Top 5 Secrets behind telling a Memorable Story
All right, you did it! You agreed to tell a story at an upcoming storytelling night in your local community. You have wanted to do this for so long, however always hesitated. This time, you mustered up the courage, sent that email, and signed up!
Telling a story to an audience can be a very powerful experience for both the storyteller and the listeners. What are some of the techniques that storytellers use to make sure that their stories stick in the memories of their listeners?
Read on for the top 5 Secrets behind Telling a Memorable story (in no particular order- they are all important!)
A storytelling gathering in the Netherlands.
Tip #1- Show, Don’t Tell
The golden rule of good writing is also the golden rule of good storytelling! When preparing your story, look for specific moments or images which tell your story. Listeners relate to your story when they can see themselves in it, and can connect to the sensory images of taste, sight, touch, sound, and smell. Focus on events, emotions, and sensory images over your opinions, summaries, or realizations.
One way to test this- try visualizing the story from start to finish in your mind. If you are seeing rich images that give you various ideas on how to describe a certain moment- you are on the right track! If you are struggling to see images in your mind’s eye, then it’s time to take another look at the story and see where you can add more specific moments, action, and images.
Tip #2- Know your Story in both your Head and Heart
One of the most important things about preparing for a storytelling performances is to tell the story as much as possible!
Storytelling is called “telling” as it is told- not read, or memorized. Stories are to be told from your heart to the heart of the listeners. It becomes very hard for listeners to connect to your story if you are reciting it from memory, or if you keep on looking at a piece of paper to remind you what comes next.
So, what do you do? To prepare for telling a powerful story, write down the most important events of the story- and make sure you have a very clear beginning and ending (more about this in Tip #4!). This will help you remember your story in your head. Then begin telling the story to as many people as possible. Start out just casually telling the story to yourr family, friends, neighbors, or colleagues! The process of telling the story casually to your community, and seeing how the story affects them will help you remember the story in your heart. Also, you might be tempted to just tell the story to yourself, and never tell the story to anyone before the big night. Rehearsing on your own is important as well ( that’s Tip #3!), however make sure to tell the story to people as well as you prepare!
Tip #3- Practice, practice, practice
Like any performing art form- music, theatre, dance- storytelling demands practice. You should know your story inside and out. Tip #2 stressed the importance of telling your story casually to others. That is part of rehearsal, however, you should also take time for you and your story to get to know each other in a one-on-one kind of situation, too!
Practicing your story by yourself is also the time that you can experiment with different emotions, body movements, expressions, and voices. The more your practice your story, the more you will uncover in the story, and the more you will have to share with your audience.
Should you practice in front of a mirror? No, absolutely not! This will only make you feel inhibited and self-conscious- two things that never help a storyteller tell a powerful story.
Tip #4- Have a Smooth Takeoff and Landing
When telling a story, the storyteller is like the pilot of a plane, and your listeners are your passengers. Just imagine how you would feel in a plane if your pilot got on the intercom before takeoff and wasn’t quite sure which city you were flying to, or when you landed the plane bounced and skidded to a stop along the runway. You wouldn’t feel very safe, and would be quite unsettled!
As a storyteller, you have a big responsibility to take care of your audience. They should feel that you know exactly where you are going, and that you are going to get them safely through the whole story till the end.
The storyteller is the pilot of a plane. Make sure to charter out a strong beginning and landing- it will help your listeners feel safe and cared for by the storyteller.
To achieve this, make sure to practice exactly what you are going to say and do for both the beginning and ending of the story. Looking back at Tip #1, make sure that your beginning and closing image are crystal clear and detailed in your mind. Make sure that your beginning draws the audience in with character, action and sensory images. At the end of the story, make sure the audience is left with a very clear takeaway message and image.
Of course, the journey between the beginning and ending should also be smooth- however if you have a strong beginning and ending, you are halfway there to telling a powerful story!
Tip #5- Warm Up Your Voice and Body
When practicing your story on your own, make sure to warm up your voice and body. First start out with a centering activity like breathing. With your voice, start off by massaging your face, exercising your mouth and tongue, and also activating your voice through humming. After humming, you can experiment with your voice finding a range of sound from very low to very high. Then you can try some tongue-twisters, and also singing. Singing is a great way to prep your voice and breath for telling a story!
Make sure to also engage your body as you practice your story. Move your body around while you tell the story- even exaggerating moments you might not in the story performance itself. Dancing is also a great way to warm up your body to be more expressive!
Storytelling is an art form, and like all art forms there are a lot of different steps and techniques to keep in mind. However, don’t hesitate from telling a story in public if you weren’t able to prepare as much as you wanted. The real magic of a story is when you share it with others from heart to heart.
The best possible way to increase your skill as a storyteller is to get up in front of people and perform stories. Every time you perform a story you learn something new about yourself, your community, and of course, the story you are telling.