"Hard wired" is a pretty good word to start but have you thought, why movies or stories are so convincing? It is because stories trigger oxytocin in our brains. Actually, we all are looking for a greater purpose, a meaning of life. This is why it feels so real though we know, it's scripted.
As Jonathan Haidt stated in his book, The Righteous Mind: "The human mind is a story processor, not a logic processor.
It isn't just about the good stuff, it has its roots deep within, a more practical approach to persuasion. The 6 principles of persuasion, which I found not only aligned with storytelling, but are activated by story. These include:
Reciprocity: Give a little something to get a little something in return
Commitment: People want their beliefs to be consistent with their values
Social Proof: There’s nothing like feeling validated based on what others are doing
Authority: Building your influence through vulnerability, authenticity and integrity
Liking: The more you like someone, the more you’ll be persuaded by him
Scarcity: When you believe something is in short supply… you want it more!
Well, storytelling is such superpower of hijacking the human intellect that smart political leaders, businessman, marketiers have always used it to manipulate masses.
"The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values and agenda of an entire generation that is to come.” – Steve Jobs
Here's a proven framework to help you clarify your story, amplify your impact and simplify your life. Let's put this to application, think we are designing a product. Now, certainly we are designing this product for a user because every person has certain needs and wants. Inorder to get what you want, you must help your user to get what he wants.
Here's how the framework work :
There’s a Hero who wants something (which is your customer ).
Next, the hero encounters a problem before they get what they want.
Then a Guide steps in (which is you ) to help them win.
Next, the guide gives them a plan to overcome that problem.
The guide calls Hero to action (they never take action on their own).
That action helps them avoid failure & ends in a success (outcome)
At the end, the story results in the Hero’s transformation.
Well, answers to these question often don't come easy, so look deep throught the problems faced by your user. Let's Consider your user, your hero :-
Ask your hero why should he use your product ? Does it helps him in his survival or does it helps him in his ambitions ?
Ask, what are the physical and tangible problems your user must overcome to get what he wants ?
Do these external factors affect him internally, it it does, how does she feels ?
Ask, how big is his problem in context to the overall epic of humanity ?
And a villian, what or who is the cause of his setbacks/sufferings ? The villian need not be a person but should be personified.
Once you are done with these careful analysis, look for possibilities if you could help. Don't worry if you not very empathetic, I too have a similar issue. I had read this notion of a good designer of being empathetic but I never understood, how to become "empathetic". Until I had an entire semester on storytelling, though the class wasn't well structured, it did make me aware of the potential of storytelling.
I kept looking and today here I'm sharing this secret with you. Well, keep practising this framework with people around you, remain patient and ask them of compelling question cause deep within, we want someone to ask us intense questions.
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