The Art and Science of Storytelling
SONIC Health
Teaching others how to be better storytellers requires its very own educational initiative. SONIC Health created a virtual storytelling workshop for 60 global client partners and collaborators to offer lessons on the things they can do to tell better stories, including the science to storytelling. This secret science isn’t the “three act structure,” it’s understanding how to transform information to maximize chemical reactions within the brain that create empathy, attention, and feelings.
For the workshop, SONIC built the ultimate virtual theater on the Remo platform to teach their latest storytelling curriculum, centering on three powerful lessons: strong hooks, the tension engine, and using emotion to drive action. The company used interactive team exercises to put new knowledge into practice with the client’s scientific narrative.
The process behind the workshop included:
- Preparing the space by custom designing the story conference environment
- Dictating how participants would show up (“in costume as your favorite movie character,” obviously)
- Building out the content with a mix of curriculum, exercises, videos, Q&A, and group share opportunities
- Revisiting some of their favorite movies and TV shows as examples to help set the tone
- And practice; lots and lots of virtual rehearsals
Over the course of the three-hour workshop, SONIC set the stage for a successful optimization of one client’s global scientific story, and started many participants down the path to becoming better storytellers. They learned that the way they prepare presentations, approach proposals, revamp marketing materials, and run virtual meetings are all opportunities to tell a better story.
