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Some stories are true. Some are fiction. Some are short, while others long. What do they have in common? A thread that connects events over time: One thing leads to another and another and another until the current state is transformed, hopefully for the better. Good stories also have built-in tension—there’s a challenge, conflict, roadblock, or problem that needs to be overcome. I’ll have more to say on what makes a story great during my A’25 workshop and in subsequent editions of this newsletter. But to whet your appetite for storytelling and persuade you of its value to architects, let me explain why I think designers should invest time, energy, and effort in storytelling. Stories are human. People have been telling stories for millennia. We read them as children. We tell them to friends and colleagues over coffee and drinks. They entertain, engage, and enthrall us. We learn about other people via the stories they tell. When we see our own experiences mirrored in those stories, it builds a bond. We feel a sense of kinship. Storytelling is part of our DNA. Stories are memorable. Details, numbers, and lists are hard to remember. But woven into a story, such information doesn’t fade as fast. Studies suggest stories are mentally more sticky than statistics. We remember them. And the same may hold for facts. Test yourself: What were the materials used to build houses in “The Three Little Pigs”? If you remember the specifics (straw, sticks, and bricks), it’s because the story served as a scaffold for the details. Stories reveal values. Remember the tale of George Washington and the cherry tree? The lesson didn’t revolve around the importance of having a sharp axe or the resulting cherry-pie shortage. The point of the story, invented long after Washington left office, was to spotlight the honesty of America’s first president. Stories can communicate your firm’s virtues and values—collaboration, efficiency, creativity, whatever—indirectly. They corroborate your claims. Stories capture our attention. Engaging stories provoke emotional reactions, from sadness to delight, irritation to awe. And emotions often play a huge, if unacknowledged, role in most clients’ decision-making. What’s more, research suggests that emotional engagement make stories more memorable. Design work is full of great stories. The best stories revolve around a problem—a wolf at the door, an uncrossable chasm, a skills deficit, a lack of confidence. When the problem is solved, the story ends happily. Problems and solutions, of course, are the stock in trade of architects—and when the problem is solved, the story always ends in a happy client, right?! 😊 Honestly, even when something goes sideways, designers often have a tale to tell. So there you have it: Five reasons why you and your firm should hone your storytelling skills. Still don’t have a clue how to tell your story? Not a problem. I have a solution: Attend my session at A’25 MN. Details below. ∎
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