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.
In public relations, this means crafting narratives that influence stakeholder perception, protect reputation, and drive measurable organizational outcomes. 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. 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. After all, how many monkeys need to fall off, 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 Storytelling Works in Public Relations
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, a neurochemical associated with empathy, connection, and trust. Zak measured subjects’ oxytocin levels before and after watching an emotionally charged video of a father attempting to cope with his son’s cancer. The results showed a positive correlation between increases in cortisol and oxytocin when watching the video, with some participants even offering to donate to the characters in the clips (Zak, 2015).
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 — even when they disagreed. Furthermore, narrative is highly effective at changing behaviors and perspectives. One test showed that subjects were more motivated to vote after reading a story where the protagonist voted on Election Day. Another study found that story-based framing can reduce prejudice by establishing a connection between the topic and the reader — a phenomenon researchers labeled “experience taking” (Shafer et al., 2018).
According to the research, influence is strongest when a story provokes “experience taking” through three I’s: interest, identity, and immersion.
Step 1: Interest (Media & Attention Strategy)
The first factor of a compelling story is interest. Humans are empathetic, but they’re also self-concerned. Strategic communicators must ask: “What’s in it for my audience?” One example of interest in action is Apple’s product marketing strategy. As a PR and Marketing Intern for an AI-based startup, I understand the difficulty of translating complex technical language into a meaningful story, but Apple has perfected their technique.
When Apple releases a new iPhone, they rarely lead with engineering specs. Instead, they frame features in terms of personal benefit: when you buy from Apple, your pictures look sharper, your life becomes more organized, and your devices work seamlessly. Consumers aren’t motivated by chip architecture — they’re motivated by ease.
Similarly, the 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge raised over $115 million for ALS research, not because participants deeply understood ALS. People engaged because the challenge was entertaining, social, and public. The campaign provided personal value: visibility, community, and participation in a viral trend. Only after interest was sparked did education follow.
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 (Brand & Stakeholder Alignment)
Identity is core to the “experience taking” concept. Consumers who see themselves reflected in a brand’s representation are more likely to invest loyalty into that organization. When I first watched Scandal, I immediately connected with Olivia Pope — a powerful woman of color using communication to influence real change. Her character modeled an identity I aspired to: strategic, articulate, and impact-driven. It offered a sense of recognition that shaped how I think about my career in communications.
Identity-driven storytelling is also evident in modern politics. The “Make America Great Again” campaign offered membership to a tribe with shared values, language, and visual symbolism. Wearing the iconic hat became a public declaration of identity. Supporters felt validated by rhetoric promising to restore an America they believed was lost.
Another example is Harley-Davidson’s “Live to Ride” campaign and the formation of official Rider Clubs. Harley doesn’t just sell motorcycles — they sell rebellion, freedom, and counterculture. Jackets, patches, and mottos signal who riders are and what they stand for. As a result, customers form lifelong brand loyalty. Together, interest draws audiences in, and identity keeps them there.
The Result: Immersion (Reputation & Loyalty)
The Harry Potter franchise exemplifies the full power of immersion. Interest grew from an imaginative fantasy world. Identity was built by sorting fans into houses, aligning them with characters, and giving them language and symbolism. Immersion was achieved through films, moral debates, fan theories, purchasable products, and theme parks. Even decades later, fans passionately argue about which house is best (it’s Slytherin). Immersion is where belonging becomes behavior.
Implications for Public Relations Professionals
For PR practitioners, the three I’s are not just narrative mechanics — they are strategic levers. Interest informs media hooks, headlines, and campaign angles. Identity drives brand affinity and community adoption. Immersion sustains engagement across long-term touchpoints. Together, they elevate PR from tactical execution to behavioral influence.
Strategic communications serves as the engine that conducts data, innovation, and leadership into a cohesive, digestible story. Interest creates stakes. Identity convinces audiences they belong. Immersion keeps them present long enough to create loyalty, advocacy, and measurable outcomes. This is why narratives drive behavior more effectively than charts, statistics, or logic alone.
Use Narrative Responsibly
History shows that when rhetoric ignores ethics, narratives can polarize, misinform, or harm the very communities they aim to mobilize. Entertainment, politics, advertisements, and messaging have all, at times, fueled propaganda. For PR professionals, this underscores our responsibility to recommend ethical messaging, combat misinformation, and advise leadership when narratives have unintended reputational consequences.
The Value of Human Communicators in the AI Era
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 narrative framing, they rarely translate into understanding — let alone action. Human communicators create irreplaceable value by framing insights as stories with clear stakes, providing identity cues and shared language, and designing immersive touchpoints that retain audiences long enough to take action. Narrative is not decoration — it’s architecture.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, mastering communications means mastering the human mind — its fears, hopes, identities, and need for purpose. Choose the right words, frame the right story, and speak to the right identity, and you will 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.”