Using Storytelling to Shape Behaviour
This article originally featured in Issue 17 of Lume Magazine
On a windy mountain in southern Lutruwita (Tasmania), a softly spoken gardener lovingly cultivates the soil that has sustained her twenty-year career. Tenderly exploring the ever-changing alchemy of food gardening, Paulette Whitney is known amongst market goers in Salamanca as the seed whisperer at Provenance Growers - selling seeds and tubers every Saturday in Hobart. She is admired by chefs around the country for her dedication to food growth and ethical care for each and every plant she tends.
Paulette’s journey, captured in her first book Broccoli and Other Love Stories, reveals in her own words, how instinct and passion can guide us toward our true calling. Embracing uncertainties and learning from numerous gardening failures have been essential steps in becoming who Paulette is today. Her drive, tenacity, and resilience has clearly paved the way to success and respect amongst her peers.
Paulette Whitney and her book Broccoli & other love stories. Photo: The Mercury Newspaper
After her (sold-out) book launch in Nipaluna (Hobart), my husband and I headed home with two copies of Paulette’s book tucked under our arms. Despite our personal connection to Paulette, we couldn’t help but buy an extra copy for a friend. We were utterly captivated by her method of storytelling and knew her way of writing would delight and inspire our own circle as well. And so, rather than flick on the TV before bed, we instead paused to open her book by the fireside, enjoying a precious few minutes savouring the first pages. I read it aloud, and we were immersed in her words and the wisdom so poetically placed on each page. Thoughts went to our failed veggie patch and whether we might rethink its future this Spring.
So how can a story like Paulette’s shape our behaviour, and why does it matter?
Stories have long been a tool for teaching and influencing. Consider Aesop's Fables: these moral tales were created to impart life lessons. Aesop, a Greek slave, his tales were not just for entertainment but to help others navigate life’s challenges. His stories have endured because they were deeply instructive.
In ancient Ireland—my homeland—a storyteller, known as a seanchaí, roamed the countryside, acting as the vessel to carry history, genealogies, myths, and legends. These stories, passed down orally, were listened to with deep attention. Without modern distractions, our ancestors retained these tales far better than we retain information today.
Reading aloud, pausing to discuss, and engaging with the material was far more meaningful than speed-reading an article online. The shared experience of storytelling was as significant as the words themselves.
Listening to Paulette, then reading her stories of the Onion, Daisy and Cabbage families is like meeting a family of unruly members, with personal anecdotes and knowledge shared that would entice even the most reluctant of growers (me) to sink my fingers back into the soil. Paulette is a storyteller like Aesop and the seanchaí, entertaining us through words but imparting the lessons that can shape our outlook on life.
Extract from Broccoli & other love stories.
Now, in an age dominated by constant distractions and fleeting attention spans, the art of storytelling is a powerful tool for creating meaningful connections and driving positive change. While reading or listening to stories that entertain and inspire is nothing new, their purpose is the same – to connect us to our shared humanity. A well-told story invites us to empathise, step into the narrator's shoes, and understand experiences different from our own. This empathy fosters a more compassionate and understanding society.
In fact, stories can activate multiple areas of the brain, making the experience more immersive and memorable. When we hear a story, our brains release oxytocin, a hormone associated with empathy and trust. Remember bedtime stories as a child, or sitting with your little ones, squished cosily together with their favourite book and, despite the fact you may have read it repeatedly all week, the story you tell is relished by those little ears with squirming bodies slowly softening in anticipation of sleep. This biological response helps explain why storytelling is such an effective tool that nourishes our capacity for attention, empathy, insight and often relaxation. That’s why it’s used regularly by marketers to build trust, elevate product value and create lasting connections with audiences. In our fast-paced, digitally-driven world, the ancient art of storytelling has become a vital way for us to slow down and pause.
Whether you read or like to write, whether for pleasure or for your profession, remember that your action and interaction is a powerful tool. We would all like to live in a more empathetic, understanding, and connected world. Perhaps we should take a leaf out of Paulette’s book and free ourselves from the fug of modern life to cultivate richer, more wholesome connections.
