The 4 I’s you need to know for optimal storytelling

In her TEDxUniMelb Talk “Why storytelling is so powerful in the digital era,” communications specialist Ashley Fell explains that in this evolving digital era characterized as the “great screen age,” visual storytelling has become more important than ever.

As screen-time increases and attention spans decrease, it is becoming vital to appeal to the visual mind. In fact, our brain responds to, and processes visuals, a whopping 60,000 times faster than text. Because of this, Fell argues that the way to effectively communicate a message or information which can be productively processed by the brain is to use principles of good storytelling.

For Fell, an engaging story, no matter what the medium, includes the four I’s – good stories create interest, they also instruct, involve and inspire us.

Let’s take a closer look at each:

1. Interest – a good story succeeds at maintaining our attention, such as through a good story arc with a rise in tension. We become invested in the action and want to know what happens, how the tension is resolved.
2. Instruct – for a story to have meaning, there has to be some sort of value for the listener which can present itself in the form of a ‘how to,’ ‘lesson learned’ or moral of the story each of which provide a teachable moment that will often be what the audience will remember when the story ends.
3. Involve – making someone feel they are a part of the story gives them a stake in the story itself. Thus, the audience goes from a passive, listening role to an active, participatory one.  
4. Inspire – when a story can create an emotional response from the listener, it succeeds in being more relatable and thus memorable. This is what Fell describes as connecting our minds and hearts. People probably won’t remember your words but they will remember the emotion those words brought out.

“[A good story] connects not just with the eyes of the head but with the eyes of the heart.”

– Ashley Fell, TEDxUniMelb

In closing, remember that stories are visual even without the use of pictures, so choose not only your visuals but your words wisely!