Here’s How You Can Be a Better Storyteller
You won’t instantly notice it but humans are actually frequent storytellers. We tell our friends, relatives, and co-workers stories and they do the same. In some situations (like making a presentation at work), being a good storyteller can matter a lot. So, here are some things you should know!
Listen to others tell their stories
You’ll always have that one co-worker or friend who’s just really good at telling stories. So, try to observe and listen to them whenever you can. Sometimes you can learn a thing or two about what they do and you also get to know how it feels to be on the receiving end as an audience. There are also many great sources online where you can listen to people tell their stories. Listening to others first can be an excellent way to start improving your storytelling skills.
Write it down first
Whenever you experience something that you think can build into a great story, always remember to write it down. Our brains always play tricks on us and it won’t do any good to just trust your memory. Write down every thought that comes to mind and slowly create your story from there. By writing everything down, you can visualize the story a lot more clearly. You can be sure that it will be easier for you to tell the story if you organize it well on paper and include even the minor (yet relevant) details.
Avoid giving too much background
When telling a story, you’ll usually have to give some background information so that the audience can understand the context. Even so, that doesn’t mean you’ll have to give every detail about why the story happened in the first place. This is a mistake many people make when it comes to introducing their stories. You’ll only end up boring your audience before you even start! If you think this your problem, just remember to tell your audience only what they need to know.
Keep things concise but don’t rush it as well
Speaking of boring your audience, you don’t want to stand there telling a story that seems like it’s not going to end. It’s important to keep it concise because you’re essentially giving the major details while still keeping the audience engaged and interested. Although keeping concise is important, you should remember not to rush with your story. You’ll get tempted to breeze through everything especially if you’re new to storytelling. But try your best to slow down and just have fun in front.
Make sure to include dialogue
Another great addition to any story is dialogue. Think of it this way, dialogue in storytelling is just like the pictures in children’s books! It adds more color to the story and can even summarize the story as a whole. You can tell, for example, about that one time you were walking around Singapore and interacting with an auntie at a hawker center. There are really many real-life dialogues we can use to tie up our stories.