Stories appeal to our imagination and work on our emotions. And although you can already guess this, fortunately, there is also a lot scientific evidence that emotional engagement helps us remember things. Not surprising. When the young caveman sees a saber-toothed tiger happily eating daddy hunter, he learns an important lesson. And he'll remember it better than boring cave learning on the walls of a cliff. But of course, it doesn't always have to be so cruel.

Our brain has an easier time remembering things if there is context. And that's why storytelling comes in handy.
For example, the image on the left may be a bit much of a good thing. But you're more likely to think back to it tomorrow, than there would have been a storybook stock photo here. Emotion! Remember?

Imagine that you want to freshen up the 10 golden rules for safety for the colleagues in the workhouse. You know: PPE, no loose clothing, cleaning everything up, etc..
You can easily do that with a short e-learning where you list the 10 rules and show how to wear a helmet or safety shoes correctly in an animation or video. But probably many workers will think: 'duh, I know'. And bad behavior is unlikely to be corrected.

But what if you let Rudy speak? Until last year, he worked in a similar warehouse. But on a dark afternoon, he stumbled over a loose cable, tumbled down the stairs, and has needed a wheelchair ever since. Rudy's little daughter says that dad will never dance ballet with her now.

You immediately feel that the second way comes in harder. And that way, you might see more properly worn PPE in a tidy warehouse next time!

No. It is a strategy, a tool. But you can't or don't have to use it all the time. In a bit of microlearning “what to do if machine X gives error 23”, you shouldn't end up with a story from Els who once had the same problem.

And although I haven't seen any research to back that up, experience tells me that the best storytelling is often recognizable. We have also used dinosaurs or knights in the past, and in some cases that works just fine. But you only really get that emotional “buy in” when someone recognizes themselves or the situation in what you say. Like colleague Rudy in the wheelchair.

If storytelling always worked, or was 100% effective, no one would smoke now, no one would drive too fast, and a BOB campaign would be a thing of the past.

Define first and foremost you target group. They're the ones where your story should click. So pay enough attention to that. Optionally, create a persona, a fictional character with a background, a job, hobbies,...

Also ask yourself what the learning objectives and learning needs are. The two things are rarely the same. And also determine within which of the '5 moments of need“you're sitting.
Once you have determined that storytelling can be an added value in this case, briefly outline the broad lines of your story.

And finally, you can, also in terms of technicalities (what tools and medium do you use), develop and shape your story.