Plain tales of investing

Dale Carnegie perhaps did more than anyone else to popularise the idea that public speaking is not an innate gift but a skill that can be cultivated through practice.

- SANJAY KUMAR SINGH

Dale Carnegie perhaps did more than anyone else to popularise the idea that public speaking is not an innate gift but a skill that can be cultivated through practice. In his landmark book The Quick and Effective Way to Public Speaking, Carnegie strongly advocated the use of stories. He encouraged speakers to begin their talks with anecdotes, especially those drawn from personal experiences. Such stories help audiences perceive the speaker as trustworthy, allowing a rapport to be established immediately.

Facts and figures presented in isolation tend to be forgotten quickly. When conveyed through storytelling, they become memorable. Carnegie believed stories can serve as a tool for subtle persuasion. A barrage of fact-based arguments may well end up stiffening people's resistance. But a story allows the audience to arrive at conclusions on its own.

Why are stories so effective at communicating ideas? Researchers have found that when listeners hear plain facts, only the brain's language-processing areas are activated. But stories stimulate multiple regions, including those linked to emotion, sensory perception, and motor activity. In effect, the brain processes a story as if it is experiencing it.