ABSTRACT
Stories provide us with a way of understanding the underlying operating principles behind organizational communication and learning. Stories are fundamental to the way we communicate, learn, and think. They are the most efficient way of storing, retrieving, and conveying information. Since story hearing requires active participation on the part of the listener, stories are the most profoundly social form of human interaction, communication, and learning. Effective speakers grab our attention with stories. Without them, our minds tend to wander. A speaker may have no other goal than to entertain or persuade, and that's fine; however, a speaker empowered with a story can invite listeners to consider new possibilities and perspectives. Consider President Bush's use of the phrase "axis of evil" after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. This phrase played a critical part in the speeches the president made to the American people; it empowered both the speaker and his administration's agenda.
