Storytelling Advanced Communication Series Sujit Sukumaran DTM

Storytelling- An Overview Generic - subject based P1 – The Folk Tale P2 – Lets Get Personal P3 – Moral of the story P4 – Touching Story P5 – Bringing History to life Personal - subject based

Synopsis Areas tested:  Generic Subject based – 4 projects in this manual; all except P2 test 4 different types of story-telling ability  Personal Subject based – P2 calls for exclusive rendering of a personal story that is close to you in an as endearing and connecting way as possible

Project 1 – The Folk Tale Objectives:  To tell a folk tale that is entertaining and enjoyable for a specific age group  To use vivid imagery and voice to enhance a tale Time: 7-9 minutes; Difficulty: Easy; connection will depend on story choice

Project 1 – The Folk Tale Assignment and evaluation  Choose and prepare a folk tale or reasonable antiquity for presentation.  You should not act out the story, but instead interpret it for the audience, using voice and imagery. Key pitfalls:  Wrong story choice; choose depending on the universality of message or core essence, also consider cultural differences of audience.  Choosing a story which is too long, has a deep plot or too many characters to close in 7 minutes  Acting a 7 minutes story means your story should be a 5 minute one for effectiveness

Project 2 – Lets get Personal Objectives:  To learn the elements of a good story  To create and tell an original story based on a personal experience Time: 6-8 minutes Difficulty: Medium

Project 2 – Let’s get Personal Assignment and evaluation  For this project, the speaker is to create and tell a story based on a personal experience without using a script or notes.  The speaker has to use vivid descriptions and dialogue to bring the story to life Key pitfalls:  Lack of climax  Mere recollection of an incident or event in speaker’s life; absence of a plot, characters or structure.

Project 3 – The Moral of the Story Objectives:  To understand the a story can be entertaining yet display moral values  To create a new story that offers a lesson or moral  To tell the story, using the skills developed in the previous two projects Time: 4-6 minutes Difficulty: Medium

Project 3 – The Moral of the Story Assignment and evaluation  Two approaches can be taken. Either create and tell an original story with a lesson or take a lesson from another story and create a new story to go with it.  Make sure it is entertaining to the audience and have a surprise twist to the ending  Do not use a script or notes when telling the story Key pitfalls:  Twist is missing; moral is obvious from the beginning itself, story is predictable.  Time management

Project 4 – The Touching Story Objectives:  To understand the techniques available to arouse emotion  To become skilled in arousing emotions while telling a story Time: 6 to 8 minutes Difficulty: Advanced skill required

Project 4 – The Touching Story Assignment and evaluation  Present prepare and present an original story designed to evoke emotion among listeners, using description and dialogue. Key pitfalls:  The key factor here is to arouse interest and evoke emotions.  Characters and their relationships, dialogue, plot lines, premise of the story and what is the touching angle all are very important  Touching doesn’t mean tragic or potboiler drama

Project 5 – Bringing history to life Objectives:  To understand the purpose of stories about historical events or people  To use the storytelling skills developed in the preceding projects to tell a story about a historical event or person Time: 7-9 minutes Difficulty: Advanced skill required

Project 5 - Bringing history to life Assignment and evaluation  Tell a story about a historical event or person. The event or person may be mythical, imaginative, fictional, or real.  The story should have a plot and character development and should build to a climax. Key pitfalls:  The event of premise of the story is not defined.  Ensure that you tell them a story with a defined purpose with a character/incident of history that is being re-enacted and follows a clear story path with a message at the end.  Wrong story choice either for the speaker or from the audience perspective

What’s in it for me?  This is an mid-level manual among the Advanced Series  Great manual for people wanting different tests to develop story telling skills  Ideally attempt at ACB level.  The foundation story telling skills if learnt sincerely will help a lot in all future projects

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