Why should we regard our instinct for story as a survival skill?
It’s because our information exchange, along with our ability to solve problems as a group is how humans have got to the top of the ‘smarts’ pyramid (as far as we’re aware). Don’t forget, virtually all of human communication through the ages has been the spoken word.
The move to agriculture, then cities, the Industrial Age and Information Age came about through cooperation at large scale – common goals shared by large numbers of people.
To achieve this (and much of our other advancements) we had to share an idea.
The only way for an idea to persist and spread is being being durable in our minds.
A story creates durability. As story has a sequence of events, and invites the listener to put themselves in the role of the protagonist.
A story links to our ego, hitching a lift on our self.
As outlined in this Medium story by Carl Alviani (and backed by research over the past decade), we most respond to stories that follow a particular general structure.
- A character, that we have been made interested in, has a goal, which is backed by a clear, understandable motive.
- But the character has not yet reached the goal, and is blocked by obstacles that engender risk and consequences of failure.
- The character must struggle to meet the goal. Allied characters and resources are encountered, which aid in overcoming the obstacles.
- Once the obstacles are overcome and the goal is reached (or not, if the story is tragic) a new normal is established, which remains in stasis until a new incident prompts a new goal.
Inherently hardwired
We also inherently know the difference between a satisfying and unsatisfying story – our understanding of narrative is hardwired.
This narrative structure is hugely flexible, as seen in the multitude of stories that exist.
But what is means when we attempt to sell, encourage or convince in the modern world, is a similar narrative structure must be experienced.
No matter what it is we’re pitching, if we fail to follow this proven formula, we inevitably fail to engage with our audience.
In other words, if we don’t adhere to the rules embedded in our brains we might as well shout at the wind.