I love a good story. Don’t you? It pulls me in and I am transported to a place where I am present. I am fully engaged with the writer (or speaker). It is why non-fiction platforms are most effectively delivered in a fictional setting. As a story. It allows the reader to take abstract ideas and concepts and begin to see each premise as it relates to them. It actually makes the material more real.
That may seem at odds with the idea of non-fiction where everything should be “the facts”. But in truth, fiction itself has some factual basis. And it is not only possible for the two worlds to merge, it can be powerful.
When I first started going through the coach training program at iPEC, one of the required reading assignments was the book Energy Leadership. The program is complex and the ideas involved can be challenging to absorb, even for someone highly trained in coaching. And so I fully expected the book to be somewhat clinical and delve into the levels of energy, the psychology of energy and all of those principles taught within the program. However, although it did go into all of those areas, rather than being clinical, it was fantastically engaging and after reading it, weeks of classroom instruction crystallized in a matter of hours. The “aha” moment had arrived. Why? Because the author told a story. Rather than regurgitating the material in a clinical fashion, he illustrated the material within a story. A story I could readily picture happening. A story I had personally seen over and over again. By using a fictional setting to illustrate the non-fictional premises, they actually became real.
For me, the use of a good story is fundamentally just good communicating. And as a result. Good writing.
Each time I sit down to write, that thought is always present – what’s the story?
Still doubtful? Consider this: What lessons did you learn from fairy tales? From children’s fables? And here’s one I know we’ll all relate to… how about Dr. Seuss? Great lessons there. About diversity, tolerance, perseverance, and yes – even possibilities. Oh the places you’ll go!!! I suppose after all, that would be my ultimate fictional ride for possibility thinking. So thank you Dr. Seuss!
About Kathi Laughman
I agree 100%. I once read an astronomy book in college that had me cracking up. It was both informative and interesting to read. That’s such a rare quality. WRITE ON!
My first time through college was back in the early 1970’s… but I went back in 2007 for a degree in organizational psychology (music the first time through…) and had to take some science classes I was able to pass over the first time through. I had the most entertaining professor you can imagine for Biology. Science has never been my strength but that class shifted my perspective about it. When asked to review the class – I said that the professor’s ability to weave stories into his lectures was the key. In the end, I was certainly still a novice in the world of biology. But in the end, I certainly cared about it a great deal more than when I began the class.