2024-09-07 Communication
Stories That Resonate
By O. Wolfson
Stories have always been more than entertainment. Throughout history narratives, from ancient fables and sacred texts, to classic literature or modern films, have served a deeper purpose. Stories teach, they guide, and they help us understand life’s dangers and complexities without needing to experience them firsthand. At their best, stories offer value. They impart lessons, guide our actions, and provoke thought, while also connecting us through shared human experience.
Aesop’s fables, originally collected around 600 BCE, continue to resonate across centuries because they don’t just entertain—they impart valuable lessons about life, morality, and human nature. These stories remain relevant because they offer something beyond their surface narrative: wisdom that can be applied to our lives. We will use Aesop’s fables as a reference point throughout this article to illustrate how stories can offer value that transcends time and culture.
So how do we craft stories that resonate with people in a similar way? The key lies in delivering a message that has meaning. One that offers value beyond the surface level of the narrative itself. In this article, we explore how to create stories that not only engage but also offer lasting value.
1. Value at the Core: The Purpose of a Story
At the heart of every enduring story is a message of value, whether it’s a moral lesson from Aesop’s fables or the wisdom found in ancient myths. Stories that stick with us do so because they provide something we can carry into our lives. They help us see the world differently or remind us of truths that are better learned through narrative than through personal hardship.
Aesop’s fables, for example, weren’t just amusing stories about animals — they taught lessons that have transcended centuries. The Tortoise and the Hare isn’t just a funny story about a race between two mis-matched animal opponents. It conveys the importance of steady perseverance and the pitfalls of arrogance. Stories like this continue to resonate because they offer value in the form of practical, perhaps crucial, life lessons.
When crafting our own narratives, let's consider what message we want to leave our audience with. What lesson, insight, or perspective do we want them to take away? This is the value of our story, and it should be the foundation on which everything else is built.
2. Engage Through Relatable Experiences
While the message is the core of a story, engagement is what brings the audience in. Even though fables often feature talking animals or mythical creatures, they still tap into deeply human experiences and emotions. The beauty of storytelling is that it allows us to speak to universal truths, regardless of the form the characters take.
In Aesop’s fables, for example, the challenges faced by animals—whether it's the lazy grasshopper or the dishonest fox—mirror human struggles with responsibility, honesty, and pride. These universal themes are what make the stories relatable, even if the characters themselves are far from human.
To craft stories that resonate, anchor your narrative in experiences and emotions that your audience can relate to. Whether your story is about love, loss, struggle, or triumph, its value will be felt most deeply when the audience connects with the underlying themes.
3. The Vehicle for Valuable Messages Is Emotion
Throughout history, the bearers of wisdom in societies have often struggled to capture the attention of the populace, particularly when it comes to warnings about moral or practical dangers. Ostensibly to protect a community from ignorance, societies have embedded these crucial messages into religious texts, sometimes accompanied by the 'wrath of God'. By framing these messages in the form of emotionally charged stories or divine decrees, often aiming to inspire the emotion of fear, authors hope that vital moral and practical lessons are not only heard but remembered, and that they prompt action.
But emotional storytelling is not always about fear or manipulation—a spectrum of emotions may capture the attention of an audience and inspire reflection. Consider the teachings of Jesus, in the Bible, or the timeless fables of Aesop. These stories don’t seek to manipulate through fear, but instead evoke emotions like empathy, hope, or wonder to convey their lessons. By engaging the audience with stories that tap into these emotions, the messages are likely to resonate and stick. This is why fables, and often religeous texts, don’t simply issue commands—they use parables and narratives to connect with the audience on an emotional level, making the lessons both memorable and meaningful.
To evoke emotion in your storytelling:
- Leverage universal emotions: Themes of love, fear, joy, and perseverance are experiences everyone can relate to. These emotions make your story's message resonate more widely.
- Use authentic experiences: Make stories more relatable and credible by useing real-life experiences. By sharing real struggles or truths, you help your audience connect to the deeper message.
The emotions inspired by story The Ant and the Grasshopper, admiration and justice for the ants, and dread and empathy for the grasshopper, highlight the importance of responsibility and foresight. While the ants diligently prepare for winter, the grasshopper spends his time in idle enjoyment. When the cold arrives, the grasshopper is left to face the consequences of his neglect—facing death alone in the winter's unbearable chill. The harsh reality of the grasshopper’s fate conveys a powerful emotional lesson about the consequences of failing to prepare, perhaps more memorably than a mere warning could.
4. Using Evocative Imagery to Strengthen Your Story’s Message
Evocative imagery in storytelling helps transform abstract lessons into vivid, relatable experiences. When stories are framed within interesting, engaging scenarios, they don’t just convey information—they create an immersive experience that is easier to remember and pass on. This kind of imagery draws the audience in, making the lessons more impactful and memorable, and facilitating the story's spread, whether through writing or oral tradition.
The Boy Who Cried Wolf serves as a classic example of how evocative imagery can strengthen the core message of a story. The tale of a young shepherd boy, a wolf, and a village creates a compelling setting. The boy's repetitive false alarms, tricking the villagers into rushing to his aid, provide a relatable and engaging scenario. The antics of the shepherd, the villagers’ frustration, and the eventual real threat—makes the message come alive. When the wolf finally arrives and the boy's desperate cries for help go unanswered, the consequences of his actions are fully realized.
This vividly crafted setting not only makes the lesson more interesting but also easier to share. The story becomes memorable because it’s framed in a relatable, engaging narrative that sticks in the mind. The core message of the story—"preserve your credibility"—is amplified through the shepherd boy’s actions and the stark consequences he faces. Without such an engaging scenario, the moral might be lost, but with this imagery, the story becomes a lasting lesson in the importance of honesty.
To use evocative imagery in your own storytelling:
- Paint a vivid scene: Use descriptive language to create a mental picture of key moments. Help your audience see and feel the setting, the characters, and the emotions tied to the situation.
- Use contrast to heighten emotion: In The Boy Who Cried Wolf, the stark difference between the boy’s earlier lighthearted pranks and his final, desperate plea heightens the sense of impending doom.
By integrating evocative imagery, storytellers can enhance their narrative’s emotional power and create a lasting, memorable impression. The lesson in The Boy Who Cried Wolf—the dangers of dishonesty—wouldn’t be nearly as impactful without the mental image of the boy, abandoned in his hour of need, staring down a real threat that no one believes is there.
5. Offer a Lesson Without Preaching
One of the most powerful aspects of storytelling is its ability to teach without being didactic. People tend to resist direct instructions or heavy-handed moralizing, but a well-crafted story allows the audience to come to their own conclusions naturally.
As stories unfold, the message becomes clear through the actions, decisions, and consequences experienced by the characters. The lesson is absorbed without the need for explicit instruction. In The Fox and the Grapes, for example, the fox, rather than confronting his inability to get the grapes, protects his pride by dismissing them as sour and therefore undesirable. This is a classic example of cognitive dissonance, where a person justifies failure by changing their perception of the goal, rather than admitting their own limitations or shortcomings. However, in the story as told by Aesop, the lesson is clear, and it’s delivered through the story’s events, not through tedious instruction as offered above.
To offer lessons in your stories:
- Show, don’t tell: Let your characters' actions and experiences carry the message, rather than stating it outright.
- Allow for interpretation: Leave room for your audience to draw their own conclusions. Stories that are open to interpretation often have a greater emotional impact.
6. Build Trust Through Consistency and Authenticity
A story’s value is rooted in its authenticity and the consistency of its message. Although fables often feature fantastical elements, they have remained authentic in the lessons they convey. Audiences trust these stories because the morals they impart—such as the importance of perseverance or honesty—remain true and relevant across generations. Consistency in tone and message over time has allowed these narratives to retain their power and continue to resonate.
Consistency also applies to how stories are told across different platforms and cultures. Aesop’s fables, for example, have been passed down through oral tradition, written form, and modern adaptations, yet the core message has remained the same. This consistency strengthens the trust we place in these stories, as their wisdom has been validated over centuries.
Being transparent and true to the core message of your story is crucial, especially in a world where audiences are increasingly skeptical. Authenticity isn’t just about being honest—it’s about aligning your stories with the deeper truths that resonate with your audience, much like the timeless truths found in Aesop’s fables.
Conclusion: The Power of Stories That Offer Value
At their best, stories are more than entertainment—they are vehicles for meaning, wisdom, and connection. The stories that resonate most deeply with people are the ones that offer something of value, be it a life lesson, a new perspective, or a deeper understanding of the world around us.
When we craft narratives with the intent to offer value, we tap into a long tradition of storytelling that goes beyond selling, promoting, or entertaining. We create stories that stick with people, that are passed on, and that continue to teach long after they’re told.
Sources:
- Aesop. Aesop's Fables.
- Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales.
- Zak, Paul. Trust Factor: The Science of Creating High-Performance Companies.
- Gottschall, Jonathan. The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human.