06. Why Storytelling Works

0:00 [Vinod]
The way you communicate influences your audience's thinking, understanding, and emotions.
And stories - they're a great way to enable the right understanding.

Welcome to the Storytelling at Work Podcast. I'm your host, Vinod Krishna, and here we explore storytelling, communication, leadership, and more.

0:30
Many years ago, United Airlines was introducing a massive operations overhaul. A key part of this change involved centralizing baggage handling systems.

It was natural that frontline employees were resistant. They felt disconnected from the decision, and many worried this would slow down processes - or that they might risk losing their jobs.

A very typical way of communicating such change in organizations is to convey key messages about enhancing operational efficiency, reducing errors, and automating manual processes.

1:00
The way we communicate helps our audience create an understanding of our ideas and thoughts.
The response we receive is a direct indicator of how effective our communication has been.

If our communication enables an understanding that is closest to what we intend, then our communication is successful. Else, it can potentially create a mental wall.

So the question is: Is your communication creating a wall?

1:30
And how does this show up?
It'll show up as silence, pushback, disinterest, lack of engagement, lack of action, and even misinterpretation. And that's where you need storytelling.

Coming back to United Airlines. Leadership there was tasked with communicating to their people about the change in baggage handling systems.

At one of the early town halls, a senior operations leader - he did not start with data, process charts, or even technology.

2:00
Instead, he started with a story.

A few weeks ago, a grandmother missed her connection in Chicago.
She had flown across the country to surprise her daughter and meet her first grandchild.

But her bag, with all the baby gifts and her heart medication, it never made it. She ended up in tears at baggage services.

And it was not because of the delay, but because no one could tell her where the bag was or when it might arrive. We tracked the bag down eventually, but we failed her.

Not just because of a lost suitcase, but because we couldn't tell her a simple truth:
"We know where your bag is, and we've got it covered."

2:45
This system change we are about to undertake - it’s not about technology.
It’s about that grandmother. It’s about every customer who trusts us with their journey.

This one customer story was enough to shift the room. It made the change personal. Everyone was able to relate to it.

And it wasn’t about software or logistics anymore. It was about real people.

The message was clear: This is not an efficiency upgrade. It is how we deliver on our promise.

3:20
When people sense they are being drawn into a conversation that is logical, the natural reaction is to resist and defend. Communication on these lines has a high chance of feeling like an argument - or even a debate.

The workaround? Storytelling.

And this is what storytelling does. Stories invite. They invite the audience to feel psychologically safe.

Instead of making your audience feel pushed with “Here’s what you should believe,”
Storytelling adopts the approach of “Here’s what happened.”

3:50
Storytelling helps reframe the unfamiliar and the unknown. Storytelling engages emotion before logic.

Every time you have a new idea or are proposing change, there is bound to be fear or skepticism.
Storytelling has the power to appeal to the emotion first - before logic.

And this leads to being more open to considering new ideas.

4:10
Neuroscience has shown us that stories activate the brain’s emotional and sensory networks, apart from the language centers.

Thirdly, storytelling makes messages memorable. Facts will get forgotten. If you want them to stick, embed them in stories.

Our brains are wired to remember patterns and emotions, which are key elements of stories.

4:35
So the next time you are communicating or presenting to your audience, notice the signs of hitting a wall in your audience’s mind.

If you're able to notice it, that’s a great step towards finding a workaround.
And the best way to deal with that wall is, of course - storytelling.

4:55
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