About Storytelling

Socializing

Storytelling is a way to socialize, communicate our needs and wants, establish a historical record, and embody aspects of human culture. As literary scholar Jack Zipes (2012) once wrote, “we are all misfit for the world, and somehow we must fit in…with other people.” We do so by communicating, and sometimes that involves telling stories.

Benefits

There are many benefits to storytelling. Research by Dunbar (2004) suggests that storytelling plays a crucial role in social bonding. Through shared narratives, people establish and strengthen social connections within groups. Studies by Mar and Oatley (2008) also propose that exposure to narrative fiction, including storytelling, is linked to improved empathy. Recent studies propose that narratives may even act as a medium for transmitting cultural information across generations (Jimenez, 2023).

Professionals

Mary Jo Huff, a professional storyteller and an honored Keynote speaker for DLM Express by McGraw Hill, as well as State Reading Associations, Festivals, and other organizations, likes to leave things up to interpretation. “Stories can be kind of real,” she says, “but sometimes I leave it up to the people to know if things could happen or not. Everything is a story in your life.”

International Storytelling Festival: https://www.storytellingcenter.net/

Learn More About Mary Jo Huff: https://storytellin.com/