Effective communication has become a highly required skill in a world with enhanced technological progress, global connectivity, and altering employment demands. Storytelling stands out as one of the strongest forms of communication, a skill that, when developed in high school, pays academic, professional, and relationship benefits in the long term. With all that being said, we believe that equipping students with storytelling is central to their success beyond the school setting. That is why we are here to talk about why storytelling must be a core part of the high school curriculum and how StoryJourney's resources support teachers in creating this core skill.

Firstly, communication is the most sought-after soft skill. Recent studies emphasize the importance of communication in today's workplace. LinkedIn's 2024 Future of Skills Report mentions that communication remains the most sought-after soft skill globally, appearing in 25.5% of all advertised jobs. This beats other leading-ranking competencies such as teamwork (19.2%) and leadership (17.8%). These figures reveal that employers are always offering priority to job applicants who can communicate ideas effectively, work together, and provide narratives convincingly. Storytelling lies at the core of these competencies. Whether showing a research project, engaging in group discussions, or composing a persuasive essay, students who have storytelling skills are more likely to convey themselves meaningfully and convincingly both within an academic setting and a professional setting.

Not only that, storytelling is also an important part of college admissions, in personal essays and interviews. Data from the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) states that, while grades and standardized testing remain crucial, the college essay is the fourth most significant factor in admissions at the college level after GPA, course rigor, and standardized tests. A personal essay is effective not because it uses complex language or technical correctness, but rather the inclusion of an authentic, reflective storytelling. This aligns with the growing trend toward holistic admissions practices, where campuses desire to know not just what a student has done, but who they are and why such experiences matter. By educating students in reflecting on experience and communicating through storytelling, educators provide them with a tool of differentiation in increasingly dense application pools.

Next, storytelling has cognitive and emotional well-being benefits. Beyond its functional advantages, storytelling positively impacts students’ cognitive development and emotional well-being. A 2018 study published in Frontiers in Psychology investigated the neural effects of storytelling among children using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). The findings revealed increased activity in areas of the brain associated with language processing, imagination, and memory retention when participants engaged in storytelling compared to other forms of information intake. This suggests that storytelling can:

1. Enhance linguistic capabilities

2. Improve memory consolidation

3. Stimulate creativity and mental flexibility

Moreover, storytelling encourages emotional expression and empathy. By constructing narratives from different perspectives, students develop a deeper understanding of others’ experiences. This is supported by research from the Journal of Educational Psychology (2021), which found that students who engaged in reflective narrative writing exhibited 21% higher empathy scores than those who did not. In an increasingly polarized world, such skills are not only academically beneficial but socially imperative.

Recognizing the transforming power that happens through storytelling, StoryJourney offers a tool to help teachers bring storytelling into their practice. Our approach is aligned with modern education needs and interdisciplinarity learning objectives. With the evolving nature of the world on a daily basis, the need for individuals who can think, feel, and talk is increasingly imperative. Storytelling is the block that gives rise to all three. From bettering academic performance and college readiness to workforce development and civic responsibility, storytelling offers unparalleled value in education. It makes students more thoughtful human beings, better thinkers, and more effective communicators.

StoryJourney invites schools, teachers, and communities to appreciate the power of storytelling and join us in making it a core aspect of high school education. With all of us working together, let us raise a generation of students who are not only educated but also influential, compassionate, and empowered to be heard.