Survival of Fittest: Why Darwinism in Storytelling Matters

Who Will Survive?

In this highly competitive time in marketing and the world, staying afloat can feel incredibly overwhelming. Luckily, there are some simple elements of storytelling that can help you get your message heard and stand out in the crowded space.
Jayde Lovell is a story expert that has worked in advertising for her entire career. She believes in keeping things simple, the importance of understanding core story structure, and that it is entirely possible to stand out and succeed.
Jayde talks about her switch from corporate marketing to focusing on scientific storytelling, the basics of story structure, how Darwinism applies to social media, and how emotions can trigger a post to go viral.  

In This Episode

• Why understanding the structure of story is essential to successfully delivering your message
• How natural selection applies to social media and the digital age
• How to use more concise formats, like Twitter, effectively to simplify your story
• Why anger is the top emotion to cause virality in posts

Quotes From This Episode

“Social media has evolved over time so that now it prioritizes posts and platforms that actually tell stories.” —@JaydeLovell
“Story structure is very simple. It’s: And, But, Therefore!” —@JaydeLovell
“Scientists are classically untrained in how to communicate.”  —@JaydeLovell
“Until you can nail the structure what you’re doing is communication, but not storytelling.” —@JaydeLovell

“We all know that things evolve or as Darwin will put it, species change with time. But we see technology changing with time as well. I remember having the old Apple II with the floppy disks and now I have way more computing power in just my iPhone. But communication and culture evolves over time as well. Charles Darwin was the first one to figure out evolution of species, but when we look at evolution of culture and communication, we see that there’s this thing called selective pressure. For social media, it turns out that the biggest pressure is narrative. So, not just posts, but also platforms. ” —@JaydeLovell

“The structure of storytelling has been around for at least four thousand years. We tell stories every single day.”  —@JaydeLovell
“You need to know the structures first before you can be an effective communicator.” —@JaydeLovell
“Anger is the number one emotion that seeds virality.” —@JaydeLovell

Resources

• Jayde Lovell
• Jayde Lovell on Twitter, @JaydeLovell
• ReAgency
• NASA
• Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• Steve Clayton
• Young Turks Network
• “The Hero’s Journey,” by Joseph Campbell
• “Your DIY Guide to Crafting and Telling Compelling Brand Stories that Sell,” by Park Howell
• BusinessofStory.com
• Park@BusinessOfStory.com