The Power of Stories: Inspiring Hearts, Changing Minds

In this episode of the StorySpire podcast, host Mary  explores the profound impact of storytelling. 

She delves into the importance of stories in our lives, highlighting childhood fables like 'The Tortoise and the Hare', cautionary urban legends, and historical poems such as Longfellow's 'The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere'. 

Mary emphasizes how stories teach, inspire, and drive change, sharing powerful examples including the Chicago Tribune's 1993 campaign featuring children's deaths. 

Tune in to learn how to craft unforgettable stories that resonate and inspire meaningful action.

00:00 Introduction to Storiespire Podcast

00:20 Join the Story Spire Newsletter

00:56 The Power of Stories

01:29 Historical and Cautionary Tales

03:52 Connecting Stories to Hearts

04:45 The Impact of Stories

07:51 Cautionary Tales and Their Lessons

09:13 Inspiring Stories of Triumph

09:45 Crafting Memorable Stories

10:22 Conclusion and Encouragement

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Transcript

0:00

Welcome to the Storiespire podcast. I'm Mary R. Snyder. I am your host and storytelling strategist. I'm here with expert advice, actionable tips, and frameworks to create the stories that will inspire hearts and minds because stories change the world. Let's get into it. Hey, before we get started, I want to remind you of something. Have you said yes to my email, my newsletter, the Story Spire News? It is a weekly newsletter with a link to one of the episodes, the episode of the week, along with a storytelling tip, maybe something fun, a resource I found, or an inspirational story just to brighten up your email box. And you can do that simply by going to storyspire. com and clicking on Join Mary. I'd love for you to join me there. Stories. Someone recently asked me, why stories? And I thought, what better way to start this new podcast than talking about the power of stories? So let's get into it. Stories. We grow up with stories. It's what makes things stick, it's what makes us care, and it's what makes us remember. We learn through stories. We learn great things and we learn some cautionary tales and we're going to talk about both of those today. Think about this. Listen, my children, and you shall hear of the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. On the 18th of April in 75, hardly a man now alive who remembers this famous day and year. It's the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, written by Longfellow, and it's a very long poem, but you likely read it, and you learned that That Paul Revere warned the people the British were coming. He warned them, he told them what to do, and he told them to beware. It's how the colonists fought against the incoming British, but we learned our history through a poem, through a story. Written by Longfellow. we learned stories about the tortoise and the hare. When I say that, what do you immediately think? Slow and steady wins the race. Don't be overly confident like that darn rabbit was. Because he thought, you know what, I am super fast Mr. Turtle, Mr. Tortoise, and I'm just gonna take a nap because you are so slow. And he did. And the tortoise didn't. The tortoise just plotted along, and he kept going, and he won the race. So what we learned in that story is that just keep going. Going, even when the other guy looks like he's super fast or super confident and then there were those scary tales, you know, the ones you said around a campfire about the couple that was parking, remember that, the couple that was parking in a secluded spot and they kept hearing a noise and then there was a scratching and she got really scared and they drove off really fast The guy was so upset, he was like, we'll just go and they make it home and she gets out of the car and there is a hook hanging on to the door handle. This is back in the day when you had handles, like you didn't just pull them up, you had to actually put your hand in and press the button. Connect your story to their heart, whether you are telling a story of what you've overcome and how you know this overcoming is available to everyone, or you're telling a story of the work you're doing, maybe it's work in South Africa or whatever. At a local soup kitchen and you're telling a story of how a small donation made a huge difference, how 5 can feed someone who's going hungry today. Maybe you're telling a story of something you've walked through. Maybe it's a story of a difficult time and your heart is to encourage the next person on that journey. Your story will stick with them. There was a newspaper, the Chicago Tribune, and I don't live in Chicago. I don't, I've been to Chicago a handful of times, but this has stuck with me so much, and it is over 30 years ago this happened. In 1992, over 57 children under the age of 15 were murdered in Chicago. They were caught in the crossfire of some violence, they were killed in a gang, or they were murdered by the very people who were supposed to love them. And some journalist at the Chicago Tribune said, This isn't okay. And the whole newspaper said, this is not okay. We take a stand against killing our children. And for 360 days in 1993, They said, we will feature a child on the front page and we will tell that child's story. And they did that 360 times. Now not everyone left it. They didn't want to read about murdered children. It's not what you want to read in your newspaper every single day of the entire year. Did it affect their numbers? I don't know. I don't have those statistics. But what I did. Is it told stories, and those stories stuck, and those stories brought those children to life, and those stories reminded people that children are dying in our city, and we're not okay with it. 360 days, and then in 1994, they started the saving our children investigation, and they investigated and talked about the people who were making a difference. And those stories stuck. I don't know the whole outcome of what happened with the killing our children and the saving our children. I just know that a young mama in a little town in Alabama heard about that 31 years ago. And it stuck in my heart that they cared enough that they would make their children the main story every day. That's the power of stories. Your story and how you tell it, that could stick with someone for 31 years, or maybe like the story written by Longfellow, hundreds of years. Stories matter. They change our trajectory of what we do. Scary stories remind us to be safe. Remember the one about the person that woke up without a kidney? You haven't heard that one? The story goes, and everyone knows someone who knows someone who knows someone that this happened to. This person was out. They met someone at a local adult beverage establishment and maybe it had a little bit too much to drink and decided to go back to a hotel with this person. Cautionary tale. They wake up. They are in a bathtub filled with ice and there's a note. And a phone because this story predates cell phones. There's a phone beside them and a note and it says call 911. Do not get out of the tub. The person calls 911, people show up, EMTs, first responders, and they realize there has been a surgical procedure done on this person and they have taken the person's kidney. Now, I searched far and wide to find out if this had any truth to it and couldn't find any. But the cautionary tale is that it is never wise to go home with someone you've never met to a hotel room. Don't do that. Cautionary tales. Tales that encourage and inspire stories that make us want to go farther, dream bigger, believe more. The Olympic stories, they were beautiful. The stories of Simone Biles overcoming all that she overcame in the 2020 Olympics to come back in 24 and win, win, and win. Story after story. They move the hearts of people. How do you tell the story? that makes people want to lean in and listen. That's the whole point of this podcast. It is helping you tell the stories that make people want to care. Stories that they will remember 31 years from now. Stories that move their heart to action. Stories that make them believe they can run faster, jump higher, achieve more, and be more than they ever dreamed or imagined. That's the power of stories. Our world is full of stories. The Bible is full of stories. We tell our children's stories at night. Once upon a time, there was. You fill in the blank. So my question to you is what is your story and how are you telling it? Are you encouraging people with it? Are you inspiring people with it? Are you pushing people beyond to believe that they can do more than they ever thought or imagined? Until next week, keep telling those stories, keep believing, and I look forward to seeing you back here next week. Have a good one. Bye for now.