Storytelling – A Powerful mode of Learning

We all have heard stories, in our growing up years. In the earlier days, when we were kids, storytelling used to be a daily activity, before we went off to sleep. I remember my grandfather telling me stories almost every night. I am sure, all of us would have experienced the same. Now, with the digital media entering (invading) our lives, and with nuclear families, the story telling has got shifted from the natural mode to the digital mode, as well. In today’s world, the tablets / laptops / mobiles also serve the purpose.

Have you ever pondered – what is the importance of storytelling? Is it actually important? When you ask these questions to yourself, you will realize that one of the most powerful modes of learning is the stories. In the initial years of our lives, these stories were used to give us an understanding about the world, about differentiating between what is right and what is wrong and about giving to us, a value system.

Let us fast forward to the days when we reached college. There were some friends, who were considered to be the ones who stayed in the limelight. Most of the times, these friends (or classmates) were good in storytelling. They were able to explain things in detail with clarity. Time passed by, and then began our professional journey. Whether we started / joined a business or a service, in all types of occupations, good leaders had this skill of effective storytelling. They happen to share stories or anecdotes while explaining concepts and ideas, which help their teams.

Every geography and every culture has it’s own stories, which are told from generation to generation, with some minor moderation but the crux remaining the same – the moral or the learning, that the people can derive out of them. The stories can broadly be divided in two main types – Fairy Tales and Legends. The fairy tales are not considered to be true stories and even the supernatural events are mentioned as a matter of fact. Legends, on the contrary, are believed to have actually happened with some details of time and place. Though, one thing in common with both is that they help individuals in learning something.

Many of us would have attended various training programs. Some of the concepts, which were shared during the programs would have been implemented by us and many of us would have been successful as well. Can you try to remember the content of these training programs? Most of us might forget the concepts however, the stories told by the facilitator or trainer stay with us. That is the power of storytelling. The human brain consists of cognitive machinery and this is required to understand, remember and tell the story to others. We, as humans, think in narrative structures and these help us remember the facts, concepts or processes, which are presented in a story form.

The engagement level that stories create is immense. Good stories often create more than just a connection among the listeners. It is not only the mind, which is being connected, but also the hearts that get connected. Effective stories contain multiple meanings and the leaders often use this as a mode to convey complex ideas in an easy and understandable manner. Effective leaders use good storytelling to their advantage.

Storytelling is a powerful mode of making powerful connections with colleagues, managers and teams alike. It appeals to all type of learners and is tool to inspire and motivate others.

Audio Visual Stories for kids are available on the Youtube Channel – AV Books 4 Kids

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