5 Benefits of Storytelling in the 21st Century
Storytelling has become a popular phrase as of late.
It seems like multiple different industries are picking up on the trend.
Doesn’t matter if you are an:
- Entrepreneur
- Marketer
- An employee who is working on a presentation
The art of storytelling is seeing a sudden revival.
Can we use storytelling past corporate & business life alone?
Of course.
At the core of it all, storytelling is a game of the mind.
Our mind processes life thru the narrative.
^ If we can understand the line above…
Then we will see that storytelling is a game of an internal to external transformation.
In this article, you’ll learn some practical benefits of storytelling in your life.
And by understanding the benefits, we are much more prone to stick with the act long term.
Doesn’t matter if we are telling a tale that lasts 1 minute or 25 minutes.
The bottom line is that you are telling a tale.
Benefit 1: The Mind Now Embraces Conflicts
Imagine if I had you buy 10 different movies.
‘Okay.’
And for each of those movies, I told you to watch them until the MAJOR conflict was introduced.
Once the conflict was introduced, I wanted you to turn off the movie & start watching the next one.
How would you feel?
‘I’d feel a bit weird.’
Why?
‘Because I would still be thinking about the conflict from the past movie.’
Exactly.
For a lot of us, we never finish something all the way thru.
We reach a conflict & immediately run away.
Then, we ponder on it, causing anxiety.
By learning the art of storytelling, we program the mind to EMBRACE conflicts.
All stories require conflict.
However, when we face it, we don’t just turn the movie off.
We perservere anyways.
And that’s when the mind learns the art of connecting dots to pick up the lesson.
Find the conclusion, before starting the next movie.
Benefit 2: Added Creativity & Inspiration
Creativity is not a game of just creating new ideas out of thin air.
Rather, it’s a method of connecting pre-existing ideas that leads to a new idea.
Creativity is like a web for the mind.
When we learn to tell stories, we are more observant as a whole.
Whether it is with our thoughts or with physical matter.
To the non-storytelling mind, a thought is a thought.
An object is an object.
But for the mind that has been primed to tell stories…
Everything becomes inspiration.
A creative person is capable of turning anything into art, because they are able to see the subtle meaning in things.
That’s when 1 person’s trash becomes another person’s treasure.
Benefit #3: Added Persuasive Abilities
Here’s a social tip.
Assume most people have shit level concentration & are not paying attention.
They are just waiting for you to finish speaking so they can talk.
‘Well, that doesn’t seem nice!’
Nice isn’t always the reality buddy boi.
1. Most people do have shit level concentration.
2. And they are not paying attention.
In the average mind, the 2 lines above may cause a lot of sadness.
In the storyteller’s mind, the 2 lines are music.
‘Why?’
Because the 2 lines cause us to change our communication rhythms.
Rather than boring them with details…
We reinforce the mind to get to the point faster.
And ‘getting to the point’ is a fancy way of saying…
Turn your message into a story.
A story will build persuasion.
And will have you heard in this noisy world.
Benefit #4: Storytelling Allows for More Sales
Most people do not buy the product alone.
Most people do not buy the service alone.
They purchase the narrative that is attached to the product/service.
When a mind has been prepped with storytelling, it starts to build more empathy.
It starts to understand the problems, pains & concerns of someone else.
This is a beautiful benefit in terms of our own life, because with this newfound knowledge…
Our entire marketing changes.
Rather than making our product/service the centerpiece of the transaction..
We are capable of making the other person the centerpiece.
By approaching our product/service from the narrative of a storyteller with empathy, this allows us to save a lot more marketing dollars.
No more just facts, details & that stuff.
Not to say that the facts, details, and all that doesn’t matter.
But they come secondary to the story in terms of our marketing.
Benefit #5: Building an Eternal Idea Portfolio
What is the internet really?
Nowadays, it’s easy to get lost in all the noise.
We see so many tools, user applications, buttons on the internet.
But what is the core of the internet?
It’s just ideas.
Storytelling allows us to build a portfolio that will stand the test of time.
Because unlike matter, information does not corrode.
This is important because as we mature, we build more life experiences.
These life experiences serve little use if it’s only in our mind.
Getting in the habit of blogging, YouTubing, public speaking, etc.
Turns these random experiences from our lives…
Into insights for other people’s lives.
So storytelling allows you to become a contributor of the internet.
Rather than just a passive observer.
Realize the Benefits of Storytelling
You may be one of the guys who watch a lot of movies.
Or a lot of tv shows.
And who knows…maybe you uttered:
‘Only if I could make a story like that.’
Well, a lot of these film directors, screenwriters & producers were in the same boat.
They too once wondered the same thing.
What separated them from the masses is that they attempted to turn their ideas into a narrative.
Just like anything, storytelling is a skillset.
It’s just a game of practicing.
Remember this, all stories only need a:
-character
-conflict
-lesson
So rather than telling big broad tales off the get-go.
Start telling stories about yourself.
You already have the character. Which is you.
I’m sure you had many conflicts.
Now the goal is to find the lesson.
Storytelling is not a game of theory & all that hoopla.
It’s a game of practice, practice, practice.
And only then, can the benefits of storytelling:
COME. TO. LIFE.
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– ArmaniTalks 
