Why Stories are important
And the effect they have on human communication
Stories have been told since time immemorial. By word of mouth or through writings; be them legends, news, fables, TV shows, comic books and other mediums. They are part of our culture as people. Even more than that, stories are a platform on which culture is built and through which ideas are transmitted. It must be the way the human mind makes order out of information. Or maybe it’s just a very industrious element. Either way, stories are NEVER going away, that’s for sure!
The authors of stories can illustrate experiences and personal revelations that they had without getting lost in the subjectivity of generalising facts. It is well known that folklore has been a conduit for humanity’s thoughts and perspectives, which have travelled through trends, passing the ebbs and flows of communities. And that is because some things, within people, don’t change. That is why some stories can be told again and again and still ring true to people. Legends of brave heroes, which attempt to remind people to fight for what they believe in, or cautionary tales about greed and avarice and the unhappiness that they bring; they carry lessons from which people can learn and apply in their own lives, or at least take into consideration.
A lot of stories do “borrow” elements from one another. That is because Storytelling itself is an ever-growing discipline. There have been cultural trends (like the Renaissance) which have influenced styles and attitudes towards writing and artistic expression as a whole. Many of these trends have shed light onto the way people used to live, painting a picture of society from tens and even hundreds of years in the past.
Be it VR/AR, mobile, laptops or old-fashioned physical books, the environment keeps on developing. Poetry, pictures, video games, etc.; the thing that they have in common is the human aspect of it. All stories, after all, are supposed to transmit the point of view of the author and his ideas. Even if his ideas are distorted, and the scenes that he paints are accommodated and altered by the prism of the readers’ own life experiences, the ideas succeed to reach out, because they are relatable and human.
There is always a message in a story. That message carries a purpose. It could be anything from as little as sharing a moment of intense emotion such as the high of achievement, or the bitter taste of disappointment; up to a call to arms for unity and social support. A lot of stories are meant to inspire hope and empathy, while others are quite sad and pessimistic.
They’re not meant to accommodate all people’s desires (that is an impossible feat to achieve), but they do resonate with some readers (consumers). Each has to sift through the available content until they find something that is useful to them. Communication is one of the most basic human tools. It has always been around and always will be. But it often takes other forms than word-of-mouth.
Who can create stories, you ask? Absolutely anyone!
And certainly everyone does in one shape or another. Even if they aren’t aware of it. All it takes is to have an idea that he or she wishes to deliver to somebody else, AND a receptive audience, even if it is just one person.
Now, a text message is too brief to be considered a full-fledged story. Surely, a brief statement such as “OK” is not enough to paint a nice picture. But the history of those text messages? That is, indeed, a story 😊. And, in that context, the brief “OK”, is no longer just a general word that carries no meaning. It represents a decision which might have shifted someones life!
However, when stories are eloquently and elegantly constructed, they are much more delightful than a rough dialogue scene would be. Just like any other product, the attention to details can make or break a storytelling experience.
To build a captivating storyline, the events must be relevant one to another, and give the audience (the reader) the sense that he/she is untangling a mystery and getting closer to a resolve. The more attached they are to the characters, the more they want to see them happy. It’s a great exercise in caring for others and instigating to social justice. Stories are a magnificent tool to make people look at themselves and stimulate them to become better and kinder to their friends, families and even strangers.
Undeniably, stories (in whichever form they arrive) provide food for thought. Each person has a different set of interests, therefore they will discover new ideas and seek more knowledge in a diverse range of areas. But the good thing about stories is that they are useful, and they connect to anyone. Even if just for a bit. Even if just briefly enough to make the reader realise that a specific story is not his “cup of tea”, and leads to him discarding it. It still carried information and it still helped the person-in-cause to progress to finding a story that he might resonate with. If it piques interest and stimulates the readers curiosity toward his real life, we can safely assume that the story was useful and it played its part.
People find some stories easier to connect with, while others seem vague, confusing and totally parallel. Good art is always intimate and sincere, because the artist puts a bit of “himself” into his creation. Not physically of course, but he puts ideas that he keeps very close to him into his stories, or paintings, or video games, etc. Those stories are the most delightful ones, the ones in which you can get the feeling of getting to know the character, or the narrator, because you know what he stands for. Sincerity, just like in word-of-mouth communication sometimes make the author vulnerable, but it keeps the message safe and relevant. It keeps the communication channel valuable (and usable). If the story evokes feelings, it is basically as if the author would be right there in front of you, giving a piece of his mind. It is a visceral experience, it cannot be faked.
Ideas are altered and language changes. It doesn’t even take 10 years for the meanings of words and expressions to be changed. That is because human society is vast and differences arise with time and with distance. The message is never going to preserve it original meaning and arrive at the reader exactly 100% the same. Just as telephone lines used to distort the emitted sound received on one end and deliver it quite differently on the other end. That is due to and electric phenomenon called impedance.
In our world, the phenomenon that alters the message is our differences (cultural differences, opinions, views, etc.) The very aspect that makes us unique, also puts distance in-between us. But when that distance is being filled by persistence to communicate, then we find each other again, and we are less strangers than we were before. The gap is itself, ever-increasing. It will never be totally filled. But that is what makes life fun and adventurous: embarking into the unknown and conquering the fear of getting lost in it. At the end of it, we get to know each other better, and grow together in the people we become. That is way to important to dismiss. It is what has driven our society to become into what it is today. And there is plenty of room for improvement!
I believe that if we never give up on that (on our persistence to try to understand each other and listen) then we can solve any problem imaginable. Because all problems, I believe, are communication problems.
