Stories have power.  In my many roles as parent, therapist, teacher, and public speaker, I have long known that the secret to engaging an audience and communicating purpose is through illustration:  storytelling.

I see it in the eyes of my three and four-year old granddaughters who beg to hear a tale again and again, stopping to ask why and question all the different parts.

I have seen it in the eyes of the wounded trying to make sense of their past: the craving for a story that gives them validation.

I see it in the eyes students, when recognition and understanding light up.

I’ve seen it in the eyes of audiences, who tear up or laugh in the telling of a relevant tale.

No one explains the power of story better than Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in her TED Talk:  The Danger of a Single Story.  Author of Americanah, Adichie is an important literary voice.