Great Expectations

As listeners, the difference between what we perceive as a good story and a bad story often has more to do about our expectations of what’s to come than the actual content itself.  For example, if I tell you there is a new cookie in the market that you can eat that has 0 calories and tastes just as good as a regular cookie, you are sorely disappointed if it doesn't taste as good as an Oreo. 

But if you hear a story about a cookie with 0 calories in the market when you never expected to find a cookie you could eat that tasted even somewhat good, you would think this was a fantastic story.

As storytellers, much of our job is about preparing our audience to be ready to hear the information we are about to tell.  Choosing a story that levels expectations for the information you are about to share can mean the difference between winning a “believer” and losing your audience.  

-Julie