Why do all public speaking trainers stress the need to tell stories in public presentations? Is it just because we were all C- students with liberal arts degrees who couldn’t get into Business School and we cower at the sight of any number higher than 10? (OK, that may be part of it)
The real reason we stress stories is that all of our in-the-field research shows that most people don’t buy into facts if they are inconsistent with the stories they believe. We all like to believe that we are rational human beings and that only other people are irrational, but the fact is we all have a tendency to believe facts that fit into our worldview.
It is easy to make fun of people who follow a cult leader who predicts the world is going to end on a certain date. But when that date passes and the world still exists, these followers only redouble their faith in their leader’s wisdom.
But this happens to a lesser extent every day in the business world. If your employees have the following story in their head “Our company doesn’t care about its employees, it only cares about short-term profits,” then no amount of 401K tinkering or Friday afternoons off in the summer will change that fundamental story in their heads.
On the other hand, if your customers believe that your company has a passion and commitment for the highest health and quality standards, even the occasional rat-found-in-the-soup won’t hurt your long-term image. Facts do matter. But facts are forgotten quickly, whereas stories linger in the memory.
Furthermore, facts that don’t jive with an audience member’s story about who you are and what you are all about are almost instantly discarded and forgotten. This is why any executive who truly wants to communicate a new set of ideas or numbers must develop a narrative story to put the facts together in a way that makes sense. Your stories must create reality but also be consistent with your audience members’ preconceived notions of reality.
Otherwise, your facts will fall flat.
