“Let me tell you a story!”, these words made my eyes glitter up with joy throughout my childhood, so much so that I crave to listen to stories even today. Unfortunately, the beautiful art of storytelling passed on from times immemorial is slowly losing its grip. Akbar Birbal, Tenali Rama, Panchatantra tales, Jataka tales, Ali baba and 40 thieves, Aesop’s fables, are some of the beautiful names that take me on a nostalgic trail and trigger happiness in my mind and soul. These were power packed with humor and embedded with precious life lessons. Am sure it happens for all those of you who got to experience the magical experiences of listening to these stories.
Humorous Stories are a wonderful media of facilitating a lot of learning. Humorous ones work even better. This is not just personal experience.. Mind it! Since science is the paradigm of the day, let us look at why humorous tales help to learn life lessons and much more.
Whenever we hear anything, a presentation, a speech, a friend speaking to us, specific areas of our brain get activated. However, when we hear stories, brain activation shows some really amazing patterns. Stories help engage in active imagination at a deeper level and thus activate the areas of the brain which are associated with the particular sensory experiences presented in the story.
The famous tale of ‘Birbal’s Khichdi’ would activate the gustatory pathways in your brain. Stories involving various 
experiences can thus activate multiple areas in the brain and enhance brain functioning.
Stories invite for better emotional connection, and this association helps to facilitate better learning and ensures that information is remembered for longer time. I certainly do not remember most the bullet pointed stern voiced presentations and classes at school, I still find solace and chuckle and the Panchatantra and Akbar Birbal tales I read as a child.
Humorous Stories, when read or heard, engage the person in active visualization thus paving way for creativity and abstract thinking. They are a good way of teaching some of the best life lessons through a playful manner. Not to forget, they tell us about how wisdom or intellect is not just a set of principles or laws, but also how it is applied in different situations in our own lives, thus making learning more valid, practical and meaningful.
As a storyteller, one gets to apply a lot of creative skills to convey the story in a way that the teller’s information synchronizes with the experience of the listener to ensure that both are on the same page. It allows a person to engage in reading, and active listening, depending on what side of the table the person is on.
No matter what age group you belong to, stories can certainly help you. Try converting one of your boring theories into awesome humorous stories and you will experience learning in a fun filled way, with super speed, and would never forget them. What a great deal! Do it today!
Remember that things that touch our heart are more appealing and better learned than those that touch us more superficially. What appeals to the heart better than a humor filled tale!? Humorous Stories indeed shine out as a very powerful way of communication, that can help to learn, motivate, inspire, be more creative, enhance cognition (memory, problem solving, reasoning, etc.) and of course add a lot of joy to life.
