Executives often lack the ability to tell good stories that fully engage their employees. Smart leaders know that stories are a secret weapon – the most powerful instrument in their communication toolbox. They use anecdotes to take people on a journey, expertly sketch their vision and align teams behind it. When done right, storytelling can completely transform the way people connect and communicate.

Stories help others see and feel things from a different perspective and provide context, meaning, and opportunities to strengthen relationships. Tales can also evoke emotional associations and stir people’s imaginations, transporting listeners and nudging them to uncover greater insights about their own lives.

Neurological science research can provide some insights into what makes storytelling so effective. When we listen to a story, neurons in our brain fire in similar ways to those of the storyteller, a process known as “neural coupling”. Essentially, the listener’s brain waves synchronise with those of the storyteller, allowing listeners to imagine themselves in the same situation.

When a particularly good story is being told, our brain releases oxytocin, often known as the “bonding” or “love” hormone. This helps foster an emotional attachment to the characters and triggers associative thinking, whereby listeners link the themes to their own life stories.

How to be a better storyteller.

Try to be honest

Storytelling can be especially powerful if you’re prepared to unveil your defeats and successes, hopes for the future, and deepest fears. Weaving your strengths, vulnerabilities, and dreams into your anecdotes will help foster mutual understanding and empathy.

It’s not all about you

Storytelling is an interactive process and not solely about the narrator. Consider what effect the story will have on your audience and how they will interpret it given the challenges they are facing.

Appeal to emotions

Tell stories that affect people on an emotional level by connecting them to their wishes, fears, and frustrations. You want your audience to recognise fragments of themselves and their own life stories in your tales.

Embark on a hero’s journey

Transport your audience to a world of exploration and adventure. Taking listeners on a somewhat familiar hero’s journey will help them gain greater self-awareness and even possibly bring powerful unconscious emotional reactions to the fore.

Shine a light

Help listeners identify and understand the challenges they face by telling tales that encourage them to reflect on their own dilemmas and why they act in certain ways. Frame your stories so that they provide teachable moments and insightful solutions.

Set an example and don’t hold back

Sharing painful stories, secrets or shameful self-beliefs can be emotionally cleansing and cathartic for both the storyteller and the listener. Detailing how you overcame a personal issue can encourage people to take similar steps.

Stories are the building blocks of empathy and a way of getting to the heart of who you are. They foster feelings of community and interdependency and help people feel more in control and less alone in the challenges they face. Leaders who tell compelling stories can move any audience from apathy to empathy, and ultimately to action.