In some communities across the world there are people who are designated as official storytellers for the community. Mostly however, anyone can tell stories, all that's necessary is the teller, the audience and a good story. When telling stories though, each teller should be aware that they need to tailor their approach to their audience. Good storytellers don't imitate someone else's style when they're telling stories, they develop a style and a delivery of their own. They will also develop a repertoire of stories for varied occasions and will select appropriate stories for different audiences.
If you have been asked to entertain a group of children - or indeed any group with a story, then it is worthwhile undertaking some preparation. When telling stories you need to be aware of your audience's needs and expectations. You should only use stories you are comfortable with and know that you can tell with full understanding, emotion and belief.
Telling stories is an art form and you will probably find that a particular form or genre of story suits your style best, in the same way that painters use particular techniques or musicians prefer a style of music such as jazz, classical or rock. You may choose to tell traditional fairytales, stories from a particular culture or country, amusing tales, ghost stories or adventure yarns. Whatever form of story you choose, it must be right for both you, the storyteller and your audience.
Watch for danger points when telling stories ....
Be aware of your own limitations and don't even try to tell stories well outside your own experience.
Be careful when choosing stories from another culture, particularly if they require a particular accent, or method of delivery. Unless you are very good at impressions, such stories are likely to be very flat and your audience will be disappointed.
Many inexperienced storytellers have chosen well-known tales as a source of inspiration, and found that some don't work when told aloud. Telling stories aloud is very different to reading them in a book - consider traditional tales like "Three Little Pigs" or "Cinderella" - these can be told by anyone, but stories such as A A Milne's "Winnie the Pooh" tales are very difficult to share with a large audience. These are stories for a small intimate group of up to, say four maximum, but not with a larger group. When telling stories, why not consider exerpts from "The Hobbit" by J R R Tolkien? This book is meant to be read aloud and is generally successful when told to larger groups.
So, selecting stories for telling is a personal matter. The art of telling stories varies so much between individuals and audiences and occasions that it's impossible to judge for another which stories will work on a particular day in front of a particular audience.
I have recently put together a new downloadable book called "How to Tell Stories to Children" together with five books full of great stories to tell. It gives you simple guidelines to help make your storytelling sessions a great success and leave your audience clamouring for more!
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