The Power of These Stories

The Power of These Stories

The ‘Post Office Scandal’ started in 1999, and yet it only hit the public domain – big time – in early 2024 – with the broadcast of ITV’s drama ‘ Mr. Bates v The Post Office.‘

‘Why has it taken so long’? Many asked.

The answer is the power of story telling

It got me thinking – how many other real life stories went from niche obscurity to massive awareness, through the telling of stories?

Here are three:

Alexander Hamilton – Had many people actually heard of this USA Founding Father before ‘Hamilton’ the musical became such a phenomenon?

War Horse – Michael Morpurgo’s book, written to raise awareness of the role horses have played in conflict over the years, and their suffering, was published in 1982. And yet it took a play, based on the book, in 2007 – 25 years later – to make it viral.

And my personal favourite:

Chess! Of course Chess has been around awhile – since the 6^th Century, and has always been a popular game…amongst chess players. Nothing could have prepared the chess world for the impact, and success, of ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ on Netflix – the niche Chess and Bridge shop in London told me they sold more chess sets in the first three months of its broadcast than they had sold in the previous three years!

Stories stories stories – are so persuasive, because, Once Upon A Time, we were very young, and we were told them, and we were hard wired into loving them.

So next time you want to persuade, influence and entertain while doing so, craft your message into a story.

With my love and best wishes to you all

David

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