We live in a world where we are flooded with fake messages and videos which are often created so well that a normal person cannot even differentiate between an original message and a fake one. I was also watching a few days back about how AI could be used to make such fake videos in a minute and that too in a very personalized manner where we could substitute our picture in place of any of the superstars in some of their earlier videos. So, you could substitute your picture in place of a Kohli or Sachin and it would look like you are playing the shots which they had played.
So, authenticity and trust in what we see, and watch is already an issue now which will become bigger as we go forward. From time immortal story telling has been a tool that has helped by bringing in the desired authenticity and building trust.
We have all been fascinated and attracted to leaders of present and earlier years who are skilled in the art of communicating and storytelling. Very often this is the key differentiator which separates them from the rest of equally talented leaders. The same goes in our work environment also. Am sure we all remember some special bosses and subordinates who were particularly skilled in this art of storytelling.
One of the primary reasons why humans as a species have survived for centuries is because we are naturally skilled in the art of storytelling. Stories were used to create communities with a shared vision and goal. The same started with religions which created a story about a shared notion of values via festivals and a shared notion of prosperity to make people coordinate at scale.
We then had kingdoms and nations which were created based on stories about the supremacy of the kings and then about the political establishments which promised through stories shared values and prosperity. This also enabled the rulers to coordinate humans at an unprecedented level whether it was to fight wars or build structures and monuments.
If we go back to the first stories that we heard from our grandparents, they would always start with once upon a time and brief background about the person and place and what actually that person did. So, all stories have a starting background to them. This would invariably be followed by a problem which has come about which is difficult to address and overcome. To overcome this problem there is a struggle which would at times take several different approaches and ways to overcome. The story would invariably end when a solution is reached for the problem which was quoted initially. So, if we look back at every story, we have heard would have a
- Background
- Problem
- Struggle
- Resolution of problem
Stories have not only been told they have been depicted as drawings in caves, build into various monuments and converted into songs which were easier to recite and remember.
This situation plays out in several situations in normal life which might not look like stories to us but we get attracted to them because they follow the above pattern. I had also shared in an earlier article in April about how because this year’s IPL is much more higher scoring and how teams are consistently scoring 200+ scores and teams batting second are able to chase down 200+ scores with ease. These high scoring and closed encounters have forced me to watch more of these IPL matches from the league stage that what I do in other years which am sure is the case with everyone else.
If stories attract us so much let’s understand the chemical reaction that happens in our brain when any story gets played out.
When we are watching an IPL thriller very closely the suspense leads to the release of the chemical called dopamine which is associated with focus, motivation, and memory.
When we share old stories with our school and college mates and have a hearty laugh our bodies are filled up by the happiness booster hormone called endorphins.
When we were listening to the stories our grandmother was telling us which had the four basic characteristics mentioned earlier and we get associated with the particular character we release a hormone called oxytocin which makes you feel empathy with the character, It’s the same that happens when we watch a movie, a web series or a serial and get connected to the struggles of the lead character.
When we are in a tough negotiation which requires us to either fight back or take flight our body is flooded with a hormone called cortisol which pushes us to either fight back or take flight.
What has changed in today’s world is the consistent and multiple stories that we encounter daily during various stages of our daily routine. While the earlier stories by religion and politics continue to be there, we are also bombarded by stories from various products and services ranging from the car you want to buy to the web series you love to watch. We are also bombarded by stories of the sports and clubs we follow as also by stories coming on social media many of which could even be fake. So, while there were only organizing happening at a couple of levels earlier today this is leading to people being organized in unimaginable combinations some of which have a long duration and others which last for only a few hours.
We very often think that story telling is unique to certain people who are born with that skill and it’s something that can’t be developed. What we fail to realize is we are all telling stories in different ways and methods as part of our daily routine. To understand how we could develop ourselves to become master story tellers or build our capability to higher levels by understanding how our brain responds to various stimuli within these stories do subscribe to my LinkedIn newsletter Rejo’s Biz Bytes and visit my website www.rejofrancis.com.
Stories told and retold whether in written form or by word of mouth hold great fascination for people across all generations. The article reminds us that we act in stories everyday in our personal and professional lives and everyday simple events make up for the greatest stories.