Your article on the rise of storytelling as a corporate skill (Pass notes, 17 December) highlights something that storytellers have always known – that people crave meaningful human connection. This is intensifying as we encounter a world awash with data and distraction. Professional communications teams may now package storytelling as strategy, but the craft of storytelling is far older, and far deeper, than any job description. It is a human art, not a corporate invention.
For over 30 years, the Society for Storytelling has championed oral storytelling in all its forms. Through our extensive online directory, audiences can find storytellers working wherever there are people – across schools, theatres, workplaces and care settings.
In oral storytelling, teller and listener co-create meaning in the moment. We are transported to other worlds, other lives, other ways of seeing. No wonder businesses are beginning to recognise its power.
Research and practice consistently show that storytelling supports cognitive function, memory and emotional resilience. Listening to and telling stories helps us feel seen and understood – a fundamental human need. Oral storytelling builds empathy, and strengthens listening and imagination.
For children, stories are foundational. Oral storytelling underpins literacy, enriches vocabulary and invites playful thinking long before written text. But storytelling does not lose its power with age. For adults, oral narrative strengthens social bonds, helping us to make sense of life’s twists and turns while supporting our emotional health and wellbeing. Stories are not just jobs; they are the heartbeat of human life. Let’s keep telling them.
Danyah Miller
Trustee, Society for Storytelling
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