Having minimal research on this point, I’ll still propose that just as soon as Man could communicate, he told stories.  Storytelling seems to be embedded into the human DNA.  We understand much of our world through the stories we are told because stories, not mere recitation of facts, put things into perspective.  Fables, myths, history, even the Bible, are passed along from one to another by stories that illuminate the consciousness.

Stories are also how great marketing works.  Which is why I include it as one of the Six Essential Traits of Effective Marketing: Uniqueness, Clarity, Simplicity, Surprise, Story and Experience.

So, for instance, you want people to know you have the most compassionate team in town.  You could simply say so.  Or you could relate a story about how one of your support crew noticed a family member shaking in the cold and took off his…