Editing Storytelling (section)

== In business ==
People have been telling stories at work since ancient times, when stories might inspire "courage and empowerment during the hunt for a potentially dangerous animal," or simply instill the value of listening.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lawrence|first1=Randee Lipson|last2=Paige|first2=Dennis Swiftdeer|date=March 2016|title=What Our Ancestors Knew: Teaching and Learning Through Storytelling|journal=New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education|volume=2016|issue=149|pages=63–72|doi=10.1002/ace.20177|issn=1052-2891}}</ref> Storytelling in business has become a field in its own right as industries have grown, as storytelling becomes a more popular art form in general through live storytelling events like [[The Moth]].

=== Recruiting ===
Storytelling has come to have a prominent role in recruiting. The modern recruiting industry started in the 1940s as employers competed for available labor during [[World War II]]. Prior to that, employers usually placed newspaper ads telling a story about the kind of person they wanted, including their character and, in many cases, their ethnicity.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/08/insider/1854-no-irish-need-apply.html|title=1854: No Irish Need Apply|last=Bulik|first=Mark|date=2015-09-08|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-01-28|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

=== Public relations ===
[[History of public relations|Public influence]] has been part of human civilization since ancient times, but the modern public relations industry traces its roots to a Boston-based PR firm called The Publicity Bureau that opened in 1900.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cutlip|first=Scott M.|date=2016-08-29|title=The Nation's First Public Relations Firm|journal=Journalism Quarterly|volume=43|issue=2|pages=269–280|language=en|doi=10.1177/107769906604300208|s2cid=144745620}}</ref> Although a PR firm may not identify its role as storytelling, the firm's task is to control the public narrative about the organization they represent.

=== Networking ===
Networking has been around since the industrial revolution when businesses recognized the need—and the benefit—of collaborating and trusting a wider range of people.<ref name=":2">Phillips, Deborah R. "The transformational power of networking in today's business world." Journal of Property Management, Mar.-Apr. 2017, p. 20+. Gale Academic OneFile Select, <nowiki>https://link-gale-com.libezproxy.broward.org/apps/doc/A490719005/EAIM?u=broward29&sid=EAIM&xid=a2cece77</nowiki>. Accessed 14 Feb. 2020.</ref> Today, networking is the subject for more than 100,000 books, seminars and online conversations.<ref name=":2" />

Storytelling helps networkers showcase their expertise. "Using examples and stories to teach contacts about expertise, experience, talents, and interests" is one of eight networking competencies the [[Association for Talent Development]] has identified, saying that networkers should "be able to answer the question, 'What do you do?' to make expertise visible and memorable."<ref>{{Cite journal|author=Baber, Anne|author2=Lynne Waymon|name-list-style=amp|title=The connected employee: the eight networking competencies for organizational success|journal=T+D|volume=64|pages=50+|via=Gale Academic OneFile Select}}</ref> Business storytelling begins by considering the needs of the audience the networker wishes to reach, asking, "What is it about what I do that my audience is most interested in?" and "What would intrigue them the most?"<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|author=Choy, Esther K.|title=Let the story do the work : the art of storytelling for business success|isbn=978-0-8144-3801-5|oclc=964379642|year=2017|publisher=Amacom }}</ref>

=== Within the workplace ===
[[File:Summer school Berlin School of Economics 2013-01.jpg|thumb|Example of the use of storytelling in education]]
In the workplace, communicating by using storytelling techniques can be a more compelling and effective route of delivering information than that of using only dry facts.<ref>By Jason Hensel, One+. "[http://www.mpiweb.org/Magazine/Archive/US/February2010/OnceUponATime.aspx Once Upon a Time] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100227034738/http://www.mpiweb.org/Magazine/Archive/US/February2010/OnceUponATime.aspx |date=2010-02-27 }}." February 2010.</ref><ref>Cornell University. "[http://vivo.cornell.edu/display/individual22706 Jameson, Daphne A Professor]." Retrieved Oct 19, 2012.</ref> Uses include:

==== To manage conflicts ====

For [[managers]] storytelling is an important way of resolving conflicts, addressing issues and facing challenges.
Managers may use narrative discourse to deal with conflicts when direct action is inadvisable or impossible.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/treatment/stories.htm|title=Story Telling|date=2005|website=www.colorado.edu|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170607160227/http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/treatment/stories.htm|archive-date=2017-06-07|url-status=live}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}

==== To interpret the past and shape the future ====

In a group discussion a process of collective narration can help to influence others and unify the group by linking the past to the future.
In such discussions, managers transform problems, requests and issues into stories.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}} Jameson calls this collective group construction story building.

==== In the reasoning process ====

Storytelling plays an important role in reasoning processes and in convincing others.
In business meetings, managers and business officials preferred stories to abstract arguments or statistical measures. When situations are complex or dense, [[narrative]] discourse helps to resolve conflicts, influences corporate decisions and stabilizes the group.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Jameson | first1 = Daphne A | year = 2001 | title = Narrative Discourse and Management Action | journal = Journal of Business Communication | volume = 38 | issue = 4| pages = 476–511 | doi=10.1177/002194360103800404| s2cid = 145215100 }}</ref>

=== In marketing ===
Storytelling is increasingly being used in advertising in order to build customer loyalty.<ref>Lury, Giles (2004). Brand Strategy, Issue 182, p. 32</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.i-scoop.eu/art-storytelling-6-content-marketing-context-questions/|title=The art of storytelling in 7 content marketing context questions|date=2014-07-01|work=i-SCOOP|access-date=2017-07-08|language=en-US|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705074810/https://www.i-scoop.eu/art-storytelling-6-content-marketing-context-questions/|archive-date=2017-07-05}}</ref> According to Giles Lury, this marketing trend echoes the deeply rooted human need to be entertained.<ref name=PlainLanguageatWork25Mar2012>Plain Language at Work. "[http://www.impact-information.com/impactinfo/newsletter/plwork51.htm The best story wins] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006075822/http://www.impact-information.com/impactinfo/newsletter/plwork51.htm |date=2014-10-06 }}." Mar 25, 2012. Retrieved Dec 19, 2012.</ref> Stories are illustrative, easily memorable and allow companies to create stronger emotional bonds with customers.<ref name=PlainLanguageatWork25Mar2012/>

A Nielsen study shows consumers want a more personal connection in the way they gather information since human brains are more engaged by storytelling than by the presentation of facts alone. When reading pure data, only the language parts of the brain work to decode the meaning. But when reading a story, both the language parts and those parts of the brain that would be engaged if the events of the story were actually experienced are activated. As a result, it is easier to remember stories than facts.<ref>By Rachel Gillett, Fast Company. "[http://www.fastcompany.com/3031419/hit-the-ground-running/why-our-brains-crave-storytelling-in-marketing Why Our Brains Crave Storytelling in Marketing] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140910200325/http://www.fastcompany.com/3031419/hit-the-ground-running/why-our-brains-crave-storytelling-in-marketing |date=2014-09-10 }}." June 4, 2014. September 9, 2014.</ref>

Marketing developments incorporating storytelling include the use of the [[trans-media]] techniques that originated in the film industry intended to "build a world in which your story can evolve".<ref>Transmedia Storytelling and Entertainment: An annotated syllabus Henry Jenkins Journal of Media & Cultural Studies Volume 24, 2010 – Issue 6: Entertainment Industries</ref> Examples include the "Happiness Factory" of [[Coca-Cola]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Caitlin |last=Fitzsimmons |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/mar/13/coca-cola-happiness-factory |title=Coca-Cola launches new 'Happiness Factory' ad |date=March 13, 2009 |access-date=September 22, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312135842/http://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/mar/13/coca-cola-happiness-factory |archive-date=March 12, 2016 }}</ref>