Creative Communication
When passing a message, the most important bit is not whether the message has been released but whether the message has been received. Communication is, therefore, a two-way event where the communicator has to ensure that the target audience has received and understood the intended message. The goal of every communicator is to pass their message with the use of the least possible effort but make sure that every bit of the intended message has been understood. Creative writing comes in to help in improving the effectiveness of communication by bringing the communicator and the target population to a closer agreement. Research on creative communication has been done by several researchers to find the best ways of doing creative communication. Research is always important in that the field of knowledge is introduced to a new understanding, and ideas can be argued out with sufficient evidence. The role of the brain, for example, has been identified through intensive research and details have been recorded to aid both in current and future research on communication. Storytelling is an important part of creative communication that has been in existence for several generations, and the prowess in storytelling is crucial in the way the target population receives the intended message. The brain plays an important role in the success of creative communication work through the use of various parts that work in unison to present a presentable piece of work.
Memory consolidation is a crucial part of storytelling. The initial stages of storytelling involve storing short memories in the brain of the narrator and then building a permanent memory that ensures smooth narration on stage (Tung et al. 2017). The basic goal of storytelling is to develop better-thinking skills and evoke emotions. Without a smooth flow of ideas on stage, the audience might get bored and lose the original meaning of the story. The nature of storytelling that has existed for generation is that a story should be narrated continuously with a mixture of audience involvement to ensure that the message and the flow of events stick to the minds of the audience. The brain, therefore, aids in the remembrance of the whole story on stage and saves the storyteller from the need of referring to scripts while still on stage as such disruptions may affect the smooth flow of ideas. The importance of research in the area of memory consolidation is to equip narrators with knowledge concerning the measures that might help better consolidation. For example, whether having breaks in between narration helps in maintaining a better memory consolidation. Also, narrators may want to know whether involving the audience is crucial in memory consolidation, or a one-person show is a real deal. Memory consolidation may not, however, be efficient without the coordination of several parts of the brain such as the hippocampus, the cerebellum as well as the amygdala.
The requirement of storytelling that a narrator should be flexible adds another role to the brain; that the narrator should be able to keep several short memories. In various cases, the narrator does not meet the audience before-hand and thus does not necessarily know the type of audience to expect while on stage (McGaugh, 2016). Therefore, a narrator is required to be harmed with several short memories that may make the flexibility of the method of narration easy if the expectations of the audience do not go as per plan. The hippocampus is the part of the brain that is responsible for the creation of new memories when a need arises. The creation of new memories by the hippocampus relies on experienced events rather than learned skills, and in this case, the narrator has experienced his story during the off-stage practice. Although the debate has been ensuing on the specific function of the hippocampus, sufficient research has been done to ascertain that the part of the brain is concerned with the creation of new memories. The role of the hippocampus may, therefore, be important to the narrator more than the audience in that the narrator is in a position to learn more while still on stage. The goal of every narrator is always to become a better narrator for his next audience, and thus, the hippocampus is crucial in creating new memories that help in preparation for the next audience while still on stage. However, the role of the hippocampus has been found through research that is only important for memories that genuinely need the fast creation of new memories and has been found less necessary for aged individuals.
Moreover, storytelling involves emotional scenes that require clear memories as well as an efficient combination of events to create the intended emotions (Monaco et al. 2018). Memory consolidation continues to become necessary when a narrator has to recall emotional scenes on stage. The creation of emotions requires strong memories since weak memories may mean that the part of the story that is associated with the memories is left out unknowingly, and the emotions will not be created as intended. The Amygdala is the part of the brain that is responsible for the strength of memories as far as memory consolidation is concerned. Although the amygdala has been said to be less crucial in the memory consolidation system, storytelling gives a unique function to the part of the brain. The argument by several scientists has been that the damage to the amygdala does not severely affect the encoding of memories.
However, sufficient research has been required to identify the specific impact of the damaged amygdala to narrators and whether a poorly functioning amygdala affects the flow of narration on stage. The specific function of the amygdala is crucial in the field of storytelling in that it affects the strength of memories in a bid to create strong emotion arousal (Lip, Demasi & Bonatto, 2017). A narrator who cannot efficiently arouse the emotions of the audience cannot be expected to capture the attention of the audience long enough to pass the intended message without boredom. Also, the amygdala is helpful during the practice phase of a narrator since it helps in the continuous creation of memories owing to the previous creation of emotions. A narrator is expected to have played the role of an audience before proceeding to the stage to avoid cases of becoming emotional on stage. Instead, a narrator should use his previous emotions to create new memories and make the narration more effective while still on stage. The amygdala should, therefore, not be overlooked concerning the role it plays in the memory consolidation process.
The third part of the brain that makes memory consolidation a success is the cerebellum. Storytellers are expected to be procedural learners who should learn from experience both on and off the stage. Also, narrators are expected to be procedural on stage to ensure that the flow of ideas is well organized to keep the attention of the audience well captured. The cerebellum is a crucial part of the brain that helps in the coordination of procedural activities. For example, some narratives require specific moves in front of the audience. The cerebellum ensures that the narrator remembers the specific moves for every part of the narrative. Also, some activities, such as playing the piano, may be required to accompany storytelling. Mastering the keys of a piano is an activity that needs a well functioning cerebellum and hence its importance in the memory consolidation process. Through research, the cerebellum has been found to play a crucial role in ensuring that procedural memories are stored permanently in the brain and can be retrieved at any time when required. The importance of the cerebellum cannot, therefore, be overlooked where memory consolidation is crucial, and storytelling is one of such areas.
In sum, creative communication is more of art, and the brain is a crucial part of ensuring success in creative communication. One of the areas of creative communication that require the proper application of the brain functions is storytelling. Three crucial parts of the brain are involved in memory consolidation that is important for a successful storytelling experience: the cerebellum, the hippocampus, and the amygdala. Generally, every part of the brain is equally important in the memory consolidation process, and a narrator should have a good function brain to successfully deliver the intended message to the target population.
References
Lip, P. Z., Demasi, M., & Bonatto, D. (2017). The role of the ubiquitin proteasome system in the memory process. Neurochemistry international, 102, 57-65.
McGaugh, J. L. (2016). 10 Modulating Memory Consolidation. Scientists Making a Difference: One Hundred Eminent Behavioral and Brain Scientists Talk about their Most Important Contributions, 49.
Monaco, J., Rocchi, L., Ginatempo, F., D’Angelo, E., & Rothwell, J. C. (2018). Cerebellar Theta-Burst Stimulation Impairs Memory Consolidation in Eyeblink Classical Conditioning. Neural plasticity, 2018.
Tung, V. W. S., Lin, P., Qiu Zhang, H., & Zhao, A. (2017). A framework of memory management and tourism experiences. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 34(7), 853-866.