The Science of Story Telling

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When my good friend, orator and highly well-read gentleman, Nigel Gant, first stepped on set into the Museum of Stories he said, very quietly, "I am standing inside somebody else's imagination, it's humbling to think that!"   Actually Nige, it's humbling to be the person whose imagination you so willingly agreed to bring to life ... but let's leave the mutual appreciation there.    Throughout the day I noted that between filming sessions, whenever Nigel was sent outside to get some fresh air (it was well over 30 degrees on set on the hottest weekend of the year!) he would doggedly read, re-read, recite and practice the lines word for word.  

"Perhaps you don't have to be word perfect if there are phrases that give you trouble?"  I suggested.  

"Oh no!" he insisted "A lot of trouble and thought has been poured into writing this, I must do it justice and get it right." (I am abashed)

As you know I am a scholar, a PhD and an eternal student of all things human.  I love history, psychology, physics, maths ... you know?!  So, I would go so far as to suggest that our dear Nigel, without realising it, has understood an important scientific principle of good storytelling.  The science of what happens deep inside your brain makes for a fascinating study;  When you listen to a story that’s being told, or read, to you the auditory cortex of your brain become activated to receive the sounds and tones and interpret what is being said.  Engaging with a story also fires up your left temporal vortex (I fell like I'm writing an episode for Star Treck now!!). Your left temporal vortex is the region in your brain that receives and interprets language. This part of your brain is also capable of identifying overused words or clichés and allowing you to understand the point without becoming bored by repetition or annoyed by the over-use. An innate understanding of this is why the most skilled storytellers are careful about the language they use, employing a host of literary techniques to keep your brain engaged.  Sitting in the shade on that hot sunny day I joked about how my frequent use of alliteration was challenging Nigel's skills, but I also admired how he set the paces and poetic rythmns of the story as he told it. 

And once your temporal vortex is activated other regions of the brain soon begin to participate in the process too!  When you are immersed in the story you begin to feel some kind of emotional engagement with what is being said because the frontal and parietal cortices have been stimulated. Have you ever noticed how descriptions of food will also stir up your sensory cortex so that you feel hungry and can almost smell or taste what the storyteller is describing?  Passages that describe movement or action will get a response from a bit of your brain called the central sulcus (yup, I'm pretty sure that's a Dr. Whovian monster!), actually, the central sulcus is another primary sensory motor region of your brain. Indeed, just thinking about running can activate the neurons associated with the act . . . try it, some hypnotherapists and psychologists reckon you can actually lose weight by thinking about exercise but I've never managed that!

Researchers also tell us that this kind of brain activity can continue on for several days.  This goes a long way toward explaining why what we perceive as "good stories" stay with us, often in great detail. Additionally, stories also improve our ability to recall any information embedded in them. Scientists and psychologists suggest that people can recall facts up to 22 times more efficiently when those facts were heard as part of a story. 

Furthermore, all this brain activity will also bring about changes within other parts of your body. As I'm sure you're aware, if you listen to (or watch) scenes of high action or tension, the stress hormone cortisol is released into your bloodstream.  This, in turn, leads to you becoming more deeply entrenched and responsive to the story as it unfolds.  Apparently, more stories which are more heavily character-driven, that is where the characters are more prominent than events or plot points,  will cause the release of oxytocin into the blood. This is also called the “empathy” hormone because it helps people to bond with other people.  Unsurprisingly it's the same hormone that's released into the bloodstream of breastfeeding mothers.
Speaking of mothers - there is a lot more I could say on the science of storytelling and its relationship with childhood.   If you are interested and would like to read more on this then why not make a comment on this blog so that I know what you'd like me to tell you about.  

Nigel diligently studying his lines to get the words and the rhythms exact -
it's so hot he has a wet towel on his head!

". . . so too, so beautiful boy!"

Telling stories by candlelight in the Museum of Stories