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As life emerged on earth from the primeval slime there was a group of cells that carried the potential to become human - to transform the jelly blob into the thinking, feeling, dreaming being we call man. These were the Storyteller cells. Man developed differently from ape because he found a way to tell his stories. Through grunt and gesture, sign and symbol he transformed his experience into a story so that the listeners learnt not only from their own adventures but from each other, thus they reached back for generations, bridged gaps between strange cultures along the paths of early trade routes and reached on ahead in landscape and in time. Stories allowed this ape to know more than his life span, to see patterns and consequence and to make plans. Stories are the key to strategy. Stories enable creative problem solving. Since the time of the first story the history of all mankind has been linked and has produced that mysterious human intelligence and human spirit which has given this fragile, naked, ape mastery of his world. As parents we may see our children as fragile naked apes and we surely long to give them mastery of their world. Through offering life enriching stories we offer them potent tools of conquest. We offer fascination, inspiration, determination and a vast array of viewpoints as the story heroes and heroines overcome their challenges. Stories are not simply a set of amusing circumstances, stories are not dry pieces of information. A real story is a potent human experience which holds universal truths which can impact on our own lives. Stories reveal patterns, they take us to a far objective viewpoint and at the same time take us close to the emotion of the human in the drama. We safely share the experience. How can we give these riches to our children? The powerful storyteller honours three sacred duties. When storytellers have a deep trust of themselves in their storyteller role offering no excuses, no inhibitions, no distortions, they will tell their stories well and the wisdom of the story will reach the audience. When storytellers create a safe place for their story, creating time, quiet, comfort, reverence, then the story comes to life and touches the audience. When the storyteller chooses material that has wisdom value then he enriches his audience. It is not only the words and actions within the story that create powerful magic. The magic is developed within the teller's self belief, reverence for the story and the loving focus on the audience needs. This shapes an experience which the listener may harvest through a long life. How often in our own life's crisis have we remembered advice, patterns, moments of insight given to us in this manner? Our life's decisions are made under the influence of the stories that we heard. Regular storytelling followed by discussion of the story encourages the listener to think at deeper levels, to look at the evidence of the words from many points of view, to learn to 'harvest' information and to balance judgments. Closing a story session with children it is good to ask and to respectfully listen to their points of view. Use open questions which require a little explanation from the listener. Rather than 'Did you like that story' ask 'What/who did you like in the story? Why? Could you do that?' 'What if. . . had happened? What might have happened then? What were the scary bits? What were the bits that made you happy?' Thus the story provides not only a bond between listener and teller but a means of self revelation between members of the group. This self revelation is 'safe' as after all it is, despite strong symbols and connections, 'only a story'. Respectful listening to varied points of view (eg What was the scary bit?) introduces this strategy of social skill to the child. It is experiential learning. Respectful listening then becomes part of the child's social repertoire. Storytelling invites creative language use. It gives permission for extended vocabulary, fantasy words and sound, grunts, squeals, whispers, moans, extreme expressions not encouraged in daily conversations. All this enlarges the child's
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communication repertoire. Storytelling invites varied sentence structure, short, long, rhythmic, incomplete. It invites a wide variety in voice use, soft, loud, angry, gentle each with appropriate facial expression. All this encourages the child to share the emotion and to become increasingly articulate in expressing both experiences and needs. It equips your child to influence the world. For those of us beginning the adventure where do we start? Regular reading aloud will teach us how to use our voice, to breathe, to interpret sounds and punctuation. If we choose material we love, poems and stories that had significance for us, our interpretations will become more vital as they carry our emotions. Material we read aloud will not always be comfortable in our mouths. It was written for the eye and may need some adjustment. Change the written piece to fit your style and skill. Simplify. Edit. Create a reading piece that you and your audience can share and enjoy. Keep it short as reading is exhausting. Keep it slow so that every drop of value is absorbed. Punctuate with meaningful silent pauses so that listeners can catch up and savor the whole experience. Tape recorders are a wonderful tool to assist our development as storytellers. Initially recording and reviewing our chosen reading piece allows us
to hear our voice as others do. Often this is confronting and we need
to do this often enough to become comfortable with how we sound. An alternative to reading is to "tell" from memory and from the heart. This allows us to use eye contact, gesture and interaction. These are restricted when reading until our piece has become quite familiar, until we actually know segments off by heart. When reading we must move our focus from the audience to the page as we switch from story segments that we know to links and sections that we have to read. Recording and replaying is a valuable strategy to help us edit and to develop our "telling" skills. Give your tape to your child for the times when you can't be there. Trick technology to work for family intimacy rather than for separation as so often happens. These personal tapes can inspire a child to 'read' a story that is otherwise too challenging without the help of the parental voice. Following the example some children choose to make their own tapes thus becoming conscious of voice and language. This can be encouraged by sending children's tapes as gifts to grandparents, aunts and uncles. It is helpful to encourage this in children aged from one to ninety five. When material has significance and messages for us it will also hold the interest of our audience. When choosing material look for exciting introductions, strong descriptive language, satisfying endings. The constant development of one well chosen piece will teach us all the skills we need to fascinate our children, to inspire a love of reading, to install listening and articulation skills and to encourage creative imagination. These gifts are precious and endure throughout our lives. Storytelling is an art and although techniques help our self expression there is no 'right' way. There are no mistakes. You cannot fail. Phyllis McDuff is a professional storyteller working with industry
and the education environment offering structured courses to capture the
skilIs of storytelling. Phyllis believes that the recognition, training
and use of storytellers within our communities lead humans to understand
themselves, their environment and to reach their full potential. |
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