Denise Grace Gitsham on a news set discussing storytelling

The Science Behind Storytelling: Why We Remember Stories, Not Facts

Storytelling is a powerful tool that transcends basic facts and data by engaging both the heart and the mind. As a child, Denise Grace Gitsham was captivated by stories that shaped her understanding of the world, and that fascination carried into her professional life as an attorney, political commentator, and leader. In each role, she found that the ability to tell a compelling story helps make complex ideas more relatable, emotional, and memorable. Whether motivating a team, making an argument in court, or sharing insights on TV, storytelling allows all of us to connect with others on a deeper level. In a world driven by short attention spans and sound bites, the art of storytelling remains essential for authentic communication.

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You can listen to this conversation with Denise on our podcast, Work, Love, Pray! Listen below or click here to find your preferred listening platform.


I’m an only child and my parents are older, so I often found myself alone at home, just wanting to get lost in a story. I read all the time! I’d read in the car until it was dark out. I’d read under the covers with a flashlight. I just loved to read, and I felt like God spoke to me through those stories. I learned really important life lessons through the books that I would read. I’ve always been captivated with how great authors were able to tell stories.

I always wanted to be someone who could kind of take people away from reality for a moment and captivate their attention and their imagination by telling stories. I always wanted to grow up and be an attorney, and there really isn’t a more important gift that you can have as an attorney than the ability to tell a story. Whether it was for my career in politics, or when I was in the courtroom, or when I do my political commentary on TV, telling an effective story really drives a point home better than any sort of plain teaching of facts ever could.

I’m not a neuroscientist, but I know that storytelling engages our emotions in our brain more deeply because it activates different parts of our brains that are associated with imagery, personal connections, and context. It’s why some of the most effective pastors and leaders are able to really drive home a Biblical message or a lesson. Jesus was really the master of telling stories. Every time He told a story or a parable, it conveyed something that the people to whom He was speaking could relate to in that season and in that culture.

Making a teaching or a lesson relevant to your audience is the most important skillset that you can ever acquire, because if you think about it, there are so many things in this world that are pretty similar. For example, I’m a huge NBA fan. If you consider all of the NBA athletes, they are all spectacular superstars. But it’s the players whose stories I get to learn that I always remember. Athletes are all superstars, but what got them to that point? What did they have to overcome? What challenges have they faced? What are the nuances of their story that make them so fascinating? Learning that information make you want to root for them.

Whether you’re in the professional world and you’re trying to sell a product, or whether you’re in the startup world and you’re trying to weave a dream and cast a vision so you can get VC funding, or you’re a CEO who just needs to motivate a bunch of people, you have to tell people stories to engage them at all levels. Storytelling is so much more effective at engaging every part of our being, our spirit, and our emotions to convey a message and bring people on board with where we’re going.

I often look to some of the great presidents, like Ronald Reagan. His ability as a great communicator to tell a story and to bring people emotionally along with him is just nothing short of remarkable. We haven’t had anyone like that since. The significance of your ability to galvanize the support of people from all different backgrounds throughout the nation in a way that resonates with people to do the hard things that our nation has to do to maintain its leadership in this world is really the ultimate test of your ability to tell a story.

I feel like we’ve kind of lost an era of great storytelling in this big social media world we live in. People love sound bites and our attention span has really shrunk because of that. Having to convey a story with just your voice and the words that you speak without the added benefit of imagery is even more of a challenge today. The beauty of being a good storyteller is to really bring people along with the content of what you’re saying as well as painting an image, so there’s both form and substance in your message.


Denise Grace Gitsham sitting and smiling

Denise Grace Gitsham is a political contributor, attorney, speaker, and author of the book Politics for People Who Hate Politics: How to Engage without Losing Your Friends or Selling Your Soul

Denise is a graduate of Bowdoin College and the Georgetown University Law Center. Prior to starting her own public affairs firm, Vitamin D Public Relations, she practiced law at K&L Gates and served as a presidential appointee at the White House and the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as a law clerk in the U.S. Senate. In 2016, Denise ran for Congress in California’s Fifty-second Congressional District. Today, Denise advises businesses, ministries, and nonprofits as a consultant and board member.

Born and raised at Travis Air Force Base in Northern California, Denise’s mother is a Chinese immigrant who escaped communism in 1949, and her father is a Canadian immigrant who served twenty years in the U.S. Air Force. As a member of a proud military family, Denise has a special appreciation for the liberties that enabled her parents to achieve the American dream. She also recognizes the personal significance of her favorite Bible verse: To whom much is given, from him much will be required (Luke 12:48). This verse underlies Denise’s lifelong commitment to public service.

Denise speaks Mandarin Chinese, is an avid reader, and has competed as an Ironman triathlete. When she isn’t on a plane headed to or from DC, she’s basking in the California sun with her golden retriever, Jack.