Storytelling is such an important skill in life. In spite of all the data that now exists that never before did, people really focus on the overall narrative still rather than the complete details — it may be a biological limitation or evolutionary adaption, but whatever it is, we naturally communicate best through stories. I’ve been thinking about some of the greatest storytellers lately and what they do best.

Malcolm Gladwell is one of the most popular ones today. He seems to start with a “big idea” and then find stories/research that would demonstrate it. As a result, his work clearly conveys a central point — almost too well since you can almost just read the book jackets and not need to read the whole book to get it.

In contrast, one of my favorite writers, Michael Lewis, seems to have a reverse process. He finds individuals with compelling stories which can be representative of a broader picture. The difference is subtle but the result is quite different. You feel like there’s more truth to the story but less certain of what it means and what to take away.

I think what they both do well though is make people the center of their stories. People only care about stories about people. Stories about technology, science, or nature without people as the central focus just aren’t as interesting (this probably holds true for photography too). Steve Jobs knew this when he was talking about computers in the 1980s’s. He talked about computers as bicycles for people’s minds rather than simply as miracles of science or tools of business. He also knew this when approving the advertisements for Apple which always had people using technology as the focus rather than the device, network capabilities, or price.

So when giving a speech to an audience, pitching a story to a reporter, making an ad, or doing anything related, you really need to make people the main idea.