Storytelling is a skill you can use to sell, hire, or be hired.
February 26, 2026
By Rachel Smith
Originally published January 2021. Updated March 2026.
When my husband and I got married, we registered for a vacuum cleaner. I was researching which ones were best when I came across a story of a man who had purchased the Dyson Animal. The man had lived with a cat, but at the point of his new vacuum cleaner purchase, the cat had been dead for two years. During that two-year period, he regularly vacuumed his home once a week. When he used his Dyson Animal for the first time, he filled up the entire canister with cat hair twice. I was done with my research. That was the vacuum cleaner I wanted.
I have been married for 18 years. My Dyson Animal is long gone, but I will never forget that story.
A story doesn’t have to begin with, “Once upon a time.” A story is simply a narrative of a series of related events. Instead of talking about the many features and benefits of the widgets you sell, share an example of a customer who had a problem, bought your widgets, and solved that problem. Now you’re telling a story.
Whether or not you enjoy a specific story can be subjective, but there are certain elements that nearly every good story will possess. Your story needs at least one character, some sort of conflict, and a resolution. Beyond that, a good sales story needs to be MORE—memorable, organized, relatable, and educational. These characteristics might seem obvious, but it takes some storytelling practice in order to incorporate all of them successfully.
You might tell a story that’s hilarious, but if it’s not sharing information about your product, it won’t be effective at attracting new customers. You might tell a story that is inspirational, but if the listener can’t relate to the main character, it won’t be a useful sales strategy. As you share your story, ideally, the listener will be able to put themselves into the shoes of the story’s hero.
Research has shown again and again that people remember stories better than they remember facts alone. Whether they remember 50% more of the stories or they are 22 times more likely to remember a story depends on which study you’re looking at, but the idea is clear—people will remember facts that are wrapped in a narrative much better than just plain facts.
When we tell a story about a product instead of touting the features and benefits, prospects will visualize using the products themselves. If you read Maestro’s blog about how to ask effective questions, you might remember that simply by asking someone to visualize doing something, you increase the likelihood that they will do it. Stories automatically prompt individuals to imagine themselves in a situation without you having to explicitly ask. Just by talking about how another customer—someone your prospect can relate to because they are in the same field or have the same problem—used your product or service, the listener thinks about themselves using it.
Of course, you should still share information about the product itself. Don’t think of storytelling as story vs facts. Storytelling is more like packaging those facts within a narrative. Listening to this narrative is more engaging for people and activates more of their brain. As a sales professional, a prospect’s full, undivided attention is exactly what you want.
A study by Adaval and Wyler in the Journal of Consumer Psychology showed another benefit to using storytelling in sales. Their work found that when people are presented with all of the details about something, like a product, they are more likely to come up with a counter-argument to one of those details than if the same information was shared within a story. Stories are processed in a holistic manner, decreasing the likelihood of finding fault with a specific feature. Research published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics found that the way stories vs. statistics impact our beliefs is different over time. The impact of statistics on beliefs (e.g., the belief that your solution can solve my problem) fades by 73% over the course of a day. The impact of a story, however, fades by only 32%.
Studies of buyer behavior on eBay have revealed that people value an object more if there is a story behind it. Vintage cars that are considered “barn finds,” meaning that they were abandoned and later discovered in a barn, bring a higher price than those without that history, even though barn finds usually need more work.
So, narratives (1) are more engaging; (2) are more easily remembered; (3) result in fewer counter-arguments; and (4) cause buyers to find more value in a product. They have the power to shape buyer behavior and decision making—of course they should be used as a sales strategy!
The powerful force of stories helps explain why user reviews and case studies can be so effective in convincing prospective customers or clients. A case study is a story of how you helped a particular client. The more you can structure it as a relatable, interesting narrative, the more power it will have.
Similarly, a study by Black and Kelley found that when consumers read online customer reviews that included elements of a good story, they found them to be more helpful. Another study done by Hallie Cho at Vanderbilt Business found that star ratings accompanied by stories were seen as more credible than star ratings alone. Stories trump stars.
Companies don’t just sell to customers; they also sell to prospective employees. Storytelling can be an excellent hiring technique that can be used to make your company stand out from others. Before an applicant is ever reviewed, consider using narratives in your job posting. Examples of what it’s like to work for your brand will be much more compelling than, “If you enjoy a fast-paced, innovative environment…”
Similarly, include narratives as part of your interview process. If you want to hire top talent, that means you’re likely considering individuals who have a choice of where they want to work. Use storytelling as a way to engage them and make them remember you. A narrative can prompt them to imagine themselves working on your team. Stories have the power to impact decision-making for everyone, from your prospects to your potential employees and even your current employees.
When hiring a new employee, companies want to be sure that a prospective candidate will be a good fit. Similarly, the candidates are assessing how well they will fit into company culture. Stories from current employees provide a useful barometer for gauging compatibility. Speaking of hiring, according to The Wall Street Journal, storytelling is the new “it” skill companies are hiring for. In 2025, the number of LinkedIn job listings including the term “storyteller” doubled, with 70,000 marketing and communications roles including the term.
Why are stories so compelling to us? It’s science! Data and facts alone stimulate two portions of the brain that deal with language processing and comprehension. A story, on the other hand, stimulates an additional five regions of the brain that control touch, movement, scents, sounds, and colors/shapes.
Remember when I said that people relate to stories and imagine themselves in the shoes of the hero? That is, quite literally, what they are doing. When someone listens to a story, parts of their brain are activated as though they are experiencing what happened. It’s like the story becomes their own idea or experience because of how the brain reacts.
Have you ever tried to convince someone of something and thought, “I have to make them think it was their idea.” That is exactly what storytelling does. The narrative becomes the listener’s experience. Chemicals that are released in the brain while listening also help explain why stories are so powerful. Cortisol (assists in forming memories), dopamine (regulates emotional response), and oxytocin (associated with empathy) are all released when we listen to a narrative.
Humans have been telling stories for more than 40,000 years. Stories created culture, stories strengthened bonds between people, and stories kept us from getting eaten by bears. We are hardwired to respond positively to a well-told narrative.
Why share a PowerPoint full of data when you have another, more powerful tool? It’s time to tell your story.
Have you noticed that many of the strategies we share work because we are hardwired to respond in certain ways as a means of survival? We think of ourselves as being sophisticated and innovative, and we are, but we’re sophisticated and innovative cavemen.
While we can improve our use of mirroring as a sales technique, it’s also something that we (and other primates) do subconsciously. Not only that, but our brain reacts to mirroring without us having consciously noticed another person doing it. When someone mirrors our behavior, reward-processing centers of the brain are activated. It signals acceptance by our peers, which was critical to our survival thousands of years ago.
Why do we start squirming when there is an extended silence? It triggers feelings of rejection, which cause us great distress. Again, we’re hardwired to want to be part of the group. We evolved in an environment in which not being part of the group meant you wouldn’t survive.
Gifts have long had an integral function in society. They could help build and solidify relationships. The act of giving triggers the mesolimbic reward system in our brains. Solidifying relationships translates into survival.
Storytelling
“Don’t go near that tree because a leopard lives there,” is much less effective than, “Yesterday Ugg got mauled by a leopard that lives in that tree.” The message is the same, but the latter statement is more effective. It tells a story. Stories have helped us learn, connect, and survive for thousands of years.
Many of our sales strategies work not because of sophisticated ideas or emerging technology, but because we are essentially cavemen hardwired for survival. We just have better clothes now.
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