--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Stories are the things that allow us to…" description: "\"Stories are the things that allow us to persuade each other that we're human.\" — Neil Gaiman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4c/neil-gaiman-29_humans_stories-are-the-things-that-allow-us-to_2908367.jpg" --- # Stories are the things that allow us to persuade each… ![“Stories are the things that allow us to persuade each other that we're human.” quote by Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4c/neil-gaiman-29_humans_stories-are-the-things-that-allow-us-to_2908367.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4c/neil-gaiman-29_humans_stories-are-the-things-that-allow-us-to_2908367.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4c/neil-gaiman-29_humans_stories-are-the-things-that-allow-us-to_2908367.jpg) > “Stories are the things that allow us to persuade each other that we're human.” [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stories enable us to persuade others of our humanity, fostering connection and empathy. **In simple terms:** Stories prove we are human. Key Takeaway Share stories to connect. Themes communication empathy humanity Mood thoughtful engaging Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - teaching - marketing - social media Key Concepts literature psychology Questions to Reflect On - What story defines you? - How can stories build trust? A Different Perspective Stories can also manipulate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Allow Persuade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allow-persuade-4174239/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Persuade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persuade/) [Persuade Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persuade-human-4174238/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Stories Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories-things-292433/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) ## Related quotes > [“Happy stories are the things we tell to make ourselves feel better. But they are never true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anni-taylor/happy-stories-are-the-things-we-tell-to-make-ourselves-feel-better/) [Anni Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anni-taylor/) > [“I want people to tell their children terrible stories about the things we did for love”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-softer-world/i-want-people-to-tell-their-children-terrible-stories-about-the/) [A Softer World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-softer-world/) > [You can take any one of our stories that we use right now, put western clothes on us, stick us out in the west…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/majel-barrett/you-can-take-any-one-of-our-stories-that-we-use-right-now-put-western/) [Majel Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/majel-barrett/) > [Dont be so satisfied with the success stories of others and how things have gone for them that you forget to write your own.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/dont-be-so-satisfied-with-the-success-stories-of-others-and-how/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [“fiction started up, and we started burning brain cells on stories about things that didn’t happen to people who didn’t exist. Why? The only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-child/fiction-started-up-and-we-started-burning-brain-cells-on-stories/) [Lee Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-child/) > [Sometimes my whole life seems like a dream; occasionally I think that someone else has lived it for me. The events and the sensations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-faulks/sometimes-my-whole-life-seems-like-a-dream-occasionally-i-think-that/) [Sebastian Faulks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-faulks/) > [I never think of stories as made things; I think of them as found things. As if you pull them out of the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-never-think-of-stories-as-made-things-i-think-of-them-as-found-2/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [As if there could be true stories: things happen in one way, and we retell them in the opposite way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/as-if-there-could-be-true-stories-things-happen-in-one-way-and-we/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [All the things that were read to me by my father were stories about things becoming all right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/all-the-things-that-were-read-to-me-by-my-father-were-stories-about/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [“Before the modern era of copyright and intellectual property, stories were things held in common, to be passed from hand to hand and narrator…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-jamison/before-the-modern-era-of-copyright-and-intellectual-property-stories/) [Anne Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-jamison/) > [Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/don-t-be-satisfied-with-stories-how-things-have-gone-with-others-2/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“Little G loved stories about all things sacred laced with a bit of irreverence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michaelene-mcelroy/little-g-loved-stories-about-all-things-sacred-laced-with-a-bit-of/) [Michaelene McElroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michaelene-mcelroy/) > [I don't have to worry about writing jokes. I just tell stories about things that have happened to me. As long as I'm alive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-iglesias/i-don-t-have-to-worry-about-writing-jokes-i-just-tell-stories-about/) [Gabriel Iglesias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-iglesias/) > [“I never think of stories as made things; I think of them as found things. As if you pull them out of the ground,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-never-think-of-stories-as-made-things-i-think-of-them-as-found/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [My father, if anything, first and last, was a man of words. He loved stories; he didn't live for stories, exactly, but I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-louis-gates/my-father-if-anything-first-and-last-was-a-man-of-words-he-loved/) [Henry Louis Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-louis-gates/) ## More by Neil Gaiman > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Like all sentient beings, Fat Charlie had a weirdness quotient. For some days the needle had been over in the red, occasionally banging jerkily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/like-all-sentient-beings-fat-charlie-had-a-weirdness-quotient-for/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Shadow crawled across the floor to the yellow foam-rubber pad and climbed onto it, pulling the thin blanket over himself, and closed his eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/shadow-crawled-across-the-floor-to-the-yellow-foam-rubber-pad-and/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [ “\[T\]hey could not help being amused every time another little human believed itself the center of its world, as each of us does.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/t-hey-could-not-help-being-amused-every-time-another-little-human/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [So many things to see, people to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/so-many-things-to-see-people-to-do/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.’ – Ben Franklin,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/three-may-keep-a-secret-if-two-of-them-are-dead-ben-franklin/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You can tell the date of an old science fiction novel by every word on the page. Nothing dates harder and faster and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-tell-the-date-of-an-old-science-fiction-novel-by-every-word/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“The quickest way is sometimes the longest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-quickest-way-is-sometimes-the-longest/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“They were spells, spelled with words to make worlds, waiting for me, in the pages of books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/they-were-spells-spelled-with-words-to-make-worlds-waiting-for-me-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/finish-what-you-re-writing-whatever-you-have-to-do-to-finish-it/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [What do stars do? They shine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-do-stars-do-they-shine/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“What," asked Mr Croup, "do you want?" "What," asked the Marquis de Carabas, a little more rhetorically, "does anyone want?" "Dead things," suggested Mr…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-asked-mr-croup-do-you-want-what-asked-the-marquis-de-carabas-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You get on with your own life. Lettie gave it to you. You just have to grow up and try and be worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-get-on-with-your-own-life-lettie-gave-it-to-you-you-just-have-to/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Eyes will not see you. Minds will not hold you. Where you are is nothing and nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/eyes-will-not-see-you-minds-will-not-hold-you-where-you-are-is/) [neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) [Explore all 2,526 Neil Gaiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## More Humans quotes > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) [Kenan Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenan-malik/) > [Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/human-beings-have-an-innate-inner-drive-to-be-autonomous-self/) [Daniel H. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/) > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) [Browse all 32,126 Humans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Stories are the things that allow us to persuade each other that we're human.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neil Gaiman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/stories-are-the-things-that-allow-us-to-persuade-each-other-that-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Humans" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/stories-are-the-things-that-allow-us-to-persuade-each-other-that-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4c/neil-gaiman-29_humans_stories-are-the-things-that-allow-us-to_2908367.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4c/neil-gaiman-29_humans_stories-are-the-things-that-allow-us-to_2908367.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4c/neil-gaiman-29_humans_stories-are-the-things-that-allow-us-to_2908367.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Stories are the things that allow us to persuade each other that we're human.” — Neil Gaiman", "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": "Neil Gaiman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Stories are the things that allow...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/stories-are-the-things-that-allow-us-to-persuade-each-other-that-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/stories-are-the-things-that-allow-us-to-persuade-each-other-that-we/#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 } } ] } ```