How to become a Great Storyteller
By Eleanor Gil Sep 25 2024
Imagine yourself telling a story as if you were composing a song. Like music, stories have the power to make any message understandable, compelling and memorable for their audience. Whether your goal is to charm new acquaintances at a social gathering or to convince an audience of a certain cause, your storytelling ability may become your next best friend.
First, to tell a captivating story, you must act it out. Express your experience with facial expressions and exaggerated gestures at appropriate times, and briefly pause if you need to. Change the tone and volume of your voice and pretend like you are using your words to create a song. Even the most simple stories can make a significant impact, because it is not the event itself that makes a good story, but how you interpret and communicate it.
Next, employ metaphors and analogies to transform ordinary sentences. Metaphors are effective for persuasion, as they affect how individuals process information by stirring emotions and simplifying a message, per Laurie Santos, a Yale University psychology professor. For example, if you are telling a story about the significance of telling a story, you might say something like this:
“If you were to imagine everyone’s brains and emotions as a locked door, my dad’s brain would be the most solid steel door you would ever come across. But when I told him this story, I found the key to unlocking it.” In response, people will feel the clarity and understand exactly what you are implying when you put it in context.
Finally, explain what happened to your audience as if you are experiencing it for the first time with them right beside you. Guide them through each step of the journey, and allow them to experience your story as if they are part of it. Recount and describe every unique detail you remember of the setting, but make sure to keep your story’s overall message in mind.
In essence, everyone has a story to tell, whether it emerged from an experience in their life or from a fictional fantasy. If you frequently share your stories, perhaps others will share their own as well to create new memories and narratives for the future.
About the Contributors
Eleanor Gil is a junior at Leland High and the page editor for School News and Feature School for The Charger Account. She loves to cultivate a quiet, eclectic joy derived from various interests and hobbies and above all, learning.
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