Storytelling: The influencer of our emotions
I once wrote about the art of storytelling (link this) around December 2023, and in that article, I talked about what it is and how to tell stories. Ever since then, I kept thinking about stories and how they impact our lives. Everywhere we go, there is a story being told. There are obvious places where stories are being told, like in the movies and TV shows we watch, the YouTube videos you watch, the blogs and stories you read. But there are other places like at your job, where you are telling the story of the work you are finishing. What do all of these things have in common? They affect your emotions. Everything listed above can influence how you feel and how you think. It's no wonder storytelling is the influencer of our emotions.
The impact of our emotions
We all know our emotions can affect a lot of our actions, but we don’t always think, "Hey, I wonder what can affect my emotions the most today?" It impacts us unexpectedly at the most random times. It can affect our cognitive functions such as decision-making and problem-solving. It's no wonder people say we must learn to control our emotions. But it can also affect our core memories. It's a lot easier to remember things when we can recall how they made us feel. Our emotions have a huge impact on our everyday lives. They can also impact our storytelling as well.
How Storytelling Impacts Us
So how does storytelling affect us? Think of that one song that made you think of your special someone. That song you play when you are heartbroken. Just those two sentences alone put a song in your head that reminds you of how you felt, or you skipped the song and it went straight to your emotions. The reason songs are so impactful is obviously the musical harmony of the intro, chorus, and melody. But the lyrics of the song explain how it feels to be heartbroken, and people can relate to that.
Movies and TV shows are prime examples of storytelling. Through the story, they show so many emotions like love, happiness, fear, and hopelessness. They show what could happen in certain situations and how it can affect someone. The movie Love Hard shows how a random guy catfishes a random girl on a dating app and through multiple and different lies falls in love. Movies like this allow us to live through each individual character and guide us in how we should feel during these movies.
Throughout time writings, books, and literature have shown us different stories, some standing the test of time. It progresses our way of thinking and shows how we can change our thinking. Some of these stories act as a foundation for how we create stories today.
The place that no one expects stories to be told is at work. Every day at work, we tell a story; a report can be seen as a story. You want to create a report that shows your supervisor that the work you produce benefits the organization. Sure, this can be a bit of an exaggeration, but thinking this way benefits you. Through this, you can create reports that tell the story of your performance, and as we know, you can make a story work for you or against you. Not to say you should lie, but there are ways to make yourself look better through the way you tell the report. Storytelling impacts us in so many ways, from manipulating our feelings and emotions to changing people's perspectives of us. So how does this really influence us?
Storytelling: the influencers of our emotions
There are so many things that influence our lives daily, and at the root of it is storytelling. Each different scenario tells a story that affects our emotions. Each story being told convinces us to feel a certain way. It uses specific words and sentences to make us feel a certain way. Stories are told so that we can see the different situations being told. It teleports us to a specific place, and the story can create that image for us. By taking us there, it helps us experience everything that is being told. Also, it acts as a guide. The best stories guide us to how we should be feeling, and only by feeling that way do we really experience the story being told.
I personally really enjoy reading stories and learning about stories. I think it can impact us in many ways and help us feel in a certain way. Stories don’t always have to be fairy tales; it's what you make of it, and you yourself have an amazing story to tell. So, I hope this shows that storytelling is actually a good thing and, in the right way, it can and will benefit you.