Advocates for storytelling in business continually face the skepticism of executives who see little or no return on investment (ROI) to using the ageless power of storytelling to connect with audiences.
In the last two decades, as I blogged recently, neuroscience is demonstrating that our brains are hardwired to process the world around us through narrative. Magnetic resonance imaging and other tools are literally lighting the way for us, showing us how our brains crave stories to create meaning in our lives. But MRI scans don’t ring cash registers, right? So how about making the case with an example from commerce?
One of the most interesting demonstrations of the tangible value of storytelling in business is the very cool Significant Objects project curated by journalist Rob Walker and Josh Glenn, author of the book Taking Things Seriously.
Over a period of three years, via the auction website eBay, the curators and three teams of creative writers repeated a very simple effort: using powerful stories to describe common auction items, looking to see how the application of compelling narrative might affect sale prices.
The results were astounding, with $128.74 of thrift-store junk selling for $3,612.51 in the first round of the SO project. The project was repeated two more times, with similar results (and most of the proceeds going to worthy charities).
It’s an experiment that’s worth seeing to be believed. Melcher Media, producers of the Future of StoryTelling conference, created a great 10-minute video that combines interviews with eBay chief marketing officer Richelle Parham and leaders of the SO project. Take a look.
The results are astounding and the story of the storytellers is fascinating and fun. What do you think of the SO project? And what about eBay’s support of storytelling, as described in the video by Parham? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.
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Paul Furiga is president and CEO of WordWrite Communications. You can find him on Twitter @paulfuriga.
