Storytelling

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StorytellingTipsByKenBradbury

LetmebeginbytellingyouthatIlovestorytelling.Ibelieveinstorytelling.Ithink

thattheadditionofstorytellingtomanystates’contestserieshasbeenanextremelyvaluableidea. So…Whatisstorytelling?Inshort,it’ssomethingwe’vedoneallourlives,ourparentswerestorytellersandthere’ssomethingaboutabeingagrandparentthatseemstoautomaticallyqualifyyouasatellerofstories.However,apersonneednotreachtheageof70or80tobeastoryteller. I’lldirectmycommentstotherulesoftheIllinoisElementarySchoolAssociation,althoughthestorytellingeventcanbefoundinavarietyofformsinseveralstates.Therulesnodoubtvaryabit,buttheessentialsremainthesame. MyGrandpaRalphwasmissingthetwofingersonhisrighthand….theonesoppositehisthumb.Asayoungboythesesmooth,roundedstubsfascinatedme,andI’doftencrawluponhislapandsay,“HeyGrandpa!Showmethosetwofingersyouain’tgot!”He’dsmileandholduphisrighthanddisplayingtwonormalfingers,athumb,andthosetwoabbreviateddigits.Again,therewasnothinggoryorhideousaboutthem.Theysimplylookedliketwotinyfingerswithoutfingernails.Grandpawouldthentellusthestoryabouthowhewascuttingwoodonabelow‐zeroIllinoiswinterday,usingoneofthosebuzzsawsattachedtotheflywheelofaJohnDeeretractorbyalong,rubberbelt.AccordingtoGrandpa,itwassocoldthathedidn’tnoticehe’dlosthisfingers.Accordingtohim,hecameinforlunch,tookoffhisgloves,andnoticedthetipsoftwofingersfalloutontothefloor.Okay,Irealizethere’saproblemwithlogichere.Howdidhecutoffthefingerswithoutcuttingtheglove?Author’snote:truthisnotarequirementingoodstorytelling.Interestis,thatwasaby‐gollyinterestingstory!….andthusgreatfodderforstorytelling. MymothertellsmeofthedaywhenIwasababyandshehadtakenmetothebasementwhereherwashingmachinewaslocated.AccordingtoMom,Iwasrecliningthereinmybabybasketandsuddenlystartedsmiling,laughing,andpointingtowardthepipesintheceiling.Shelookedupandsawaverylargeblacksnakecoiledaroundthepipes,lookingdownhungrilyatthebabybelowhim(assumingthesnakewasa“he.”)Mompanickedandranupthestairs,momentarilyforgettingthatshe’dlefthersoninthebasement…withthesnake.Shewasfacedwiththedualfearsofsnakesandhavingherbabyboyeatenbyasnake.MydadownedaJohnDeeredealershipjusttwoblocksaway,soshemadeapanickedcalltohisshop,screamingsomethingaboutsnakesandbabies.Dadsenthisheadmechanicdowntoourhousetokillthesnake,calmthemother,andsavethebaby.Frankly,I’mgladhedid. Suchthingsarethefodderforgoodstorytelling.They’reinteresting,they’refuntotell,andthey’retrue. Accordingtotherulesofmoststateorganizations,storiesmaycomefromthestudent’slife,talestoldbytheirfamily,ortalesfromourownfolklore.Andofcoursethematerialisnotlimitedtothesethreeareas.Thestoriesmayquiteliterallycomefromanywhere.Ipersonallypreferstoriesfromachild’sfamilysinceitwilllikelybeanewtaletome,butifyourstudentchoosesinsteadtotellthestoryofPaulBunyon,CaseyJones,theLittleMermaid,orJohnnyAppleseed,thatisequallyacceptable.

Storytelling

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So…What’sthedifferencebetweenperformingamonologueandtellingastory?It’smainlyamatterofdelivery: ‐‐‐Amonologueismemorized;astoryisparaphrased.Itmaychangeabitfromtellingtotelling. ‐‐‐Amonologuehasafewhardandfastrules;storytellingismorepliable. ‐‐‐Inamonologuethespeakeroftenspeaksasifheorsheisplayinganothercharacter;astorytellermostoftenplayshimself. ‐‐‐Monologuesareoftenlimitedintheamountdirectdialoguethatmaybeused;instorytellingtherearenosuchlimits. ‐‐‐Amonologueisbasicallyanactingevent;astorytellerhasaconversationwiththeaudience. TherulesinIllinoisandseveralotherstatessaythattheeventofstorytellingmayincludeaudienceparticipation.AtleastinIllinois,thisisnotarequirement.Afterall,somestoriessimplytonotlendthemselvestoaudienceresponse.Theoldshamansittingaroundthecampfireorthevillagechiefusedaudiencerepetitionasateachingdevice,butyourstudentneednotincludeaudienceparticipationunlessitseemsappropriate.Infact,I’vejudgedstorytellerswhoaskedtheaudiencetorespondwithcertainsoundsorphrasesandithasseemedveryforcedandawkward.Letyourcommonsenseguideyouonthis. Asateacher/speechcoach,it’syourfirstjobtoexplorethestorypossibilitieswithyourstudents.Encouragethemtoplumbtheirmemories…thefunnythings,theexcitingevents,thedangerousdays(thatcameoutwell),thefamilyvacations,theembarrassments,andmostimportantly,thosestoriesthattheirparentsorgrandparentshavetoldthemovertheyears.ClaywasthefirstyoungmanIeverworkedwithinstorytelling.Hewantedverymuchtotrythisneweventbutcouldn’tcomeupwithastorythatexcitedhim.Onenighthesharedhisdilemmawithhismotheratthesuppertable.Claycametomethenextdayandsaid,“Man,shejusttookoffandtalkedallnight!”WhenClaybegantopreparehisstory,hehadawholepocketfulfromwhichtochoose.Thefamilyisagoldmineforstorytellers.Onceyouryoungspeakerhaschosenhisorhermaterial,thenyoucanhelpthem“fluffitup,”adddetails,comeupwithadefinitebeginning,middleandending. Afewfinalthoughts:Letmeagainstresstheimportanceofthiseventbeingconversationalratherthanovertlymemorized.Thewordsneednotbethesamefrompresentationtopresentation.Whenyourclasscomesbackfromaholidayoralongweekendandyouaskthemiftheydidanythinginteresting,notetheadlibqualitywithwhichthestudentstelltheirstories.Thisiswhatyou’reshootingforasastoryteller. DespiteFacebook,despitetextmessaging,despiteanysortofmediumtocarryourstoriesonward,it’sthestillthestoryitselfthat’simportant.Storytellingjusthappenstobethemediumyou’reusinganddespiteanyadvancesintechnology,it’saformoforalexpressionthatwillliveaslongaswehavebreathtotellourstories.