Values & Beliefs
NSN believes that the age-old art of storytelling is as crucial in modern society as it ever has been in history, and that its practice should therefore be revived, expanded and widely supported.
NSN further believes that storytelling is a unique and powerful performing art. Utilizing both humor and pathos, it engages the emotions, the imagination and the intellect of people of all ages.
Storytellers serve as agents of positive change in the world.
NSN holds storytelling to be:
Relevant
- Storytelling is essential to education: neuroscience is demonstrating that the human brain organizes, retains, and accesses information most effectively in narrative form
- Storytelling plays constructive roles in the workplace, in organizations, corporations, government agencies, non-profits, and small businesses
- Because telling and listening to stories can have powerful healing effects, storytelling is essential in the work of therapists, clergy, and health care practitioners of all kinds.
Inspiring
- Because storytelling expresses, teaches, and preserves values and beliefs, it is of primary importance for all individuals and the communities to which they belong.
- Stories provide a community with the common historical knowledge and shared vision needed to inspire collective action.
Transformative
- Listening to stories is essential to the development of human imagination, creativity, and abstract thought processes.
- Diverse and even antagonistic communities come to understand and respect one another through listening to each other’s stories, and therefore storytelling is an essential tool for peacemaking.