When you hear the word narrative, what comes to mind? If you’re like most people, you’re probably thinking of words like “novel”, “book”, or “story.” But narrative plays a bigger role in how we communicate than we give it credit for.

Today on the podcast we’re speaking with Liz Prather, author of Story Matters: Teaching Teens to Use the Tools of Narrative to Argue and Inform. Liz believes that narrative has for too long been kept separate from nonfiction writing, but has much to offer. “Stories are the cornerstone of all human communication,” she argues, “and for a student who sets our to write a compelling argument or an interesting informational piece, that foundation can be narrative.”

We started our conversation with asking how and why narrative takes such a hold on us…