Storytelling Basics

Let me begin with an actual story.

As you can see, my blog post is a little late. There are 3 possible causes for this: (1) Laziness--didn't feel like posting anything, (2) Forgetfulness--it just happened to slip my mind, or (3) Helplessness--there was physically no way for me to post the blog.

Now, which reason(s) explain the lateness of my blog? As a storyteller I could make it any of them or a combination. Let's try reasons 2 and 3. My story would go like this:

My wife and I recently closed on a house. Not wanting to pay an extra month's rent, we decided to move in as quickly as possible. This past weekend we took advantage of the good weather and moved all of our belongings to our new address and have officially started living there as our place of residence. Unfortunately, we have not enabled any Internet services at our new location yet, so I physically could not post on my blog. Not that it mattered much because we were so busy that the fact I had an assignment due completely slipped my mind. I wasn't able to complete the assignment until today.



Nice story, huh? Now the real question is "Is it the truth?"

I could say it is true all that I want, but you, the reader, currently have no physical proof that is what really happened. What if I showed you the stack of papers I signed proving the closing on the house, or satellite pictures of my car in the new house's driveway, or pictures of the bruises my wife got during the move? I could you provide all that proof and more but you still would have to choose to believe that story. That's the key word--CHOOSE.

That brings me to the key with storytelling. Good stories and storytellers are the ones that can help you in your choice of what to believe. I recently watched a Digital Story about NASA--is the space program worth it. Pretty neutral presentation--it just stated facts about what it's cost us and the benefits have been. Had the storyteller made it a presentation of just the positive stuff, then that may have been a difference in what I chose to believe.

The storyteller first and foremost must accept the responsibility of helping others to make the choice of believing something new after the story is told. That should be determined before determining how the story will be told. If I tell you about something I don't care about, then I'm not treating the subject with the respect it would need. If I want you to make a choice based on what I tell you, then I'll probably approach the telling of it differently.

With every choice, though, there are CONSEQUENCES. That is the second thing a storyteller must accept responsibility for. Unfortunately the consequences are not always known. Many times it has happened that the story was true, but no one wanted to believe it or even hear it again. If a story is a lie, the storyteller must be prepared for the possibility of being found out. If it is the truth, they must make a decision of whether or not they will stand by it. If others beleive their story, will the storyteller be able to bear what consequences happen to them?

WHat does this have to do with teaching. Well, we have to help students to choose what they will and will not believe. Ultimately, we accept responsibility for the consequences of their choice.