The Secret to Making People Remember You
Image credit: Kate Bezzubets via Unsplash
Why Stories Cut Through
The paradox of the online world is that while it’s never been easier to reach an audience, it’s never been harder to genuinely connect with them. You can publish a post, send an email, or run an ad that reaches thousands or even millions in moments - but how many of those people will actually remember it tomorrow, or next week?
There’s simply too much noise. We’re all drowning in competing messages. A powerful story can slice through that noise. It can bypass the hyperactive filters of the modern mind and go straight to the part of us that still responds the way humans always have - emotionally.
Emotive stories do this better than anything else. Used well, they make people take note - and they make them remember. Research from Stanford shows that stories are up to 22× more memorable than facts alone. Other studies show retention jumps from 5 to 10% for bare statistics to around 65 to 70% when those statistics are wrapped in narrative.
Why? Because stories light up more of our brains. From the time we had the cognitive capability to tell them, stories have been the way we share information as a species. Facts engage just the language centres of the brain, but stories activate sensory, motor, and emotional regions as well. They give context. They create stakes. They create characters we care about, and those characters anchor the facts in our memory.
The Networking Breakfast
In the early days of Casual, I used to go to early morning breakfast networking groups to meet and learn from other entrepreneurs. All of us sitting around the table with a bacon sandwich, a coffee and 20 different industries across the 20 of us. When you’re starting a business, you kind of have to try anything.
One morning, the discussion topic was “what makes great customer service?” We went around the table, each person offering an idea.
“I share my mobile number and never let it ring more than twice.” Or “I send cards for my clients’ birthdays.”
So far so solid, but a little generic.
When it was my turn, I decided to share a story from a couple of weeks earlier.
“A good client rang our office at 4 pm on a Tuesday. They had a crucial pitch the next morning at 9 am, but the film they’d been waiting for from their internal team hadn’t arrived. I told her that if it was humanly possible, we’d get it done. Four of us stayed in the office until 3:30 am, finished the film, and sent it over. They played it. They won the business. That’s good client service.”
I was a few years away from spending too much of my existence thinking about the science of storytelling back then. I was just sharing a genuine example, which I thought was more instructive.
The Long Tail of a Good Tale
About 18 months later, I was at a conference and introduced myself to another delegate. He replied:
“I know you - you’re the guys who are really good at client service.”
He’d been at that breakfast meeting. He’d heard my story. And it had stuck, long after the other ideas had faded. I don't mean this to sound like a lame humble brag, I was genuinely surprised that a spur of the moment story had stuck so fast in this man’s mind.
Research backs this up. One study found that the persuasive impact of statistics can drop by over 70% within a day, while stories lose only about 32% of their punch over the same period. That difference is why great stories spread, while great facts fade.
The Four Ingredients of a Sticky Story
That breakfast story worked because (unwittingly!) it had all the right ingredients
- A relatable challenge- an urgent client request.
- Highstakes- a major pitch on the line.
- A clear action- the team rallying late into the night.
- A satisfying outcome- the client wins the pitch.
Those elements turn a simple fact (“we go the extra mile for clients”) into something people can picture, feel, and share. And when they repeat it, they’re not just passing on the story, they’re passing on the message you want them to remember.
Turning Facts into Memories
If you want people to remember what you say - and act on it - don’t just give them facts. Wrap those facts in a story with stakes, emotion, and a clear resolution.
The next time you’re making a pitch, speaking at an event, or even just updating your team, ask yourself: what’s the story that will make this stick? What’s the example that will lodge in their minds? How can I use the Challenge, Stakes, Action, Outcome structure to make it more impactful?
We live in a world where everyone seems to be talking. Being remembered is a serious challenge and competitive advantage. And the best way to be remembered is the oldest: tell a great story.
