Human connection is anchored in storytelling. Whether we are entertaining ourselves with books, television, and movies or connecting with each other in conversation, storytelling is a powerful component of what sets us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. It’s how we make sense of the world, share experiences, and build relationships.
Let’s explore how this same power can be harnessed in learning design to create more engaging and effective educational experiences.
Why storytelling works
Incorporating storytelling into your learning strategy can elevate the learning experience and improve learning outcomes. Stories have the unique ability to appeal to a learner’s emotions, sense of humor, memory, and motivation. By capturing attention and creating emotional resonance, storytelling helps learners retain information more effectively and feel more connected to the material.
Emotional connection
Good stories trigger our minds to experience the uniquely human feeling of empathy. While you might be thinking of the time you teared up watching Marley & Me, not every emotion needs to generate a physical reaction. Your learners may also connect with a feeling of excitement for a character’s successes, fears about trying a new approach, or disappointment when they fail. By introducing a strong narrative, your learner can feel a sense of understanding that can’t be achieved in generic instructional approaches.
Cognitive engagement
Cognitive engagement is the use of thinking skills to learn and solve problems. Stories with a central conflict prompt your learner to navigate the character’s predicament on their own as the story unravels. An engaged learner will practice problem-solving by exploring potential solutions. This mental stimulation keeps your learner focused on the message.
Contextual learning
Stories that pose challenging questions get your learner to think about a topic in the context of their own skills and responsibilities. Scenarios and characters relevant to your target audience allow learners to connect the story to their real-world experiences. This connection helps your audience understand why you’re presenting them with the conflict in the first place.
Motivation & interest
Have you ever read a book that you could not put down? That’s the captivating power of storytelling. Stories pull your learners in so they can’t walk away without knowing what happens next. A sense of mystery and excitement keeps your audience engaged and motivated to continue the journey.
Memory retention
Stories are considered one of the best mnemonic devices to encourage learning and memory retention. A 2021 study measured the memory of medical students after reviewing provided content. The study compared the use of text-based content to audiovisual story-based content. The research showed significantly higher marks among individuals who reviewed the story-based content. Studies like this show that our minds are more likely to remember information when it’s delivered in a story.
Elements of a good story
Learning to apply the elements of a story can elevate your story-based learning experiences from good to great.
Relatable characters
A good story with characters that aren’t realistic or relevant to your learners’ experiences won’t help you deliver your message. Take the time to get to know your learners and craft characters who are in a similar position to your target audience.
Good stories don’t need to stick to the facts. Consider how your characters feel, react, and even fail as you develop stories. By bringing a little humanity to your characters, not only will they be more interesting and dynamic, but they will also be relatable and realistic, so your learner is more likely to empathize with them.
Conflict & suspense
A story without a conflict feels incomplete and dull. Great stories give the audience an opportunity to problem-solve alongside your characters. Consider a conflict that is relevant to the learners’ experience and don’t resolve it too quickly. The suspense of the conflict is what keeps your learner engaged and eager for more.
Dialogue & sensory details
Interpersonal relationships and descriptive sensory details will elevate your stories. Dialogue is your best friend when you want to convey plot points, relationships, emotions, character traits, and so much more. Just like in the workplace, your characters should be dynamic in their interactions with others.
Don’t be afraid to get descriptive. Just as much as we share what a character does, we should also detail how they experience their objective. What will they see? Hear? Smell? By incorporating the senses into your storytelling approach, you’ll paint a vivid picture and immerse your audience in the character’s experience.
Incorporate storytelling into your learning programs
Character-driven stories
Before you build your learning stories, consider developing a learner persona that will help you target a learner’s real experience. Then, build your fictional characters based on these personas to craft a message that will resonate with your learner.
Application: To tell a character-driven story, consider a video featuring a character who misses the mark on a job-related task, juxtaposed with another character who follows the desired path and succeeds.
Branching scenarios
A branching scenario is a format of content creation that allows the participant to choose their own adventure. As they make their selections, the scenario will ‘branch’ into unique paths, making each experience unique. Branching scenarios give your learner the opportunity to see the consequences of their mistakes. By giving learners choices, they become active participants rather than passive recipients of information.
Application: Create branching scenarios that allow your learners to make mistakes and experience the impact of their decisions. If possible, provide options to let your learner get back on track and fix their mistakes or view the potential consequences of choosing different responses to a situation.
Simulations
Simulations are realistic practice opportunities where learners can try desired behaviors in a safe environment. This is a great opportunity to introduce storytelling elements. Use simulations to add visual and sensory details, dialogue, or conflict to enhance realism.
Application: Consider the environment of your practice activity and incorporate sensory experiences similar to real life. If your simulation takes place in a lab, consider adding beakers, bubbling chemicals, and ambient noises that mimic the real environment.
Case studies
Not all learning techniques that use storytelling need to be fictional! You may have real-life examples that tell the story better than you can. Case studies encourage learners to practice problem-solving skills by imagining how they would address the situation.
Application: Incorporate storytelling elements with real success (or failure) examples to immerse your learner in experiences that mirror their own. Conclude by prompting your learner with a question like: “How would you address this scenario?”
User-generated stories
Similar to a case study, your learners may already have the perfect story in the back of their minds if you prompt them to consider it. Encourage learners to reflect on their own experiences and share testimonials. A well-crafted statement can incorporate storytelling elements that resonate uniquely with your audience.
Application: Use user-generated stories to prompt learners to reflect on job behaviors and their impact on customer experiences. Get specific by asking questions about why, how, when, and what they did to encourage deeper reflection.
Weave storytelling into your learning design
With a few intentional tweaks, you can seamlessly weave storytelling into your learning design. By mindfully selecting relatable characters, developing engaging scripts, and crafting compelling plot lines, you can transform dry content into a dynamic narrative. Consider how the hero’s journey or a problem-resolution structure can guide learners through content in an intuitive and memorable way.
Stories are how we connect with one another, and those same strategies can make your learning design more effective. By using narratives in your educational programs, you can transform the learning experience, making it not only more engaging but also more impactful. So, as you design your next course, consider the stories you can tell—and the stories your learners can create—to bring learning to life.
Image credit: DrAfter123