Storytelling and body chemistry

When I teach classes I promise that everything I share is backed by science, research and experience. There is a lot of talk about storytelling and how it can be used in selling. That might be selling an idea to an audience, or selling a product to a consumer, but why does it work?

​Storytelling is a triple threat. A good story increases the amount of cortisol, dopamine, and oxytocin in the human body. Cortisol drives attention, dopamine keeps the viewer attentive by reinforcing with pleasurable feelings, and oxytocin promotes pro-social, empathetic behavior. Put that cocktail together and it drives human behavior in a way that's beneficial to the storyteller. The only bad news there is that you need to tell a GOOD story. Not everyone is a natural storyteller, or knows how to create a story that supports their business goals. The good news, is that those skills can be learned and there are good frameworks for stories that can be leveraged to help creativity.

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