Back to the Story section Page
Once you’ve got your story, it’s important to make it your own, by adapting it to your purposes and personality. Maybe you have a gift for humour, melodrama, mimicry or some other aspect of storytelling — notice what works best for you, and schedule stories accordingly.
Personally, I tend to recite my stories aloud, to an empty room, several times before I’m happy that I got the gist of it. If I’m lucky, I can persuade my wife or a friend to listen to the story and give me feedback.
Practise Storytelling
Take every opportunity to practise your storytelling skills. Here are some options::
- Write the story down and revise it until you’re happy with it. (DON’T read from the paper when you present! Just use the writing as a preparation exercise.)
- Recite the story to an empty room until you’re happy with it.
- Recite it to a friend and get some feedback.
- Each time you tell the story to an audience, notice what works best and amplify it (while editing out any bits that don’t work so well).