act3 is a communication strategy and design firm that specializes in telling stories.

This blog is our story laboratory, a way to poke, prod, and take a closer look at the stories we see, the stories we tell, and our own assumptions and knowledge about why stories work (or don't). The goal is to better understand what makes a story connect with people, and how to tell better stories.

Like any blog, it's an evolving concept. We hope you'll follow along.

May 18

The truth behind a good story

Some say the devil is in the details. Now forensic scientists are saying that’s where the truth lies, too.

According to a New York Times story, researchers are looking into ways to tell fact from fiction in criminal investigations.

Kevin Colwell, a psychologist at Southern Connecticut State University, has advised police departments, Pentagon officials and child protection workers, who need to check the veracity of conflicting accounts from parents and children. He says that people concocting a story prepare a script that is tight and lacking in detail….

In several studies, Dr. Colwell and Dr. [Cheryl] Hiscock-Anisman [of National University in La Jolla, Calif.] have reported one consistent difference: People telling the truth tend to add 20 to 30 percent more external detail than do those who are lying.

In other words, details — perhaps consequential, perhaps not — are the signals of truth. That’s why cutting to the chase when you’re trying to tell your story may not only strip the life from it, but it may strip the believability from it as well.

If you want to tell an authentic story, don’t skimp on the details.

:: Posted by Eric Ratinoff ::