Every researcher, lecturer, or academic has a story to tell but making it clear, interesting, and memorable is not always easy. Donald Miller says in his StoryBrand framework that every story has a hero and a guide. In our world, your audience, the students, colleagues, or other researchers, is the hero. Your job is to guide them through your research so they can understand it, relate to it, and even do something with it. Think about it. You spend months, sometimes years, running experiments, analysing data, and writing papers, yet your work can easily be ignored. Storytelling helps fix that. It lets you share your research in a way that is simple, easy to follow, and inspiring. From old myths to blogs and podcasts today, stories have always helped people learn, connect, and act. Knowing this is the first step to making your research stick.
So how do you guide your audience? Storytelling is not about making things up. It is about being clear, organised, and relatable. You show why your work matters, what problems you faced, and what you found out. For example, in genetics, you could explain how your study could help patients. In neuroscience, you might connect your findings to real-life behaviours. Framing your research as a journey with a problem, steps, and results makes it much easier to follow. By keeping your content clear, highlighting key points, and giving context, you make sure people actually get it.
Making your research story stick is easier than you think. Stories work best when they are simple, structured, and relatable. Donald Miller says showing the problem, the journey, and the solution is key. Here is a simple way to do it:
Three ways to make your research story stick
- Start with why it matters: Begin by showing the problem your research solves before getting into details. This makes people care straight away. For example, in medtech, showing how a new device improves patient care immediately grabs attention.
- Keep it clear: Break your story into sections, background, challenge, method, results, and takeaways. This helps people follow complex topics, like neurocardiac studies or biotech research.
- Make it relatable: Use examples or stories your audience can relate to. Talking about gene editing? Show how it could stop a disease or improve lives. Relatable stories are remembered better and understood easier.
Stories have changed over time, but their goal stays the same, to connect, teach, and inspire. Well-told research stories can teach students, convince funders, and spark collaborations. Even very technical subjects, like advanced biotech, neuro research, or psychology, can be interesting if you follow Donald Miller’s StoryBrand steps. Guiding your audience through the story helps them remember the information, see why it matters, and even act on it. Storytelling makes your work noticed, understood, and remembered.
Finally, it is about action. Take these storytelling ideas and use them on one project this week, an article, experiment, or presentation. Identify the hero, your audience, the problem, the journey, and the impact. Share your story with colleagues, on LinkedIn, or as a blog post. Donald Miller reminds us that every story should lead people to take action. Watch how they respond, notice which parts grab attention, and improve your story. The more you do this, the easier it becomes, and the better you get at making your research clear, inspiring, and impactful.
If you ignore storytelling, your research could get overlooked. Colleagues might miss your discoveries, students may not understand, and chances for collaboration or funding could pass by. But a good story makes things clear, shows why it matters, and encourages action. Following Donald Miller’s StoryBrand method helps your audience see the bigger picture, learn important lessons, and make smart decisions. A good story does more than explain facts. It leaves a lasting impression, improves your work’s impact, and makes sure your research really matters.