Why storytelling is ‘soft power’
You’ll likely have heard the term ‘soft power’ when referring to a country’s influence - not its economic or military strength, but in terms of its culture, ideals and subtle diplomacy.
Soft power is the sum of almost intangible qualities that make a nation attractive, trusted and worth listening to: from diplomacy and design to innovation and global behaviour.
In the work I do, storytelling works in a similar way: a soft power embraced by leaders and organisations. Storytelling consistently brings its subtle and gentle influence to play; it brings concepts to life with colour and flair; it makes the complex understandable. Good stories get under the skin. They fire up the empathetic chemical oxytocin and make us feel something.
I see storytelling as a soft power because:
Storytelling earns consent rather than demands attention. Soft power works by attraction: people lean in because something resonates. There’s an emotional engagement. In organisations, storytelling does the same. It helps teams understand a strategy, it encourages them to follow a leader, it can spur on the championing of change. Directives can't create that voluntary alignment.
Storytelling builds trust. Soft power strengthens alliances; others feel safe choosing you. In B2B, a similar dynamic applies. Your customers don’t just evaluate you based on your capability, they evaluate your character. When you tell stories about your team, who they are and what’s important to them, it signals reliability, values and intent. It reduces perceived risk and accelerates trust.
Storytelling creates cultural influence. Soft power spreads through culture: through ideas, symbols and shared meaning. Organisational storytelling works the same way. A good story is universal, it translates across borders, cultures and teams and stays in the mind of the audience.
Storytelling isn’t a sledgehammer that rams a message home; it’s an undeniably human way of communicating what matters. It’s a soft power that delivers a strong impact, memorable in the minds of those long after data and details have faded.