The Magical Art of Storytelling
Stories are often seen as a powerful tool, an art that has its roots in ancient history and the power to take one through undiscovered places just by a combination of words, emotions and expressions. Storytelling has been used in history as a concept to inculcate the feelings of sympathy, empathy, humanity, kindness, love and a strong sense of moral values.
It is not uncommon for parents or grandparents to tell a story to their children in a manner so that it makes them a better human being in the times to come. Many times traditions and old values are passed Through stories that run from one generation to the other.
Stories are a concept in themselves capable of teaching us, entertaining us, providing answers and guiding us in times of need. Storytelling is more than just words, it takes a great deal of devotion to be shared.
Telling a story needs proper voice modulation, constant pitch throughout the narration can make a story ineffective and may seem monotonous to the listener. Different tones of voice and expression are vital to a good story. Similarly, staying in the same place without any bodily movements can also cause a sense of dullness to the story.
What also becomes crucial in the manner of storytelling is understanding the needs of the audience. One cannot entertain an audience that expects humour By sharing a story about feminism or history. Similarly, one cannot leave a mark by sharing or creating unrealistic concepts during the story.
What also becomes essential is that one should search and find the perfect story for those who expect to listen or read it. A good story always contains a proper flow of situations.
One cannot jump from one scenario to the other one, without offering the reader an explanation. This can hurt the story or simply kill it in certain cases.
What makes a story great is the ability of the storyteller to make the reader feel a part of it. A strong storyline that keeps the reader hooked on finding what happens next, a solution for the problem that the protagonist undergoes and an interesting explanation to it can help the reader very deeply interested in following the plot. The more the reader can actually visualise the story, the greater it leaves the impact.
Each point of the story keeps the reader engaged, each twist and turn of the story makes the reader’s interest piqued, And each time the character feels happiness or sadness, the reader feels it with him or her.
A good story will find common points to share with the reader and cling to those commonalities so the reader takes more interest in unfolding the story.
It is important to know that by telling a story a person can achieve various things such as sending out a message to their audience, motivating their audience to take up a task or act on the current situation, or merely inform the audience of what they want to share with them.
With storytelling, it also becomes easier to understand situations, especially for little children. Explaining to children the concepts of moral values become interestingly easier as they are always curious and happy hearing a story. Many times what one cannot directly communicate with their audience, they can do it with the help of words and stories.
Stories are not always meant for bedtime. They have deep cultural meanings and historic inferences attached to them. A sense of value and tradition is ingrained in stories and the listener may forget a particular moment but stories always manage to find their place in one’s heart and stay glued there for a long long time! So the next time your parents share a story with you, listen carefully!
