The magical science of storytelling | David JP Phillips | TEDxStockholm
TEDx Talks・12 minutes read
Rob Walker conducted a study in 2009 where he bought 200 objects from eBay for $1 each and had authors write stories about them, resulting in a significant increase in their value, with an example of a horse's head bought for 99¢ and sold for $62.95 showcasing a 6395% increase. The text explores the impact of storytelling on consumer behavior, highlighting emotional investment, the release of hormones like dopamine and oxytocin, and the transformation of communication skills through strategic storytelling techniques.
Insights
- Storytelling significantly increases the perceived value of objects, as demonstrated by Rob Walker's study where objects bought for $129 were sold for $8000 after authors wrote stories about them, showcasing a dramatic 6195% increase in value.
- Understanding the impact of storytelling on consumer behavior involves triggering specific hormones like dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins, which influence focus, motivation, memory, generosity, trust, bonding, and relaxation. Leveraging these emotional responses through strategic storytelling can enhance communication skills and evoke desired reactions in others, emphasizing the enduring power of traditional storytelling methods over modern tools like PowerPoint.
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Recent questions
How did storytelling impact object value?
By adding stories, objects increased in value significantly.
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Summary
00:00
"The Power of Storytelling: Increasing Object Value"
- Rob Walker, a journalist, conducted a study in 2009 to explore the power of storytelling by purchasing 200 objects from eBay at an average price of $1 each.
- He invited 200 authors to write stories about these objects, resulting in a significant increase in the value of the objects when the stories were added.
- The example of a horse's head bought for 99¢ and sold for $62.95 showcased a 6395% increase in value.
- Overall, the 200 objects were bought for $129 and sold for $8000, demonstrating the impact of storytelling on perceived value.
- The text delves into the influence of storytelling on consumer behavior, citing the $10.5 billion annual revenue from product placement.
- Emotional investment is highlighted as a key factor in the impact of storytelling, with love being compared to a good story.
- The text explains how storytelling triggers the release of hormones like vasopressin, oxytocin, serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins, affecting emotional responses.
- The speaker aims to induce three hormones in the audience - dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins - to illustrate the power of storytelling.
- Dopamine is linked to focus, motivation, and memory, with storytelling techniques like suspense and cliffhangers enhancing its effects.
- Oxytocin, associated with generosity and trust, is evoked through creating empathy in storytelling, fostering a sense of bonding and relaxation.
14:30
Power of storytelling in communication skills
- Functional storytelling can transform your communication skills by understanding that everyone is a natural storyteller, writing down and indexing your stories based on their emotional impact, and strategically using them to evoke desired responses in others. Additionally, the evolution of storytelling methods over time highlights the power of traditional storytelling compared to modern tools like PowerPoint.
