{"id":5846,"date":"2018-11-02T11:19:17","date_gmt":"2018-11-02T18:19:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/?p=5846"},"modified":"2024-04-18T13:37:44","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T20:37:44","slug":"storytelling-using-stories-engage-learners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/storytelling-using-stories-engage-learners\/","title":{"rendered":"Storytelling: Using Stories to Engage Learners"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p>\u201cOnce upon a time\u201d are some of the most well-known words in the English language. As soon as you hear those words, your mind sets itself up to hear a story. Is it because we all heard stories as children, and it brings back pleasant memories? Or is there a deeper reason those words resonate with us?<br \/><br \/><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-23145 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Using-Stories-to-Engage-Learners.jpg\" alt=\"Serious businessman working at his desk with a laptop.\" width=\"768\" height=\"513\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Using-Stories-to-Engage-Learners.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Using-Stories-to-Engage-Learners-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>According to Dr. Pamela Rutledge in <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/blog\/positively-media\/201101\/the-psychological-power-storytelling\">Psychology Today<\/a><\/em>, stories still have relevance in the digital age for a number of reasons:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n<li>Our brains still make sense of information by looking for a story within the media information<\/li>\r\n<li>We relate to other human beings and their experiences through stories<\/li>\r\n<li>Stories are still how we think and make meaning of the world around us<\/li>\r\n<li>Humans like the order and resolution stories deliver<\/li>\r\n<li>Our brains are wired to process imagined experiences, such as stories, in the same way as a real experience, and respond in the same way<\/li>\r\n<li>Stories engage the right brain, where imagination is housed, and increase our empathy and creativity while evoking change<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Most eLearning professionals understand that stories are the primary way to connect with your learners from the outset and keep them engaged throughout the course. Despite our inundation with technology and social media, our brains have yet to keep up with these changes, so look for reason and meaning throughout a story.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Using stories can improve your eLearning courses in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shiftelearning.com\/blog\/how-storytelling-can-improve-your-elearning-courses\">two ways<\/a>: by increasing learner engagement and instructional soundness.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Engaging your learners can begin with a story. What sort of story? It can be a real-life experience you\u2019ve had\u00a0or a recounting of someone else\u2019s tale. The key elements of using a story effectively are to:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Emotionally connect with learners<\/li>\r\n<li>Increase curiosity<\/li>\r\n<li>Help learners relate to the\u00a0content<\/li>\r\n<li>Inspire them to take action<\/li>\r\n<li>Encourage reflection<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>A good story isn\u2019t just something you put into your course for fun, or because you want to make sure you get a chance to tell everyone about something that happened to you in the course of your experience. Stories in eLearning also serve the purpose of adding to the instructional integrity of your course by:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Providing context and relevance<\/li>\r\n<li>Making information easier to remember<\/li>\r\n<li>Clarifying complex and abstract concepts<\/li>\r\n<li>Breaking monotony<\/li>\r\n<li>Linking theory to practice<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If you&#8217;re designing an eLearning course, you might be feeling a little downcast at the idea of having to think of stories that will be funny, engaging and relevant. It\u2019s not an easy task, especially if you go blank trying to think of stories to illustrate the critical points in your course.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Where do you start? With your audience, of course. Who are they? What sort of stories would best enhance your course? Start with these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shiftelearning.com\/blog\/bid\/353726\/use-stories-in-elearning-6-tips-to-bring-out-your-inner-storyteller\">tips<\/a> to find the best stories:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n<li>Know your audience. Develop a target learner persona and try to understand the context and language that would be most effective.<\/li>\r\n<li>Use a structure. Start with a \u201chook\u201d to get them interested. Use action, a climax, and a resolution.<\/li>\r\n<li>Appeal to their emotions. Any good story has to appeal to people\u2019s emotions through characters, conflicts, tension,\u00a0and resolution in order for stories to resonate.<\/li>\r\n<li>Use visuals to embellish the story and create powerful, lasting images.<\/li>\r\n<li>Tie stories to the course. It\u2019s great to be funny and entertaining, but if the story has no relation to the course content, you\u2019ve missed a chance to teach the target lessons.<\/li>\r\n<li>Pay attention to detail. The goal is to create details that bring the story to life and reinforce the lessons you&#8217;re teaching.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Take a minute to remember a course you took in college that stands out vividly in your memory. Was there a story involved? What do you remember about it, and what was the professor trying to teach? No doubt the lesson has stayed with you for many years because of the story.<\/p>\r\n<p>Remember, you don\u2019t have to be an ace storyteller to create a narrative for your eLearning course. Just remember to make it personal, relevant and about the learning. No doubt you are already on the path to finding a story for your next course.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cAnd they lived happily ever after!\u201d<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cOnce upon a time\u201d are some of the most well-known words in the English language. As soon as you hear those words, your mind sets itself&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":10800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[126],"tags":[146,177,427,266,1153,869,1393,1395],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v17.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Storytelling: Using Stories to Engage Learners - KnowledgeCity<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how to captivate and educate with storytelling techniques in training.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/storytelling-using-stories-engage-learners\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Storytelling: Using Stories to Engage Learners - KnowledgeCity\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn how to captivate and educate with storytelling techniques in training.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/storytelling-using-stories-engage-learners\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"KnowledgeCity\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KnowledgeCity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-11-02T18:19:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-04-18T20:37:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shutterstock_230582266-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1492\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"761\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Knowledge_City\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Knowledge_City\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"KnowledgeCity\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"KnowledgeCity\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/storytelling-using-stories-engage-learners\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shutterstock_230582266-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shutterstock_230582266-1.jpg\",\"width\":1492,\"height\":761},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/storytelling-using-stories-engage-learners\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/storytelling-using-stories-engage-learners\/\",\"name\":\"Storytelling: Using Stories to Engage Learners - KnowledgeCity\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/storytelling-using-stories-engage-learners\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-11-02T18:19:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-18T20:37:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b9b8256f9b75ae1e344f74de240a4edd\"},\"description\":\"Learn how to captivate and educate with storytelling techniques in training.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/storytelling-using-stories-engage-learners\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/storytelling-using-stories-engage-learners\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"item\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\",\"name\":\"KnowledgeCity\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"item\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Blog\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Storytelling: Using Stories to Engage Learners\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b9b8256f9b75ae1e344f74de240a4edd\",\"name\":\"KnowledgeCity\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/user-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/user-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"KnowledgeCity\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/knowledgecity.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/author\/raynie\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Storytelling: Using Stories to Engage Learners - KnowledgeCity","description":"Learn how to captivate and educate with storytelling techniques in training.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/storytelling-using-stories-engage-learners\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Storytelling: Using Stories to Engage Learners - KnowledgeCity","og_description":"Learn how to captivate and educate with storytelling techniques in training.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/storytelling-using-stories-engage-learners\/","og_site_name":"KnowledgeCity","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KnowledgeCity\/","article_published_time":"2018-11-02T18:19:17+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-04-18T20:37:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1492,"height":761,"url":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shutterstock_230582266-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Knowledge_City","twitter_site":"@Knowledge_City","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"KnowledgeCity","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/","name":"KnowledgeCity","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/storytelling-using-stories-engage-learners\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shutterstock_230582266-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shutterstock_230582266-1.jpg","width":1492,"height":761},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/storytelling-using-stories-engage-learners\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/storytelling-using-stories-engage-learners\/","name":"Storytelling: Using Stories to Engage Learners - KnowledgeCity","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/storytelling-using-stories-engage-learners\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2018-11-02T18:19:17+00:00","dateModified":"2024-04-18T20:37:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b9b8256f9b75ae1e344f74de240a4edd"},"description":"Learn how to captivate and educate with storytelling techniques in training.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/storytelling-using-stories-engage-learners\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/storytelling-using-stories-engage-learners\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com","name":"KnowledgeCity"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/","name":"Blog"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Storytelling: Using Stories to Engage Learners"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b9b8256f9b75ae1e344f74de240a4edd","name":"KnowledgeCity","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/user-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/user-96x96.png","caption":"KnowledgeCity"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/knowledgecity.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/author\/raynie\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5846"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5846"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5846\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23151,"href":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5846\/revisions\/23151"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}