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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.
We need to identify those aspects of our voice and our delivery that we
enjoy. Self regard is a wonderful tool to inspire our continued adventure
into storytelling. There will be aspects of our delivery that we wish
to change. Re-record and change them. Was the delivery too flat? Too fast?
Uneven? Was the voice too high? Too soft? Were there imaginative additions
to the script. Perhaps some growling sounds. perhaps some raindrops fingertapping
on the window, perhaps a sing song piece?
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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A Story Dreamt
Long Ago
Read Excerpts
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