Good Enthusiasm & Expression: The 3rd of the 7 Techniques Utilized by Effective Public Speakers & Storytellers

Storytellers and all public speakers need to use good storytelling techniques. There are seven key techniques that all effective public speakers need to employ:

1. Good Eye-Contact

2. No Distracting Motions

3. Good Enthusiasm & Expression

4. Good Preparation

5. Good Use of Voice & Good Volume

6. Appropriate Talking Speed

7. Good Use of Body & Hand Gestures

This article will address the importance of using good enthusiasm and good expression when you perform.

Good storytellers show excitement for the stories they tell. Having a passion for the stories they select helps the audience better enjoy the show.

Think back to being a pre-school, kindergarten, or elementary school student. Perhaps you were like me. One of my favorite things was when my teacher chose to read to us. He or she was able to make the story come to life. Another great memory was when my mother would read chapter books to me. When I reached the great age of nine, I was crushed when my mother decided I was now too old for this practice. She read with such enthusiasm that I often felt like I had actually witnessed the story line unfolding in front of my very eyes.

As an elementary school teacher for seven years and a middle school conflict resolution teacher for five years, one of my favorite times was when I read to my students. At other times of the school day, I would sometimes have to deal with discipline issues. It was such a refreshing and exciting time of the day when story time arrived. The students eagerly sat up a little straighter and relaxed a little more as I opened the first page of the story or book. I relished the anticipatory silence in the room. You literally could have heard a pin drop when those climatic scenes occurred in the course of the story. Can you imagine what their behavior would have been like if I had read the story as if I thought it was stupid or boring or unexciting?

Be aware that you don't want to put people to sleep by speaking in a monotone or a bored-sounding voice. Instead, tell stories from your heart that you really like and enjoy. Sharing your excitement about the fun of the story is guaranteed to get you a positive audience response.

In addition, using appropriate facial expressions also enhances a story performance.

Where Can I Find Stories To Tell?

Where can I find stories to tell? Finding stories to tell is one of the unique challenges of being a storyteller.

If you are a teacher or librarian, you have a much larger selection of stories from which to choose. Why? The Fair Use Law governs that you are free from having to be concerned about copyright since it is part of your job to read or share stories to your students or library patrons. Because you are not making money telling these stories, you have the option to read whatever story you feel is appropriate for the age of your students.

If you make money telling stories, then copyright is an extremely big issue. You must find a way to contact the author, performer, agent, or publisher to get permission to tell each story you perform. You must be certain to give credit to that author as you perform this tale. And sadly, if you are not granted permission to tell this story, you must proceed to eliminate this story from your repertoire. That, I have learned from hard experience, can be extremely painful and disappointing.

Children's libraries and bookstores have excellent selections of easy books and story collections. The World Wide Web is another great source. If you select stories that are from the public domain, you no longer have to be as concerned about copyright. Naturally, you can never claim authorship of a story that you did not originate from your own imagination. However, you can adapt it at least twenty percent and claim it as an adaptation or re-telling of the original story.

Audiotapes and videotapes of Professional Storytellers can be borrowed or purchased from the National Storytelling Network in Jonesborough, Tennessee. Check out the following link for further information: http://www.storynet.org/resources/index.html. If you find a story you really like, contact the original performer to seek permission to tell their story. If he or she is not the originator of this tale, you have to gain permission from the author as well.

You can ask other people to share stories with you from their culture and background. In this case, they will usually be willing to give you permission to tell their stories as a performance tale. Naturally, you need to find out if they wish to be credited or whether they would rather remain anonymous.

You can interview family members to find out those anecdotal gems that can be woven together to make a complete story. In that case, the story would belong to you as you are pulling from your own family history.

If you don't want to worry about getting copyright permission to tell a story, write original stories of your very own.

In any case, tell a story that you absolutely love. Your love of the story will be contagious.

In conclusion, one of my favorite memories is of a six-year-old boy approaching me after a public park performance. He said, "I really liked that story you told at the elementary school." He proceeded to not only tell me the title, he related the events and dialogue of that tale in great detail and with great gusto. In questioning him further, I found out that he had not been a member of the audience. Instead, his sister had been in the audience. She had liked the story well enough to come home and perform it for her younger brother. Now the younger brother was performing it for me. This is a shining example of the importance of telling a story with great enthusiasm and expression. To him, it was not just a story. It was not just a story to his sister or to me. It was life-giving and vibrant. I had shared it from my heart. As a result, the story took on a life of its own.

May all the stories you share be ones loved by you and your audience. I wish you great joy as you perform.

A FEW STORYTELLING RESOURCES

Stories For General Audiences

Chase, Richard (1943). The Jack Tales. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.

Chase, Richard (1948). The Grandfather Tales. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.

DeSpain, Pleasant (1990). Twenty-Two Splendid Tales To Tell From Around The World; Volume One. Merrill Court Press, Seattle.

DeSpain, Pleasant (1990). Twenty-Two Splendid Tales To Tell From Around The World; Volume Two. Merrill Court Press, Seattle.

MacDonald, Margaret Read (1986). Twenty Tellable Tales; Audience Participation Folktales For The Beginning Storyteller. The H. W. Wilson Company.

Miller, Teresa (1988). Joining In; An Anthology Of Audience Participation Stories And How To Tell Them. Yellow Moon Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Spine-Tinglers

Dockery Young, Richard and Judy (1990). Favorite Scary Stories Of American Children. August House Publishers, Inc., Little Rock.

MacDonald, Margaret Read (1988). When The Lights Go Out; 20 Scary Tales To Tell. The H. W. Wilson Company.

San Souci, Robert D. (1987). Short & Shivery. Doubleday, New York.

Schwartz, Alvin (1981). Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark. Harper & Row, Publishers, New York.

Schwartz, Alvin (1984). More Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark. Harper & Row, Publishers, New York.

Schwartz, Alvin (1991). Scary Stories 3; More Tales To Chill Your Bones. Harper & Row, Publishers, New York.

=========================================================================
Return to Hub page for "Storytelling Tips & Tricks Hub page."
=========================================================================