The Brain Science Of Story Telling Lisa Cron Summary

The Brain Science of Storytelling
The New Oxford American Dictionary defines ‘Story’ as “an account of imaginary or real people and events told for entertainment.” Lisa Cron offers a more robust definition which reflects more on what should be at the heart of a compelling story : “A story is how ‘what happens’ (plot) affects ‘someone’ (protagonist) who is trying to achieve what turns out to be a difficult ‘goal’ (story question), and ‘how he or she changes’ (story arc) as a result” (11). As stories can be transmitted orally, visually, or via print media, and received by listeners/viewers/readers respectively, we will for convenience, refer to a ‘story’ as one being told by a ‘storyteller’ to his/her ‘listeners’. As part of human evolution, our brains are ‘hardwired’ for storytelling. This essay will support this claim by examining research findings of
When we listen to a captivating story, our emotional investment in the story manifests as brain signals which in turn trigger our body’s reaction to the story. Uri Hasson states that “A story is the only way to activate the brain so that listeners turn the story into their own idea and experience” and “Storytelling is the only way to plant ideas into other peoples’ minds” (qtd. in Friel). Listening to a good story fires up our ‘insular cortex’ – the part of our brain which enables us to understand what characters in the story are going through, their emotions and situations. This empathy with characters in the story is what makes us truly ‘human’ and helps us develop inter-relational awareness and bonding with others