Don’t Put Your Learners to Sleep – Motivate Them With Stories

Don’t put your learners to sleep in your next training session. Motivate them with stories.  We associate stories with entertainment; therefore, we view them as fun. We don’t think of them as work or learning. Stories grab the learner’s attention and impact them at an emotional level. They will make your training more entertaining and more memorable.

Research shows that stories are highly effective learning tools. They create sensory associations. The data coming in is matched to existing patterns so it is more quickly assimilated. We think in pictures so the more vivid the description we provide, the more the information in story sticks. When we use more descriptive words and references to sensory experiences, the better the mental picture we have created of the event or the emotion.

As a story is told, the learner is drawn into the world of the narrator or characters. They can envision themselves in the role of the hero.  They empathize with the character and connect with all of the hero’s emotions and experiences.

These virtual experiences provide a mental simulation of an event. They provide a safe environment for learners to develop skills and responses. When something is new and the learner does not have a reference for dealing with it, they can’t see in their mind’s eye how to respond in that situation and how to get the results they want. A story can provide a virtual training video in the mind of the learner that will show the character responding effectively in the situation. This provides confidence as the learner feels as if they actually experienced the situation successfully.

The unconscious can’t tell the difference between real and imagined. So, we can’t imagine the sequence of events or the character experiences without activating the same area of the brain that is engaged when we actually experience them. This is why athletes, actors, and speakers all use meditation to “imagine” themselves successful.  The stimulation actually allows them to build new skills.

“I didn’t think I could…but I did” type stories are great for training when there are new technologies and concepts.  People can be overwhelmed by a change or by new technologies. The learner may have a mental or emotional block regarding the acquisition of knowledge in this area.  Analogies and simple stories can help put complex concepts into a language that the learner can understand. They connect to familiar ideas and experiences. The story removes doubt about the ability to succeed and significantly accelerates the learning comprehension.

In other areas, the learner may be afraid of the risks and the possibility of failure. One part of the brain sees the value of the change learning provides but another part of the brain wants things to stay as they are because it thinks what it know is safe. Stories make the learner more comfortable and open to persuasion to change. It is one of the techniques cited by all of the persuasion experts.

There are many learning opportunities to incorporate stories and many types of stories to make learning more enjoyable.  We are surrounded by stories and they are incredibly powerful.  Be alert and gather stories from your everyday encounters and incorporate them in your next learning event.  You will be pleasantly surprised at the positive impact.

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