Last week, in a lovely New Haven bar, six people gathered in front of a crowd to tell stories that were somehow related to science and public health. It was magical.
One person talked about learning how social determinants of health helped them forgive their mother’s alcoholism. Another shared what it’s been like navigating a dementia diagnosis. Another described their last dinner with their mother before they left Nigeria to come to the U.S. and how that moment, plus the diagnosis that followed, shapes their career goals today.
As the Executive Director of The Evidence Collective at Your Local Epidemiologist, I was ecstatic to bring this event, “Science and Storytelling,” to the community surrounding the Yale School of Public Health.
Stories are not the default way most people communicate about science and public health.
In fact, we are taught to take all the emotion out of data, but that makes it pretty darn boring to everyone else. And if people can’t see themselves in it, feel themselves in it, or influence it, how can we ask them to support it?
Why do stories stick? How can we all—from community members to public health scientists—do better? And what are some examples?
Our brains are wired for stories. It’s why so many of us read books, watch TV and movies, and remember the stories told to us by those dear.
Scientific evidence shows that when people listen to a story (versus a jumbled, out-of-order version), more of their brain lights up, and their brain patterns start to match those of other listeners and even the person telling the story. This mental sync-up is actually a good predictor of how much someone will remember later. Study after study backs this up: people remember information better when it’s delivered as a story rather than a list of facts or statistics.
This is really important when you want someone to be compelled by what you are saying AND to retain and use the information afterward, like in changing a health behavior!
Storytelling doesn’t just help people remember either. It changes how people perceive the world.
A recent study looked at what happened when high schoolers in Kentucky went through a storytelling program. (It hasn’t been formally reviewed by other scientists yet, so take the findings with a grain of salt, but they’re still worth noting.)
Juniors and seniors were divided into two groups: one went through a 10-session storytelling program, the other didn’t. The students who participated in the program showed real improvements in several areas. They became:
- More empathetic
- More curious, and
- More respectful toward classmates and people with different views.
It’s a compelling reminder that storytelling can open the door to tough but important conversations with people we don’t see eye to eye with.
The idea of using stories in science and public health isn’t new. Research supports the idea that stories can increase health knowledge, confidence in a person’s ability to take action using that knowledge, and willingness to participate in preventive health screenings.
One study compared a fictional narrative film to a traditional public health film on cervical cancer, both containing identical health information. Two weeks later, the narrative group retained significantly more information. Six months out, they were more likely to have scheduled a Pap smear. This effect was particularly strong among Mexican-American women, helping eliminate disparities in cervical cancer screening for that group.
In another study, African-American women aged 40+ were randomly assigned to watch either a fellow African-American woman sharing her breast cancer survival story or a video presenting the same content in a purely informational format. The narrative group found their video more engaging than the informational group did, and they were less likely to counter-argue with the message and reported more breast cancer conversations with family. At six-month follow-up, the difference in mammogram rates widened meaningfully among women with less than a high school education and those who distrusted traditional cancer information sources.
Both examples show the positive impact stories can have in helping patients take important action for their health.
Oral storytelling events aren’t new—you can find many examples such as the Moth or Storycollider. Other events, like Science Cafés and Science on Tap are great, but focus on public lectures and research explainers, not storytelling.
Storytelling events, like the one held in New Haven, are different. We host them in local spaces where people already gather, which lowers the barrier. People don’t need to “opt-in” by purchasing a ticket or subscribing to a podcast. The focus is on personal stories that connect to science or public health, not on data presentations or lectures, and the storytellers are a mix of people, not just scientists or experts.
This method works! Last week, in New Haven, I watched a room full of strangers lean in, laugh, tear up, and leave feeling more connected to one another. All because six people were willing to share a story tied to issues in science and public health that matter.
The six storytellers with me and Megan Ranney, Dean of the Yale School of Public Health. From left to right: Don, Dean Ranney, Wenyi, Semilore, Ellen Sue, Legairre, Jason, and me.
We don’t need to abandon data or lectures, but we do need more spaces where stories are given room to make people feel something, remember the information, and act on it.
If you work in science, public health, or in any field where you’re trying to reach people, I’d encourage you to think about how storytelling fits into what you do. And if you’re interested in bringing an event like this to your community, here’s a starter guide—and feel free to reach out to see how we can collaborate.
Here are some high-level tips I tell community members and scientists alike:
- Just start. Like any skill, storytelling is hard at first but gets easier with practice. The best thing you can do is try writing and telling stories, then ask people you trust for honest feedback about what worked and what didn’t. Once you have a story you might tell out loud, practice speaking it and edit from there.
- Know your one thing. If someone only remembers one piece of information from your story, what should it be? Build your story around that.
- Find your story. What story can you tell that connects to the thing you want someone to learn? It can be from your own life, or from a patient, a family member, even a movie. Just get permission or anonymize details to protect people’s privacy.
- Craft the narrative. Start with a hook. It can be a specific moment, a surprising fact, or a scene that pulls people in. Then tell the story. Add as many details as you can related to setting and emotion. Help people see and feel it, not just hear it. Then, end strong. Your last few lines are what people will remember the most.
- Let the science emerge from the story. Don’t lead with data or definitions. Tell the human experience first, and then introduce the science. This can be as simple as pausing to explain a concept, delivering a key fact, or connecting what happened to a broader pattern. The goal is for your audience to think “oh, that’s why this matters” or “that’s how that works,” rather than feeling like they’re sitting through a lecture.
It’s time to bring science to society and society to science. And that starts with all of us.
Love, Liz
Dr. Liz Marnik, PhD, is Executive Director of The Evidence Collective and a science communicator and immunologist working at the intersection of public trust, science, and public health. You can find her on Substack, LinkedIn, Instagram and Threads.
Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE) is founded and operated by Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, MPH PhD—an epidemiologist, wife. YLE reaches more than 425,000 people in over 132 countries with one goal: “Translate” the ever-evolving public health science so that people will be well-equipped to make evidence-based decisions. This newsletter is free to everyone, thanks to the generous support of fellow YLE community members. To support the effort, subscribe or upgrade below:
