Stories That Stick: How Storytelling Can Captivate Customers, Influence Audiences, and Transform Your Business

Part of our need for purpose may be wired into us. We have an almost
inescapable habit as humans to want to give meaning to things. From an
evolutionary perspective, being goal-oriented and purpose-driven is an
advantage. Wandering aimlessly versus hunting and gathering, for example,
deliver entirely different results. Both involve walking, but with the first one,
you starve to death.
We’re wired to want purpose and to give meaning to things. It’s part of why
story matters, but it’s also why purpose matters so much in work. In a vacuum,
we’ll attribute meaning where none exists. We do the same thing at work. People
want a purpose. If you don’t give them one, they’ll make up their own. Tell your
stories first, otherwise someone might tell them for you, and you might not like
their version.
The Purpose of the Purpose (Story)
Enter the purpose story. One of the most versatile of our story types, purpose
stories can bridge all kinds of internal company gaps. At their core, purpose
stories are about alignment and inherent inspiration. And the larger an
organization gets, the more those two things matter. Together, alignment and
inspiration create purpose, and you need both to make progress. Fortunately, a
purpose story can align teams in a variety of ways and for a variety of reasons.
Alignment Around a Goal or Initiative
Researchers have long studied the effects of storytelling as a means by which

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humans connect and organize themselves and their understanding of the world.
Recently, researchers wanted to explore the impact of storytelling within a team:
in particular, a story’s impact on team mental models and the way in which
members understand relevant information. More alignment means enhanced
team processes and improved performance.
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In short, the researchers wanted to
determine if teams would function better, solve problems more cohesively, and
collaborate in more effective ways if stories were a part of the preparation
process.
To test this, and a variety of other hypotheses, researchers divided