--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Storytelling is essentially what we do." description: "\"Storytelling is essentially what we do.\" — Nathan Phillips" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73e/nathan-phillips-24670_essentially_storytelling-is-essentially-what-we-do-2_2728505.jpg" --- # Storytelling is essentially what we do. ![“Storytelling is essentially what we do.” quote by Nathan Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73e/nathan-phillips-24670_essentially_storytelling-is-essentially-what-we-do-2_2728505.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73e/nathan-phillips-24670_essentially_storytelling-is-essentially-what-we-do-2_2728505.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73e/nathan-phillips-24670_essentially_storytelling-is-essentially-what-we-do-2_2728505.jpg) > “Storytelling is essentially what we do.” [Nathan Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-phillips/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Storytelling is essentially what we do. **In simple terms:** We are natural storytellers. Key Takeaway Embrace storytelling in daily life. Themes communication narrative human nature Mood engaging thoughtful Type inspirational ethical When to use this quote - teaching - marketing - personal relationships - media production Key Concepts storycraft shared experience Questions to Reflect On - How does storytelling shape your identity? - When can storytelling be harmful? A Different Perspective Stories can be misused to manipulate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Essentially](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essentially/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Storytelling Essentially](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling-essentially-2936536/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The TV schedule is essentially four or five days to get in touch with the story you're doing that week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-parsons/the-tv-schedule-is-essentially-four-or-five-days-to-get-in-touch-with/) [Jim Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-parsons/) > [I don't have answers for anybody else. What I know is that internal complexity makes for superficiality. There's never essentially a pure story unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-diller/i-don-t-have-answers-for-anybody-else-what-i-know-is-that-internal/) [Barry Diller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-diller/) > [“We take creative license with the fictional narratives that become our memories. Anthologized, these are the tales that become the story of your life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-ganek/we-take-creative-license-with-the-fictional-narratives-that-become/) [Danielle Ganek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-ganek/) > [“Storytelling is our task with the next generation, and it starts with loving the story ourselves and telling it as though we believe it—because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/storytelling-is-our-task-with-the-next-generation-and-it-starts-with/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) > [Narration is as much a part of human nature as breath and the circulation of the blood… storytelling is intrinsic to biological time, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/narration-is-as-much-a-part-of-human-nature-as-breath-and-the/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [“The best advocacy is always storytelling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-parker/the-best-advocacy-is-always-storytelling/) [Willie Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-parker/) > [We breathe, we think, we conceive of our lives as narratives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lehmann-haupt/we-breathe-we-think-we-conceive-of-our-lives-as-narratives/) [Christopher Lehmann-Haupt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lehmann-haupt/) > [There is no greater power on this earth than story.” Will paced the length of the room. “People think boundaries and borders build nations.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/there-is-no-greater-power-on-this-earth-than-story-will-paced-the/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [“The enormity of problems like hunger and social injustice can certainly motivate us to act. We can be convinced logically of the need for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-capecci-and-timothy-cage/the-enormity-of-problems-like-hunger-and-social-injustice-can/) [John Capecci and Timothy Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-capecci-and-timothy-cage/) > [Some stories, you use up. Others use you up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/some-stories-you-use-up-others-use-you-up/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“He was a chameleon. He could change his appearance in seconds. He was a master in disguise and he could baffle the best in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/he-was-a-chameleon-he-could-change-his-appearance-in-seconds-he-was-a/) [Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/) > [I always take a story that's kind of out there, like an urban myth. I take some possibility that people imagine, that they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/i-always-take-a-story-that-s-kind-of-out-there-like-an-urban-myth-i/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) > [We are the storytelling animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/we-are-the-storytelling-animal/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“But I have already told the beginning, so right now it's the middle. And Zeb is in the middle of the story about Zeb.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/but-i-have-already-told-the-beginning-so-right-now-it-s-the-middle/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [If you do weave one-liners into a story, you have to have an overall story as well, otherwise it doesn't really count as narrative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-vine/if-you-do-weave-one-liners-into-a-story-you-have-to-have-an-overall/) [Tim Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-vine/) ## More by Nathan Phillips > [I'm still very much plugging away. But if I can build my career, I'll do it like Eric Bana. He has a family; he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-phillips/i-m-still-very-much-plugging-away-but-if-i-can-build-my-career-i-ll/) [Nathan Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-phillips/) > [I have always spent my time more preciously than my money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-phillips/i-have-always-spent-my-time-more-preciously-than-my-money/) [Nathan Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-phillips/) > [I live on the beach, and I always will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-phillips/i-live-on-the-beach-and-i-always-will/) [Nathan Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-phillips/) > [Love is a strong, strong thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-phillips/love-is-a-strong-strong-thing/) [Nathan Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-phillips/) > [I'm a child of the Earth, postcode unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-phillips/i-m-a-child-of-the-earth-postcode-unknown/) [Nathan Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-phillips/) > [I need to have the soul bank full as well as pay the credit cards and have a roof over my head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-phillips/i-need-to-have-the-soul-bank-full-as-well-as-pay-the-credit-cards-and/) [Nathan Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-phillips/) > [It's quite frustrating taking a back seat in films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-phillips/it-s-quite-frustrating-taking-a-back-seat-in-films/) [Nathan Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-phillips/) > [Not all of us are born with the same role models and grasp things the same way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-phillips/not-all-of-us-are-born-with-the-same-role-models-and-grasp-things-the/) [Nathan Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-phillips/) > [If you are in a beautiful place where you can enjoy sunrise and sunset, then you are living like a lord.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-phillips/if-you-are-in-a-beautiful-place-where-you-can-enjoy-sunrise-and/) [Nathan Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-phillips/) > [Very happily, I am very fortunate to be able to be where the wind takes me, where the work takes me, and where I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-phillips/very-happily-i-am-very-fortunate-to-be-able-to-be-where-the-wind/) [Nathan Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-phillips/) > ['Australian Rules' was such a beautiful film - it was art for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-phillips/australian-rules-was-such-a-beautiful-film-it-was-art-for-me/) [Nathan Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-phillips/) > [It's very important to lead your own story: to not be acting as much as you are living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-phillips/it-s-very-important-to-lead-your-own-story-to-not-be-acting-as-much/) [Nathan Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-phillips/) > [It makes me sick to my stomach what Australia Day has become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-phillips/it-makes-me-sick-to-my-stomach-what-australia-day-has-become/) [Nathan Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-phillips/) > [If I had to come back in life, I'd come back as a dolphin... they're always smiling; they're always playing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-phillips/if-i-had-to-come-back-in-life-i-d-come-back-as-a-dolphin-they-re/) [Nathan Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-phillips/) > [Life's harsh. You can't escape what you are and what you project.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-phillips/life-s-harsh-you-can-t-escape-what-you-are-and-what-you-project/) [Nathan Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-phillips/) [Explore all 24 Nathan Phillips quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-phillips/) ## More Essentially quotes > [I guess because we're essentially a two-man band, we're attracting Wham's crowd. But Wham! are more of a businessman's band.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/i-guess-because-we-re-essentially-a-two-man-band-we-re-attracting/) [Curt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-smith/) > [Say to yourself: 'Living essentially to please others is a monumental mistake.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-robinson/say-to-yourself-living-essentially-to-please-others-is-a-monumental/) [George Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-robinson/) > [Anybody who is an entrepreneur is a person who essentially has impaired judgment. The odds of success are zilch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/anybody-who-is-an-entrepreneur-is-a-person-who-essentially-has/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [I don't have answers for anybody else. What I know is that internal complexity makes for superficiality. There's never essentially a pure story unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-diller/i-don-t-have-answers-for-anybody-else-what-i-know-is-that-internal/) [Barry Diller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-diller/) > [The truth is, for however much my stories come out of things that have happened to me, they're not darkly or as deeply personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-mirman/the-truth-is-for-however-much-my-stories-come-out-of-things-that-have/) [Eugene Mirman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-mirman/) > [Inflation is essentially antidemocratic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/inflation-is-essentially-antidemocratic/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [For some reason, I don't like the term 'model-turned-actress' - which is what I am, essentially.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-corneliussen/for-some-reason-i-don-t-like-the-term-model-turned-actress-which-is/) [Stephanie Corneliussen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-corneliussen/) > [Music is essentially useless, as is life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/music-is-essentially-useless-as-is-life/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [A lot of people don't know how to navigate: they think, once you become a Christian, you essentially have to become Ned Flanders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-mineo/a-lot-of-people-don-t-know-how-to-navigate-they-think-once-you-become/) [Andy Mineo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-mineo/) > [I'm one of those people who believes that part of the greatness of the United States is our private sector. It's what we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cheney/i-m-one-of-those-people-who-believes-that-part-of-the-greatness-of/) [Dick Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cheney/) > [The TV schedule is essentially four or five days to get in touch with the story you're doing that week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-parsons/the-tv-schedule-is-essentially-four-or-five-days-to-get-in-touch-with/) [Jim Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-parsons/) > [Since I've become a mom, I'm more about comfort and simplicity. I'm essentially a jeans girl, and I dress them up or down with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessalyn-gilsig/since-i-ve-become-a-mom-i-m-more-about-comfort-and-simplicity-i-m/) [Jessalyn Gilsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessalyn-gilsig/) > [The Democrats have essentially decided to move more toward central power, control of just about every aspect of our culture and economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-demint/the-democrats-have-essentially-decided-to-move-more-toward-central/) [Jim DeMint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-demint/) > [Cancer essentially lives in us and becomes activated at some point, and then cells begin to psychotically divide. Initially, the cancer cell looks like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/cancer-essentially-lives-in-us-and-becomes-activated-at-some-point/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [I don't know where Bush is going - yet. But, Sharon obviously - I wrote somewhere in the last several months, that Sharon has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-hertzberg/i-don-t-know-where-bush-is-going-yet-but-sharon-obviously-i-wrote/) [Arthur Hertzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-hertzberg/) [Browse all 342 Essentially quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essentially/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Storytelling is essentially what we do.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nathan Phillips" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-phillips/storytelling-is-essentially-what-we-do/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Essentially" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-phillips/storytelling-is-essentially-what-we-do/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73e/nathan-phillips-24670_essentially_storytelling-is-essentially-what-we-do-2_2728505.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73e/nathan-phillips-24670_essentially_storytelling-is-essentially-what-we-do-2_2728505.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73e/nathan-phillips-24670_essentially_storytelling-is-essentially-what-we-do-2_2728505.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Storytelling is essentially what we do.” — Nathan Phillips", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Nathan Phillips", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-phillips/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Storytelling is essentially what we do.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-phillips/storytelling-is-essentially-what-we-do/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-phillips/storytelling-is-essentially-what-we-do/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```