The Firelight Effect

Why Storytelling Still Moves Us. Long before data dashboards, we sat around fires. Stories helped us make sense of the world, pass on wisdom, and imagine what’s possible. Today, neuroscience tells us our brains still respond to stories with increased attention, empathy, and memory retention. The fire may be digital—but the effect endures.

Human beings are wired for story. Before we wrote laws or textbooks, we told stories, to teach, to warn, to dream. Sitting around firelight, our ancestors passed down knowledge that guided communities. The format may have changed, but the power remains.

Modern neuroscience confirms what our ancestors knew: stories trigger emotional and neurological responses that plain facts do not. A Princeton study found that during engaging storytelling, a listener's brain mirrors the storyteller's; a phenomenon known as neural coupling. Meanwhile, Harvard research shows that stories are up to 22 times more memorable than facts alone.

We see it every day in our work. When a community health worker shares their personal experience of battling stigma, hearts shift. When a farmer explains how climate change has altered his planting patterns, policymakers tend to listen differently.

Storytelling is not soft communication, it’s strategic. It humanises data, builds empathy, and catalyses action. At ABComms, we call this the Firelight Effect: the enduring power of a well-told story to light the path forward.