MANILA, PHILIPPINES — In his keynote session at DIGIMAX: IMMAP Digicon 2023, “Storytelling for Business,” award-winning storyteller and author Matthew Luhn discussed how great stories can help build stronger and more meaningful connections between creators or businesses with their audiences.
Matthew’s path to becoming an animator and storyteller, from a family rooted in the toy business to his work on the beloved global film Toy Story, appears destined and unwavering. As everyone is well-acquainted with the creative and heartwarming narrative Toy Story provides, the challenges he experienced in creating the film were nothing short of a great story, too.
“Whoever tells the best story wins,” Matthew shared.
Further into his talk, he explained how storytelling, as an art form, also contains a spectacular amount of science in creating it. He emphasized how stories can be told through the five senses, with visual imagery as the strongest form, citing examples through brands and advertisements that made use of color and composition to tell a story and sell their product.
“People love tension and release in a story,” Matthew said. As stories evoke several emotions from the audience, another interesting thing Matthew shared on the science of storytelling is how they purposely induce dopamine and oxytocin in films, through happy moments and sorrowful scenes. He calls this “neural coupling,” where the viewer’s brain responds to the characters and events in stories as if we are experiencing them ourselves.
“Stories are so meaningful and so magical because they make information memorable, impactful, impersonal—this isn’t just entertainment, this is for everything we do,” he added.
Matthew ended his talk with tips on how to create an inspiring story, highlighting the importance of a “great hook” to capture attention, inspiring people to change and transform through the character envisioned in the story, connecting to human desires and fears, and most importantly, allowing space for vulnerability and honesty in order to achieve true authenticity—further strengthening the structure of any story with a character and their journey.
adobo Magazine is an official media partner of DIGIMAX: IMMAP Digicon 2023.
