We Remember Stories, Not Data

Stories Make Ideas Stick - The Science of Storytelling Part 8.

Stories Make Ideas Stick

I tell a story a lot about my childhood.

If you’ve ever heard me speak, there’s a good chance you’ve heard it. It’s the one about my dad coming home with a new car that only had a driver’s seat—and how he used a lawn chair as the passenger seat. You can see me tell it here if you want.

Something happens almost every time I share that story.
It actually just happened again yesterday in Nashville.

I’ll finish a talk, walk through the hallway, and someone will pass me and say:

“Hey… you’re the lawn chair guy!”

Sometimes it’s even weirder.
I’ve had people recognize me in hotel bars or on airplanes—years later.

“Wait… are you the guy with the lawn chair story?”

Here’s the hard truth:

They usually don’t remember anything else I said.
They rarely remember my name.
But they remember the story.

And it’s not because I’m a bad speaker.

It’s because of science.

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22x More Memorable

Researchers at Stanford once asked students to give one-minute persuasive pitches to their peers. Some used only facts. Others told personal stories.

Afterward, they asked the group what they remembered.

Only 5% remembered a single data point.
But 63% remembered the stories.

That’s over 12 times the stickiness.

Other studies suggest it’s even higher—up to 22 times more memorable—when a story is used instead of stats alone.

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The Brain Doesn’t File Facts—It Files Meaning

The brain doesn’t treat a story like a bullet point.

It processes it more like a lived experience.

When someone tells a vivid, emotional story, your brain lights up as if you’re the one living it. You’re not just listening. You’re feeling.

That’s why storytelling isn’t just good for marketing or leadership—it’s essential for teaching, coaching, parenting, and friendship. Anywhere you need an idea to land and stick.

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Stories Aren’t Illustrations. They’re the Point.

There’s a common idea in public speaking and writing:

Use a story to illustrate your point.

I think it’s better to flip that around.

Stories aren’t a nice-to-have extra.
They are the communication.

The best communicators don’t say,

“Here’s the idea—I just need a story to support it.”

Instead, they say,

“Here’s a story I’ve lived—what truth is hiding inside it?”

A 24/7 storyteller doesn’t collect stories to prop up their points.
They learn from stories—and retell them to help others learn the same lesson.

That’s why stories stick.

Because they are how we learn.

Facts fade. Feelings stick.
Story is how we turn information into meaning.

If you want to be remembered, stop reciting bullet points.
Tell the one story they’ll carry home and tell someone else.

That’s how ideas move.