Who isn’t fascinated and perplexed by the inner workings of the human brain? Even doctors and scientists who have studied this organ for their entire careers have yet to completely understand this complex mass of data-consuming neurons.
Naturally, as a writer, my curiosity about the brain centers on how it reacts to the written word. As I suspected, there is some interesting neurologicial research out there about the connection between the mind and writing, much of which is specifically related to what type of writing will get your readers’ attention the most. Jackpot!
Here is one point in particular that I, @Karen, found highly instructive and that I believe can help make all of us even better content creators:
Telling a story is more memorable than just bulleting out the facts. When you use your content to tell a story - versus just giving bullet points - you will stimulate far more areas of your readers’ brains, including all the language centers and the areas associated with experiencing a story’s events come to life.
For example, if your story includes kicking or running, the motor cortex brain lights up. If your story has details like “the smoke-filled room”, your reader’s sensory response will light up. A readers’ brain actually reacts as if they are experiencing the story firsthand. So cool!
But there’s more… Telling a story can plant emotions, thoughts, and ideas in the brain of a reader.
What does this mean for you as a writer? Whether you’re writing for your own business, a client’s company, or for personal ambitions, you can better activate your readers’ brains, and potentially influence the emotions you want them to feel and actions you want them to take, with an illustrative and expressive story.
Author's Note: This article was originally written in my role as Chief Content Officer for Lisa Baker Associates.
