Using Stories To Engage And Teach

A couple years ago, while teaching a group of public safety professionals, I was asked the best method for me to keep students engaged?  I replied, “For me, I teach through stories”.  That is why I am able to get seasoned professionals to stand on their chairs within five minutes of my opening.  I create the visuals through stories and take my students on a trip that teaches them new information.  After years of research, I found stories are the natural way people process information. By creating stories people create strong images in their minds that help them connect the pieces together. For millennia, people have been telling stories as part of their oral traditions. The first cave drawings were used to tell stories to other members of the tribe. Ten thousand years later, we can still look at the cave drawings, in France, and understand the meaning of the images. Aristotle, two thousand years ago, wrote down the parts we still use today to create a good story. When we watch movies, we wait for the lead character to tell the story that motivates the other characters to action.

The most influential leaders I have ever met spoke to people in ways that allowed everyone to join the overall story. You wrote your own part.  You were a part of the team. You could make a difference. As a leader using stories to motivate employees, you do not have to be a hero, or someone with a spectacular past. Anyone with imagination can tell the story that moves someone to action; you just have to connect at the individual level.

Stories can be used to teach mathematics, science, police science, hydraulic pressure theory for firefighters, or other “dry” classes and still keep people riveted. Imagine Halley’s Comet hurtling past the earth every 70 years. Physics and stories explain why the comet is pulled past the earth on its way towards the sun; however, stories also tell what people thought when they saw it in the sky. In 1066, William the Conquer saw the comet and thought it was a sign to invade England. The ancient Romans thought it was a god riding a chariot through the skies. The Aztec Indians saw the comet as a sign to go to war. The stories suck you in so your mind grasps, and materializes, the images to create a meaningful form to transfer information. You can talk about the science behind Star Wars to help transfer complex theories of physics, engineering, or computer programming. Anyone can come up with a thousand stories to explain how biology works. One only has to make the connection at the individual to keep people engaged.

Remember, “It’s the Story”, the next time you get asked to talk about a subject and want to make an impact.