![]() ![]() Not only are they indispensable tools for novelists, they are useful for presenters, business leaders, marketers, and journalists. I found that many of the storytelling techniques used thousands of years ago are still applicable today to a wide range of mediums besides the written word. This is further proven by a study I conducted on the evolution of longform multimedia stories published by the New York Times. As a result, they are used by many TED presenters who are some of the most inspirational speakers in the world. In fact, according to professional speaker Akash Karia, stories are irresistible to the human mind because they activate our imaginations and so we have no choice but to follow the mental movies created in our heads. So, when we hear that “once upon a time” there was a certain character in such and such place, our minds are immediately transported to this imaginary scene. The Reason Stories Fascinate Audiences Why was Enrique’s story so captivating?Īcademics and marketers alike have found that our brains are hardwired to process and store information in the form of stories. They could be entertaining and informative at the same time. That day, we all learned that presentations didn’t have to be long and boring. “Who was he? His name was Stanley Kubrick.”Ĭompletely dashing our expectations of him, Enrique went on to give one of the most engaging presentations we had ever heard on the evolution of visual media. ![]() ![]() ![]() “This boy grew up to be one of the most influential film directors of all time. He then presented other images captured by this same boy: a beautiful picture of a shoe shiner gazing up at a flock of birds another one of a showgirl putting on lipstick in the mirror.Īfter piquing our curiosity as to who this mystery photographer might be, he finally said: “This now-famous picture,” he said, “was taken by this boy in 1945 and sold to a magazine for $25.” He showed a slide with a giant image of a newspaper vendor looking sadly at the headline ‘Roosevelt Dead!’ The clicking of keyboards suddenly stopped and all eyes were fixed on him. He confidently stepped out from behind the podium and said in a loud and animated voice, “Today, I’m going to tell you the story of a 16-year-old boy with a remarkable talent…” What happened next, however, caught everyone by surprise. All I knew about him was that he always sat in the very front row and, unlike the other students, paid the utmost attention to every word that was said.Īs he prepared his notes behind the podium, everyone continued to type away behind their laptop screens. His name was Enrique Núñez, one of the quietest students in the class. I was in class, half-listening to the end of a monotonous PowerPoint presentation on the history of media, when the next presenter on the list-the Chilean journalist-was called to go up to the podium. A couple of years ago, as a participant of a master’s program in Denmark, I met a fellow journalist from Chile who gave me a lesson on storytelling that I will never forget. ![]()
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