Why story?

Because story is the most effective form of human communication.

 

Rebecca here, NINEDOT’s founder. 

I vividly remember the day I realized the power of a good story.

I was doing my first job out of college — it wasn’t very glamorous. I traveled to exotic places like Boise, Idaho and Provo, Utah. On repeat.

My goal was simple — I wanted seniors to take a hearing test.

It should have been easy! More than a third of the people I was speaking to had significant hearing loss. And knowing that, I wasn’t satisfied with how many people were signing up.

So, being the total geek that I am, I started testing ways to increase sign ups. I researched and shared tons of statistics. I tried shocking people — I had them look to their left and their right: One of you has hearing loss! I even did “mini hearing tests” — talking really loud and really quiet.

No matter what information I gave people, nothing changed.

Until one day, before I got up to speak, I was chatting with a gentleman that reminded me of my grandfather, so I had my grandpa at the front of my mind when I stood up to speak.

Since nothing else worked, I figured, why not share my story?

I had no idea what was going to happen, or how they would react, but what I shared came from the heart and sounded something like this:

 

I hope you don’t mind, but I’d love to tell you a little bit about my Grandpa.

He’s a jokester. He sports a boyish grin, always taps you on the wrong shoulder and can regale you with wild stories of how, in WWII he got repeatedly demoted and then re-promoted because he was the only guy in his company who could drive stick up steep hills. No joke.

But a couple of years ago, he just wasn’t himself. He was joking a lot less and he barely talked at the dinner table.

Honestly, we all chalked it up to loneliness and the fact that Grandma had passed away the year before.

Then, much to everyone’s surprise, Grandpa got a hearing test and found out that he had lost quite a bit of his hearing.

And suddenly it all made sense - he wasn’t talking and joking because he couldn’t know what was going on! And, the truth is, when you struggle to hear, you don’t engage with the world like you used to.

So, after some thought, Grandpa decided to get hearing aids.

Now, I’m not saying that everything was perfect after that. At first, he could hear his refrigerator running and it drove him nuts. And I still think he listens to his TV wayyy too loud.

But, the way I see it, the day Grandpa got his hearing tested was the day I got my grandpa back. And that’s why I’m here today.

Because hearing is how we connect with each other. And a simple hearing test has gotten me three — and hopefully many more — years with my wonderful grandfather.

In a way, I’m asking you what is a year of your grandchildren’s stories worth to you?
Is it worth taking a free, easy, painless test?

It worked! My story 8X-ed the typical results!!!

It made me completely rethink my understanding of people and marketing.

Information didn’t get results.

But my story did because it made an emotional connection and offered an ability to see their situation from a new perspective. Rather than seeing a hearing test as a path to ‘prove they were old’ they saw it as a path to a better relationship with their loved ones.

Stories help us try on new ideas and take action.

They help us understand other’s view points and motivations. They help us remember things and give us stronger recall. And, they let us consider ideas we wouldn’t based on information alone. They help us change our minds and our actions.

So for the past 15 years, I’ve done a deep dive into the art and the science of storytelling — from the anthropology of ancient fireside tales told to stories made by Artificial Intelligence at the MIT Media Lab — and I’ve never looked back.

Science shows us exactly why and how story works.

And while it may not be easy to pour through thousands of pages of scientific literature, when you step back, the results of what makes a story connect are surprisingly consistent and relatable.

We want to make strong storytelling accessible.

So, we’ve taken everything we know about storytelling and put it into a clear framework & vocabulary that enables you (and your organization) to tell better stories, communicate with confidence and create the change you want to see in the world.

Join in on the fun.

 

Let’s find the story that 8x’s your results.

Based in beautiful Portland, Oregon.
Available worldwide.