Hardwired For Story

Neuroscientist Uri Hasson researches the basis of human communication, and experiments from his lab reveal that even across different languages, our brains show similar activity, or become “aligned,” when we hear the same idea or story.

In this fascinating TED Talk, he explains his research that illustrates how that the same areas of the brain are activated in both the speaker and the listeners when telling or hearing a story.

Lisa Cron has worked in publishing at W.W. Norton, as an agent at the Angela Rinaldi Literary Agency, as a producer on shows for Showtime and CourtTV, and as a story consultant for Warner Brothers and the William Morris Agency. Since 2006, she’s been an instructor in the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program.

She works with writers, nonprofits, educators, and organizations, helping them master the unparalleled power of story so they can move people to action — whether that action is turning the pages of a compelling novel, trying a new product, or talking to the streets to change the world for the better.

In this TEDTalk, she shares her ideas on how we humans are hardwired for stories.

Lisa Cron is the author of the book “Wired for Story: The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence.”