For many, the largest stumbling block to progress is letting go of the world they know. To help people move forward, show them how their attachment to the current state holds them back, and lay out how the proposed future can and will be better for them.

ceremonies depict the process of transformation.

Physical What you do

A study by the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology found that ceremonies also enhance communication by “eliciting arousal, directing attention, enhancing memory, and improving associations.” Basically, ceremonies help people understand and process new messages and ways of thinking, making the moment more likely to be remembered.

Persuasive speeches establish a gap between what is and what could be, and then resolve it by introducing a new bliss

The most effective symbols emerge from an organization’s or group’s shared experience, such as when employees create a T-shirt to wear in solidarity with those who are working long hours to get a product out. Torchbearers should keep a close eye out for artifacts that could become symbols and use them to amplify ideas in speeches, stories, and

French sociologist Émile Durkheim proposed that ceremonial rituals not only maintain social order but also

strengthens the deepest values of a collective group.

Our storytelling book, Resonate, spawned a TEDx talk that got more than a million views total.