I am that person who can watch a great show for eight hours, until 2:30 am if necessary, because I HAVE TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
I am not alone. Our brains love completing patterns but they hate incomplete patterns more.
Here’s Brené Brown: “Our brains reward us with dopamine when we recognize and complete patterns. Stories are patterns. The brain recognizes the familiar beginning-middle-end structure of a story and rewards us for clearing up the ambiguity.”
Dopamine is delicious. But the cortisol we feel when a pattern that remains unresolved? It’s unbearable.
We pay more attention to stories than data because our brains crave and are satisfied by narrative patterns – whether we’re at the movies, watching Netflix, or sitting in the basement auditoriums of Moscone watching yet another keynote.
Right now in the tech industry “storytelling” and “lore” are in vogue again because stories made by humans express to humans what it feels like to be human. Humans love that.
February is story month at poseycorp! Can’t wait to share more!
Take the risk out of being in the spotlight! I can prepare you, your teams and your leaders to tell your company’s story with confidence, shape the industry and maybe even change the world.
Need some pragmatic, actionable communications advice? There are tons of resources in poseycorp’s newsletter – subscribe here. Become a change agent by becoming a great communicator!
Leave a Reply