Learn the Art of Storytelling

Learn the Art of Storytelling

Vera Nazarian once said, “The world is shaped by two things; stories told and the memories they leave behind.” Almost everybody loves stories. And a good story entertains, conveys a message, and rejuvenates the audience.

But how will you make it right in your storytelling expeditions? If you get confused when it comes to story delivery, worry not; you’re in the right place at the right time. The piece is going to take you through various aspects of storytelling. The tips will help you to be a better if not an outstanding storyteller. Read on!

Features of a good story

Words such as good and bad are used to express one’s feelings towards a particular subject or issue. A good story must have the following features;

Entertaining aspects, good stories must engage the reader and make the reader yearn for more.
Informative; a good story must have an educational component with it; in other words, it must spark curiosity and come along with some knowledge.
Universal, good stories must be readable and relatable to all people, no matter gender, race, or age. This implies that the story should tap into experiences and emotions that most people go through.
Memorable, the story must have something in it that is memorable. This can be either humor, scandal, or inspiration.
Organized, a good story should have a specific organization to help the readers absorb and comprehend it easily.

Components of good stories

In regard to accomplished storytellers, a good story should have three pillars;

Characters; a good story should have at least one character, and the character must be key when the audience relates to the story. This element the bridge between the storyteller and the audience. If the audience puts themselves into the character’s shoes, then your story will be a success.

Conflict; here, the conflict implies how the main character overcomes the set challenges. Conflict plays a significant role in a story because it connects the audience with all the story’s experiences and elicits their emotions.
The resolution, every good story has a unique ending; the end doesn’t have to be good. All that is required as far as resolution is concerned is that the resolution should wrap up via summarizing the characters and conflicts, and then leave the audience with a call-to-action,

The process of storytelling

Storytelling is an art, hence, it requires vision, creativity, and skill. Also, as they say, practice makes perfect; you should nourish your skills through continuous practicing. Now that you have known the features and components of a good story, next is how to tell your story.

So, what should you do?

Audience, audience, audience

In other words, you should know your audience. To come up with one of compelling stories, you need to know and understand your audience. Before you put your mind into a paper or word processor, do audience research and define their persona. This will provide an insight into what they like and try to fix it in your story.

The core message

Whether the story is one page or thirty, five minutes or two hours, it must have a core message. This should be done before anything when it comes to storytelling. Is your story about raising funds for selling a product? Selling a service or creating a civil awareness? What is that point that unifies your entire account? To get better, in ten to fifteen words, try to summarize your story. If your story can’t be summarized in ten to fifteen words, you don’t have a core message.

Which kind of story you’re offering?

It should be noted that stories are not equal. Stories work differently depending on the targeted audiences. There are different types of accounts. They include;

• Incite action stories; these stories describe how a particular action was successful in the past and how the readers will be successful if they implement the prescribed action.

• About yourself stories; these are stories that feature wins, failures, and genuine and humanizing struggles

• Values stories; these are stories that tap into familiar characters, e3motions, and situations that readers can easily understand and apply in their lives.

• Imparting knowledge or educating stories are trial and error stories and teach the readers that every problem has a solution if you try to solve it.

Wrapping up

As said above, storytelling is an art that needs continuous mastering. With the insights that the piece has provided you, you can craft an impeccable story.

Good books have been written on “The art of storytelling”. Some of them include: –

The Art of Storytelling by John Walsh

Let the story do the work by Esther K. Choy

Putting stories to work by Shawn Callahan

Link for some learnings: –