go after them wanting to be Rocky or Uma Thurman because they have fed on our innate desire to see good defeat evil, the character survive against all odds, or people discover their own capabilities when they thought they didn’t. they had none.
Good stories allow us to connect with the characters in some way. When you see Jason Bourne in that famous movie trilogy fighting against the system that trained him, we relate to his desire to find the truth and stop the perpetrators. In the Tom Hanks movie Forrest Gump, we don’t see a simple man. We see a great man who everyone loves and respects because he helps people no matter what.
We are programmed to expect a certain format when we watch a movie or read a story. We anticipate an introduction that sets the scene. We hope to see the main challenge of the story explained. We know that the story will unfold with subplots and new characters to add drama. The format we know dictates that there will be an ending and we hope it will be a happy one.
When the story ends, we may have been taken on an emotional roller coaster, or we may have had an experience that showed us new meanings or ideas about a subject that we had never questioned up to that point. The story ends with us feeling or thinking differently about people or situations. We are aware of new possibilities that we had never dreamed of before the beginning of the story.
The story is so powerful that we want it to continue later, so we buy the next book. Either we buy the shirt at the store, or we rent the DVD to watch it again. You may also want to learn how to sell using stories.
A good story is a powerful mechanism for salespeople. Take advantage of the format of a story and allow your customers to connect what you sell with their challenges and they will buy from you more easily.
It tells many stories because they elude conscious resistance. They shut down your customer’s critical thinking.