When you hear someone telling a story, do you think:
- I know a person like that? or
- That could happen to me?
If you feel and think things like that then, by definition, you have heard a good story.
Bad stories do not generate those sorts of feelings or thoughts.
Good stories touch our brains and our hearts, triggering emotions and causing our mirror neurons and our spindle neurons to fire. These neurons help us to understand what other people are thinking and empathize with other people's feelings. These neurons help us communicate, be social, and experience other 'high-level' feelings.
Spindle Neuron
Now, what kinds of feelings and thoughts do your stories generate?
PS: About Sticky Stories
Sticky messages = messages that are understandable, memorable, and effective in changing thought or behaviour