Improving the way I tell stories - advice/products?
 

Hi everyone,

I am pretty crap at storytelling. Public speaking is fine for me. Although I have led a reasonably interesting life, I don't feel confident telling stories. I see mates at work who can take a story about having a pint in the pub into an emotional work of art.

I am sure part of the problem is inner ("my story is boring - nobody will be interested").

However there are clearly technical aspects to crafting good short stories to use socially or in game.

Any advice on courses, products, teachers, or essentially anything else?

Thank you
Josh

If you think your story is boring, then it'll be more or less impossible to have other people think it is not.

I recommend doing improv comedy. If you are in a reasonable sized city, there'll probably be a group or two. There's a whole bunch of stuff you can do to decorate your stories - act out stuff, do voices for the characters, use similie and metaphor liberally, and so on... most important is to lose yourself in the story, laugh at the funny bits, be freaked out by the weird bits, be angered by injustices, and such things.

Too begin with find some people who you think are great storytellers and listen to them tell some great stories. If you can't think of anyone, a good place to start your research is "this is not happening" on YouTube.


Peace,

kowalski

There are books you can read on storytelling. But from what I know, you need to be emotionally invested. You need to be interested in the story, the guy or girl listening is just an output for what's going inside your own emotional network. And this is all lost when you try too hard to put on a great story because you sacrifice real emotion.

It's like you want to re-live the moment or story you are trying to tell and you're doing it for yourself.

What I would recommend is try telling stories with people you are comfortable with first so there is not too much social pressure. And there are certain elements you end up exaggerating naturally. For example if I was afraid in a story when someone crept up behind me, set the environment "There was no one within 30metres and you couldn't hear anything and suddenly some guy tapped my shoulder"

In summary
1- Learn techniques by reading book
2- Be emotionally invested in your own stories
3- Practice with people you are comfortable with
4- Learn to re-live the memeories you are trying to tell
5- Think visually (anytime I tell a story- I have a movie going inside my mind)

Good luck.
We are all storytellers- Sapiens have used stories for as long as we've lived. The goal is just to find the emotional anchors that get us going.