Storytelling/listening takes place where? When?

• At home among the family;
• As a babysitter or child minder;
• At a camp or during a sleep-over;
• At a community festival or event;
• In church, synagogue, temple, mosque, or other religious center; and
• In classrooms everywhere - everyday - pre-school thru post graduate.

Finding a good story to tell

Look for a short story you like! Short! WHY? Beginners in anything, whether it's sports, music, or storytelling, begin with short segments and build up!

Learn the story! HOW? Storytelling cannot really be taught. It can be demonstrated, you can get pointers from professional tellers, but the actual learning of the story can only be done by you, through practice, practice, practice.

Adapting to your own learning style

There are different ways of learning, and it helps to recognize which way you seem to learn best. There is no right or wrong way - there is only your way!

Are you an imitator? Fine! If imitating has helped you in other areas of your life, then you may want to try it with storytelling. Look for tapes, videos, etc. When you tell your story in public, be sure to give credit to the teller you "learned" from by imitation.

Are you a memorizer? Fine! Some people LOVE to memorize. Some people moan and groan - I do! Even so, memorizing skills are very useful, so try to come up with a way to help you develop this skill - there are many options!

Are you a spur-of-the-moment improvisor? Fine! Do you like telling short jokes and funny stories? Are you the type who comes home after school and tells your family all the things that happened in your day, sometimes in such great detail that people tell you to stop? Then find stories you can tell entirely in your own words! This also takes practice, and you will need to keep a few key words of the story as you first heard or read it. That's what I do!

Are you a picturer? Fine! Do you learn best by seeing something pictured or put in a diagram? Do you like to write down notes? Then you might like to try a drawing storyboard!

What are the “building blocks” of our stories? Memories! Memories shape our stories: How we remember stories and how we shape the things we remember to have universal appeal…

Finding a good story to tell CENTER STAGE: The following suggestions apply to folk/fairytales/fables, etc., and our personal stories. Of course, we must always be mindful of who is in our audience, the time of day, etc.

Begin with a short story you like! Short? WHY? Beginners in anything, whether it’s sports, music, or storytelling, begin with short segments and build up! Learning the story? HOW? Storytelling cannot really be taught. It can be demonstrated, you can get pointers from professional tellers, but the actual learning of a story to present CENTER STAGE can only be done by you, through practice, practice, practice.

There are different ways of learning and it helps to recognize which way you seem to learn best. There is no right way or wrong way – there is only your way!

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Barbara Aliprantis, Storyteller
43-77 169 Street Flushing NY 11358
718-461-1355 phone

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