Why Communications is the Most Powerful Tool You Can Master

When assessing powerful tools to effect change, people often highlight data-driven analytics, technological advancements, and unifying leadership. The truth is, none of these tools are as effective as they can be if not backed by strategic communications.

What sets strategic communicators apart is the innate ability to understand their audience. All strategic communicators are professional storytellers, but not all storytellers are in communications.

How do you establish and maintain a strong brand reputation? How do you drive a disconnected society to believe in the technology being created? How do leaders mobilize opposite ends of a spectrum to come together? All of these questions can be answered thoroughly by a strategic communicator.

You may often hear the term “storytelling” vaguely tossed around in the business world. It’s usually a vital tool that organizations lean on to reach their target audience. So, why does storytelling matter so much, and what does it even mean?

Your parents likely read you folktales like “The Three Little Pigs,” “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” or “Chicken Little” to instill crucial morals in you as a child. These stories ingrained a fundamental set of beliefs in you early, becoming a framework for how you view the world and make decisions as you grow into an adult. This method of teaching is more memorable because humans are inherently empathetic creatures who learn better from shared experience than from facts alone.

If you tell a 5-year-old to stop jumping on the bed because data shows that it can lead to severe concussions, I doubt the kid would listen. But if you explain the same thing by singing the nursery rhyme “No more monkeys jumping on the bed,” the lesson becomes significantly more memorable to the 5-year-old. After all, how many monkeys need to fall off a bed, bump their head, and hear what the doctor said for one to finally learn their lesson?

Now, let’s discuss how we can apply the same principles to motivate people across business, politics, philanthropy, and pop culture.

How Does Storytelling Work?

Short answer: storytelling works because our brains are wired for it.

One study by neuroscientist Paul J. Zak found that emotional, character-driven stories trigger the release of oxytocin in our brains, a neurochemical associated with empathy, connection, and trust. Zak measured subjects' oxytocin levels before and after watching an emotionally charged video of a father desperately attempting to cope with his son’s cancer. The results showed a positive correlation between an increase in cortisol and oxytocin levels and watching the video, with some patients even offering to donate money to the characters in the clips (Zak, 2015).

So storytelling works chemically, but how does rhetorical strategy like this compare to didactic or analytical presentations?

A research paper published by Annals of Behavioral Medicine showed that subjects not only read narrative messaging twice as fast as other expository methods, but also recalled information more accurately and had fewer counterarguments to the material, even when they disagreed.

Furthermore, the paper presents evidence that narrative is also highly effective at changing behaviors and perspectives. For example, one test showed that subjects were more motivated to vote after reading a story where the protagonist voted on Election Day. Another example found that story-based framing can reduce prejudice and promote positive attitudes in individuals by establishing a connection between the topic and the reader, a phenomenon the researchers labeled “experience taking” (Shafer and Colleagues, 2018).

“Experience taking” is a fundamental in storytelling. According to the research, influence is most substantial when a story provokes “experience taking” through three I’s: interest, identity, and immersion.

Let’s take a look at how each of these I’s has been used in real-life examples of successful communication strategies:

Step 1: Interest

The first factor of a compelling story is interest. While humans are empathetic creatures, they can also be self-concerned. In strategic communications, professionals must put themselves in their audience’s shoes and ask, “What’s in it for me?”. If your story can answer that question promptly, you retain the audience’s interest and care. If not, interest dies, and attention shifts.

One example of interest in action is Apple’s product marketing strategy. As a PR and Marketing Intern for an AI-based software startup, I understand the difficulty of translating complex technical and business language into a meaningful story for the average person, but Apple has perfected their technique. When Apple releases a new iPhone, they rarely lead with technical specifications or engineering complexity. Instead, they frame every feature in terms of the consumer’s personal benefit: when you buy from Apple, your pictures look sharper, your life becomes more organized, and your devices work together seamlessly. Consumers are not motivated by chip specs; they’re enticed by how a device can ease their everyday lives. By positioning their products as simple solutions, Apple sustains attention and answers the question, “Why should I care?” within the first few seconds of a campaign.

In 2014, the viral Ice Bucket Challenge raised over $115 million for ALS research, not because participants sympathized with ALS patients or understood the danger of the disease. In fact, many participants couldn’t even tell you what ALS was or why it mattered. People engaged because the Ice Bucket Challenge was entertaining and public. The campaign provided immediate personal value: a moment of visibility online and the social capital of participating in an exciting trend. Only after interest was sparked did education about ALS follow. This case demonstrates how strategic communicators must first capture attention through relevance and personal stakes before delivering information.

Across all industries, the pattern is clear: interest is sustained when the audience recognizes its role in the story. When people learn what they have to gain (or lose), they lean in.

Step 2: Identity

Perhaps the most associated with the “experience taking” concept, identity is potent when building a story. Consumers and audiences who see themselves in a brand's representation are more inclined to invest their loyalty in that organization.

When I first watched Scandal, I immediately connected with the protagonist, Olivia Pope—a powerful woman of color who uses communication to influence real change. Pope’s character modeled an identity I aspired to: strategic, articulate, and impact-driven. It’s a bingeable show, but watching Scandal became more than entertainment; it offered a sense of recognition that shaped how I think about my career in communications.

Similarly, identity-driven storytelling is evident in modern politics. The “Make America Great Again” campaign offered membership to a group with shared values, language, and even visual symbolism. Regardless of political beliefs, the campaign’s communication strategy provides a clear example of identity construction in messaging: While previous political merchandise was about supporting a candidate, wearing a red MAGA hat became a public declaration of identity. Supporters felt seen, validated, and empowered by rhetoric that promised to restore an America they felt had been lost. Millions remain loyal, attending rallies, volunteering, and voting based on how the campaign made them feel about their country —and, more importantly, themselves.

Another example is Harley-Davidson’s “Live to Ride” campaign and the formation of official Rider Clubs. Harley doesn’t just sell motorcycles with new features or models—they sell rebellion, freedom, and counterculture. Riders wear leather jackets, patches, and mottos that signal a stark aesthetic. Harley-Davidson’s communications intentionally shape a rugged, independent identity narrative. As a result, customers form lifelong loyalty to the brand.

In storytelling, your protagonists must align with your target audience’s real-life identity in some way, whether it’s shared values, occupations, or culture. Together, interest draws consumers in, and identity keeps them there, allowing the audience to fully immerse themselves in your story by stimulating an experience not through their own eyes, but through the perspective of the characters they’re inspired by.

The Result: Immersion

The result of the first two I’s can be exemplified by the Harry Potter franchise, which continues to thrive decades after the release of its final book. Interest began with the fantasy world that J.K. Rowling built in her first book. Allowing fans to sort themselves into a house, align with their favorite Harry Potter characters, and actively participate in the wizarding world builds an unshakeable collective identity. Full immersion was achieved through the movies, moral debates, fan theories, purchasable products, and theme parks built to endure generations. Even decades later, I see fans passionately argue over which house is superior (it’s Slytherin).

Strategic communications serves as the engine that conducts data, innovation, and leadership into a cohesive, digestible story. Interest creates high stakes that draw people in, and identity convinces them they belong there. Once these two I’s are executed, complete immersion keeps people present long enough to drive sustained engagement, loyalty, and advocacy. Together, these forces explain why narratives drive behaviors more effectively than charts, statistics, or logic ever could alone.

While storytelling is powerful, it must be used responsibly. History shows that when rhetoric ignores ethics, narratives can polarize, misinform, or even harm the very communities they aim to mobilize. Entertainment, politics, advertisements, and other forms of messaging have all, at times, fueled propaganda.

As attention spans shrink and technologies grow more complex, the importance of strong storytelling will only rise. AI and predictive analytics can surface insights, but without a compelling narrative to frame them, they rarely translate into genuine understanding, let alone action. That’s where human communicators create irreplaceable value:

• Frame insights as stories with clear stakes so audiences understand what they have to gain or lose.

• Provide identity cues and shared language so that people feel part of something bigger than themselves.

• Design immersive touchpoints (rituals, symbols, participation pathways) that retain audiences long enough to take action.

Ultimately, mastering communications means mastering the human mind—its fears, its hopes, its identities, and its need for purpose. Choose the right words, frame the right story, and speak to the right identity, and as a result, spark action. In a noisy world saturated with information, the stories we tell—and how we tell them—are the most powerful tools we can channel to shape the society we hope to know.

And it all starts with “Once Upon a Time”.

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