Storytelling and Warmth

Where do you fit on the graph?

Does the world seem to lack human warmth to you lately? Do you worry about the competence of people who are leading us? Me too. Turns out that studies by Amy Cuddy, Susan Fiske, and Peter Glick show that good leaders possess both warmth and competence. Heidi Grant Halverson has illustrated this concept using The Simpsons characters in her new book, No One Understands Me. You can have some fun putting politicians and bosses into their proper quadrant using her graph. I sure did.

But let’s not stop there. Let’s talk about how we can move into the coveted position of Lisa Simpson as we advocate for a better climate future. Katherine Hayhoe, my hero, says we need to connect with stories. I was thinking about that when I  googled “stories” and “science” and discovered Story Collider, a wonderful organization whose mission is to “reveal the vibrant role that science plays in all of our lives through the art of personal storytelling.” They put on live shows with storytellers who could be “scientists and doctors to journalists and comedians to artists, firefighters, and bartenders.” The stories they tell show us the human side of science and how it affects us.

A live Story Collider show and podcast

And since this is a group of scientists, you can bet that they’ve done research to affirm that storytelling is a great way to communicate about science. Stories increases our connection to scientists, who, let’s face it, often end up in the Simpsons' Monty Burns quadrant, where no one wants to be.

And that’s why I want to get this blog out early, to give you the opportunity to listen live to their All-Star Slam! It's online Tuesday, February 11, starting at 5 pm MST. There’s no cost to listen, but this is their once-a-year fundraising effort, so you’re encouraged to vote for the best of six stories by donating money. But all listeners are welcome, whether you donate or not. It’s enough that you become aware of this organization, either by listening live on Tuesday, or listening to their podcast, or by combing their archives of stories. Perhaps, like me, you’ll start thinking of ways that storytelling (and story listening) can increase your warmth factor and make you a better advocate, for whatever you believe in.