Want a Better Memory? Try Using Storytelling

Memory – Do you remember facts easily? How about a well-crafted story? If you are like the majority of people, you will take good stories over dry facts any day. There are people who revel with facts alone. There is nothing wrong with this. But, our brains have been created to tell and hear stories.

Therefore, storytelling has to be the easier way to a better memory. When we hear a good story, we will likely tell our family and friends that story. They will also be more tempted to pass the information on in the form of a story.

Of course, there is the possibility that as the story moves from one person to the next, the meaning may alter along the way. There are going to be differences in how each person tells the story. They will also embellish the story that makes it deviate from the original. You may remember the game called Telephone (or Chinese Whispers) when you were young. There would be a row of people, and the first person would whisper a short story to the person next to him or her. This would follow on down the row of people. By the time you get to the last person and ask him or her what the story is, it will be completely different from the original.

This can be problematic if the information contained within the story is factual. If not relayed as a story the pure facts won’t change as much but they won’t be as easily remembered either.

While storytelling can be a great way to help remember, not everyone is good at telling stories. If someone is a poor storyteller, they will either get the story wrong, they won’t present it in an engaging manner, or both. In this case, it is better for the person to keep strictly to the facts and avoid trying to tell stories.

Storytelling is a skill that can be practiced. Some people are natural at it, and that gives them a big advantage. Because of these natural storytellers, others may feel intimidated and may believe it is not possible to learn the skill. That is not the case. It does take some time before you will be good at it, and you may not be as good as others, but you will eventually get much better at it. This means that you can be instrumental in improving your own memory as well as that of others.