Fewer Things Better
Fewer Things Better
Ep. 148 - The Stickiness of Storytelling: How Passion Makes You a Better Storyteller
Passion and storytelling go hand in hand. When we speak about what truly excites us, our words become more vivid, and our stories more impactful. In this episode, we’re diving into the power of passion—how it fuels us, drives us forward, and even sparks excitement in those around us.
Whether you're sharing a personal journey, pitching an idea, or simply telling a friend about something you love, passion is the secret ingredient that makes stories unforgettable. Tune in for a conversation on embracing authenticity, finding supportive spaces, and letting your passions be seen.
Show Notes:
Ignite Seattle February 20, 2025
A few nights ago, I went to an event called Ignite Seattle to cheer on my amazing friend Alysse. It’s the largest general public speaking event in the Pacific Northwest, and they have chapters like this around the world. A dozen speakers talk, for 5 minutes only, about a passion, a cause, a hobby, or a special experience. These are not professional speakers, they are simply people who are willing to step on a stage and tell their story in front of about 1,000 people.
Gulp–Ok, ok, I know, I know. That might sound like torture to some of you, but here’s the really special part: The audience there is completely in your corner.
If you stumble, forget your words, start to choke up – they got you. Applause, standing ovations, hoots and hollers. It’s the very definition of a physical and mental safe space.
The special sauce of the talk is the opportunity for each speaker to boldly shine a light on a key part of what makes them Them – and to do so quickly. The 5-minute mark is a hard stop – get up, speak up, wrap up.
The Bottom Line of Top of this episode is that we all deserve to feel safe showing who we are to others. And if we don’t, we get to make the required changes to create that space.
Part of telling your story is that it’s your story – you’re not memorizing a script or trying to sell people something. And with a quick nod to the shortcuts that are provided in daily life by Artificial Intelligence, humans remember the stories other humans share. Our individual passions are the fingerprints that make up our personality.
Case in point, at the speaking event, we heard about the correct way to load a dishwasher (p.s. quit pre-washing the plates), we learned how to make connections without relying on alcohol, what it’s like to a be a female barber in a small town, how a mathematical abacus taught a 16-year-old the art of slow thinking, and we also heard the moving story of a mother who lost her college son and found a way to go on living by becoming a grief doula.
Again, none of these people were professional speakers – but their passion for the topic made the audience hang on their every word.
Why?
In part because facts activate only a few areas of the brain, making the experience relatively passive. The listener can receive the facts, but may not form any type of emotional connection.
Stories, on the other hand, light up multiple areas of the brain like the motor and sensory cortexes and our old friend, the amygdala. Stories also activate mirror neurons when we hear about someone else’s actions or feelings, it allows us to empathize and "experience" the story as if we were there. And finally the Default Mode Network part of our brain helps us imagine, predict, and to connect with the story to our own experiences.
Whenever we speak about something that genuinely excites us, our brain changes. Passion activates the ventral tegmental area, which is part of the brain’s reward system. This releases dopamine, which is that “feel-good” neurotransmitter, and that in turn makes us feel more energized, confident, and persuasive.
In fact, researchers have found that enthusiasm is contagious–and we didn’t really need research to tell us that. We’ve all been across from somebody who got so excited about what they were talking about that we found ourselves getting excited too. Neuroscience studies at Princeton University have shown that when a speaker is passionate, the listener’s brain starts to synchronize with theirs. It’s called neural coupling, and it means that your excitement literally becomes their excitement.
So, speaking about what you love isn’t just a personal experience—it’s a shared one.
A lot of people assume that confidence comes first and then you speak. But brain science suggests the opposite. The act of speaking and sharing creates confidence over time.
Simply said: confidence is not something that you wait for. It’s something you build by doing–much like muscles in a gym (you don’t get it the first time but you definitely get it the more you do it).
Speaking isn’t just about sharing—it’s one of the most effective ways to learn yourself. This is called the protégé effect—the idea that when you teach something to others, you retain it better yourself. I always joke about this in my own speaking that we teach what we most need to learn. So, whether I am talking about science or psychology or habits, believe me–I live them and learn them daily. Studies show that people who explain concepts out loud remember them with greater clarity and depth. The more I share, the more I learn and return and the more it sticks into my memory and then the less I have to rely on material to speak about it.
So consider this on your own account– where does your passion come alive? What is a topic or topics that you could speak on for five minutes straight without any preparation? It could be the right way to load a dishwasher (because that’s something I learned), how to grow orchids–didn’t know that, a video game, book, travel destinations, or any number of things that feel so very You. Then consider sharing that – you don’t need to do it on a stage to get the brain benefits. And others can benefit from all the brain goodies as well.
We’ve all had a time where someone else’s story has moved us—maybe it was their words, their energy, or just the way they made you feel seen and understood. It doesn’t even have to be an individual you know–sometimes its music, a movie, or just some connection that connects with you. Now consider this part: you sharing your story gives you the ability to do that for someone else.
It doesn’t matter if you’re on a stage, in a meeting, or just across a dinner table. When you speak about something that matters to you, you create a ripple effect.
And the best part is: none of it requires a professional polish–you don’t need slides, you don’t need anything. Just your presence, your passion, and your willingness to share.
And when you’re speaking from a place of passion? That’s when your voice carries loudest.
So thank you for being an audience for my words. I so appreciate the ability to have this safe space to put them.
Keep speaking. Keep sharing. And keep showing up for what matters to you. Because someone, somewhere, needs to hear exactly what you have to say.