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Activities: Stories: Storytelling |
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Question:
How can storytelling be used as a vehicle in the classroom to enhance expression, from the standpoint of the students creating their own stories and becomming storytellers in the classroom ?
Answer: From Chuck Larkin <Mythteller@aol.com>
I think the problem results from the observation that the really great speakers are unable to define just what they are doing. First one needs to pass through the fear wall of public speaking and experience seems the only answer. On the other side of the wall is the real talent skill development process. Routine interaction language off stage becomes quite visable on stage. Words + voice + body = one language, if not coordinated becomes visable on stage as three languages. Patterns in the three languages begin to interfere with effective listening. Storytellers hang on to straight narrative which at best becomes tedious to listen to, when compared to the listening interest generated from variety. So to move foreward:
Use the following workshop notes for concepts.
THE "NINE"STEP PROGRAM
"To Being a Storyteller"
"To Being an Entertainer"
"To the Magical Flow of a Story Telling Itself"
BY BLUEGRASS STORY TELLER CHUCK LARKIN
1. Repeating achievers are people who are aware that effort is the only path for developing all talent skills including storytelling talent skills. Start by learning and telling a story to any audience and then begin to diversify and broaden your audience.
2. Read, listen and write stories and exercise your imagination.Focus on repeating stories from your own flowing imagery memory and start creating improvised bridges in memory gaps. Later on stage if you tear the fabric of a story you will be able to re-stitch extemporaneously.
3. Build a repertoire of stories with an information resource base that pertains to the stories. Develop a passionate personal bridge to both the stories and the audience.
4. Listen, observe, contemplate and honor by emulating the voice melody para-language and body para-language of talented storytellers and speakers.
5. Literary storytellers, required to use the rote memory of words {Example: Bible Storytellers}, should focus on enhancing your vocal and body para- language to support the flowing passages. Folk storytelling entertainers should shift away from telling from a script {theater of the stage storytelling} to telling from a serial image {theater of the mind storytelling}. Revise the written narrative language to oral language and substitute dialogue when able. Support the dialogue with minimal but appropriate and consistent vocal and body language changes between characters. The use of dialects diminishes the listener's theater of the mind by diverting the listener's attention to the dialect.
6. Learn to tell a story with your non-spoken language consistently supporting the flowing moment of the story. Remove all distracting patterns from the non-spoken para-language not relevant to the progress of the story.
7. Prior to a performance, routinely program your sub-conscious intelligence with affirmations about how great, you desire to feel and tell during the performance. The positive affirmations will activate your sub-conscious intelligence into directing your non-spoken para-language into supporting your spoken language and in addition, your positive para-language will animate your audience. The non-spoken para-language of your audience in turn conveys the same lively message back to you into a circle of positive energy.
8. During the presentation of a story be conscious of being a body symphony conductor while following a story's blueprint as you integrate, harmonize, arrange, and constantly review, analyze and revise as relevant all of your presentation talent skills supporting the flowing moment of the story. Adjust as appropriate, as you read the body para-language of the audience.
9. With confidence and affirmations enter the magical flow by letting go all of the above concerns and attachments to the mechanics of storytelling and trusting that your desires will be fulfilled, join your audience, listen and experience the bliss of letting a story be told by the story's characters as the self's sub-conscious intelligence takes over conducting the story's telling.
*{The only reason for nine steps is good luck as nine & multiples of nine are the symbols of an ancient Earth Mother. For additional myth information check out: http://www.mindspring.com/n/momma.htm}
WORKSHOP TALENT SKILLS: NOTE LIST FOR DEVELOPING GIFTED LINGUAL STORYTELLERS AND SPEAKING RACONTEURS BY Bluegrass Storyteller Chuck Larkin 1-800 952-7552
QUALITY STORYTELLING IS QUALITY PUBLIC SPEAKING Diagnosed errors are most often a pattern in an aspect of speech or a failure to support the spoken word with appropriate verbal and physical para-language. Patterns and inapt para-language diminish effective communication. The most well known vocal para-language error for example is the monotone pattern. Body para-language errors include any unconscious but controllable physical activity distracting to a listener that fails to support the flowing moment of the oration. Lingual storytelling includes both theater of the stage and theater of the mind. A storyteller-entertainer should decide and control the audience's focus on the stage {theater of the stage} or focus the audience on their mental imagery {theater of the mind}. An audience also can focus on both the teller on stage and their flowing imagery. There is no right or wrong entertainment between theater of the stage or theater of the mind but the storyteller should choose in lieu of chance shifts between the two.
THE TALENTED STORYTELLER AND ORATOR HAS THE PARA-LANGUAGE SUPPORTING THE FLOWING MOMENT OF THE PASSAGE AND AVOIDS ALL PATTERNS THAT ARE NOT PERTINENT TO THE FLOWING MOMENT OF THE PASSAGE.
Vocal Para Language = The voice's tonal quality, timber, pitch,volume, articulation, rate of speaking {words per minute (WPM)}, use of pauses, accent, inflection, mood, emotion, humor, disgust, surprise, anger, concern, indifference, affection, energy, low, high,stressful, fearful and etc. Body Para Language = Gestures, eye-contact, facial expressions and body movements such as extraneous pacing, postures that display power, stress, fear, warmth, humility, arrogance, distracting movement and etc...
Always Look & Listen for the Patterns That Do Not Support the Flowing Story Passage. Always Look & Listen for Places That by Shifting the Para-Language the Quality of the Presentation Increases. Always Look & Listen for Opportunities to Shift from a Narrator Telling the Story to Characters Telling the Story in Dialogue {with appropriate shifts in voice as: normal, high, low, nasal, tongue onroof of mouth, etc. and other para-language shifts (energy, WPM etc.) all unique to each character}.
Always Look & Listen for Opportunities to Reshape a Passage in Order to Enhance the Flowing Images or Strengthen the Flowing Passage. Always Look and Listen For Appropriate Para-Language Emotion Supporting the Linkages Between Motivation and Action.
NOTE! EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION RULES INCLUDE EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULES. EXAMPLES OF COMMON ERRORS: PAUSE & COMPREHENSION PROBLEM: {most common} The Speaker utters an excess of syllables before a pause. When a speaker speaks over a dozen syllables (*not words*) before a pause - the listener begins toloose the ability to process the information. The listener increases their listening concentration which becomes tedious. Of greater importance, the syllables *following* the first dozen spoken syllables, wash out the previous syllables before they are efficiently processed into the average listener's consciousness. No matter how attentive the listener is, they still can't effectively follow the flowing moment of the story, speech or conversation. There are exceptions to the limit on the number of syllables, when planned with a reason, as example, repeating a passage for the third or more times in a story pauses can be dropped and rate of delivery increased.
PAUSE & IMAGERY PROBLEM: The pause is too brief for the listener to create and embellish the flowing image in their theater of the mind. THE PAUSE: The pause must be used in a random pattern between one and a dozen syllables. Pauses can also be achieved by stretching and holding a vowel syllable as a singer holds a note.
PARA-LANGUAGE PATTERN PROBLEMS: RHYTHM: The speaker has established a comfortable hypnotic rhythm by pausing every ten to twelve syllables. A listener will become distracted, although they may not realize why. The pause has to be in a random pattern between one and a dozen syllables, unless there is areason to temporally abandon the pause.
STRESS : During periods of stress your body and voice para-language communicates stress to the audience. This can be partially offset by being aware of the stress and by including appropriate affirmations {positive thinking statements} concerning stress when programming your sub-conscious before going on stage.
ENERGY: A typical pattern is to either maintain your natural energy level or enter a performing energy level when going on stage which may be appropriate during salutations but inappropriate if the energy is not supportive to the flowing moment passages in the story or speech.
RATE OF DELIVERY [PACE]: If the teller fails to use fast and slow pace changes with random pauses appropriate to the flowing moment of the story's passage then the pattern becomes a deterrent to effective listening. You should deliver your material at about 150 to 200 words per minute but never maintain the same pace. Slow down for emphasis and rapidfire delivery for attention in a speech or story character dialogue. In a story, pace should be changed as you change characters. A constant change of pace related to the flowing passage is essential in order to hold the attention of your audience. A nice, steady pace will only serve as a hypnotic and allow your audience to daydream in comfort. The reverse problem of speeding up the delivery rate and reducing pauses is a serious and typical error when the storyteller or speaker has material in excess of the available time or decide they need to hurry and get off stage. If time constraints limit presenting the planned material or for example you think you have lost the audience and want to bail out then adjust by cutting and re-stitching the material in lieu of speed increases. The average listener can process information in excess of 600 wordsper minute as long as there are random pauses of reasonable length inuse in order for the listener to process the information.
MUSICAL SPEAKING PATTERNS: Modulation, enunciation, timing, power,pitch - be aware of the flowing moment and seek out appropriate opportunities in your material to shift each of these para-languageelements. Often just being aware of a character's motivation and emotion will enable you to deliver dialogue in the natural way people speak. Presenting as the Narrator in a story, while different from character dialogue, requires the same ebb and flow of the elements of speaking in random patterns.
TIMING: The most difficult skill to develop is the sense of timing. When you tell a story or speak to an audience, you are involved in a different form of communication. In normal conversation we are either transmitting or receiving information through a flow of words and our interpretation of the meaning of the words from the vocal and physical para-language. However, when you are transmitting or receiving astory, listener thinking and imagery development are an addeddimension to the communication. When relating a story or speech, you need to insure that your listeners have time to think and have time to develop in their imagination a series of visions of the action described. This requires use of longer pauses and a slower delivery rate. When telling a story or a joke, take your time, slow down and pause at the point you are painting an image in the mind of your listener. With practice, this sense of timing will become part of your effective speaking ensemble.
POWER: The volume also must be varied. When you wish to generate maximum attention to material, you use a "stage whisper" or a "shout" and always range your power back and forth keyed to your material. Radio and television performing requires a constant power level with minimal volume changes. Techniques of emotion and characterization are acquired by focusing on shifts in pace, pitch, emotion and accents.
PITCH: Falsetto to bass: Shifting your voice from deep tones to hightones holds the attention of your audience so that they can hear your message. The pitch of your voice defines your emotional state. If you are excited, you add validity to your statements. When your pitch is not coordinated to your material, you lose credibility. A monotoneis apathetic and conveys the message that the material being delivered is of no consequence and listening is not necessary.
PRONOUNCE: If you can't say it right, don't say it or if appropriate ask your audience. A mispronounced word will divert your audience's attention to how the word should be pronounced rather than hearing your message. However, when you do make a mistake, do not break the rhythm of your speech by backing up and repeating and never apologize as that creates even more distraction for your audience. All rules have exceptions, if the message being communicated can be interrupted then correct the error. Always use standard English as the framework for your message.
BODY LANGUAGE: Your total body needs to support your speech or the flowing moment of the story. When you have your body, hands, face and voice coordinated to your speech material or story, you will be able to maximize your level of communication effectiveness. The storyteller-entertainer will find it useful to expand the body language in order to role play the story characters. New tale tellers should consider acquiring a few skills of a mime. If you acquire the skill to convey a story without sound and merge the mime art form with the oral storytelling art form, you will be an impressive performer.
MOVEMENT PATTERN: Eye-contact often falls into a disruptive pattern of sweeping from one side of the audience to the other and with too much speed. Effective eye-contact in all oral communication is looking at an individual either an individual alone or an individual in a group. And in a group, either hold the eye contact for a few moments or *when you are able to sense they know you are looking at them* at random shift to another individual and at random cover the whole audience. Exception: Look at individuals in the front rows and at sections of the audience in the deep back areas.
GESTURES: Keep your hands up in view of the audience, and talk with your hands. When hands are not in use they need to be inactive. When inactive let your hands fall to your sides or bend your elbows and hold your hands at your sides. Hand gestures need to be in view of the audience. When addressing a large audience with deep back rows the folks in the back need more expansive gestures in order to relate to you. NOTE! Characters do not use the same gestures or para-language. Introduce each character with enough variation in the body para-language to support the change-looking from side to side when changing characters is an unnecessary deterrent from your effectiveness to painting word images. If you are working in television then hand gestures need to be tight to your body, around the sides of your face, not in front, in order to support you on camera. Be careful not to distract the attention of the audience by playing with glasses, scratching, shuffling papers, holding or leaning on the lectern, placing your hands in prayer, a fig leaf or at parade rest.
SUMMARY: The rhythmic and intonational aspect of para-language includes the pitch of the voice, the volume of the voice, the rate of speaking words, the timing, the proximity of pauses, the articulation of words, the accent in use, the energy level, the type of energy and the modulation and adjustment of all of the above as indicated by the flowing movement of the story. Last and most important is the body language. Eye contact, movements on the podium, gestures, facial expressions, tilt of your head, posture, etc. Oral language communication experts have ranked the effect of words,the para-language of the voice and body para-language in transmitting messages to a listener. Words in oral communication while essential are the least effective facet in transmitting a message to a listener due to the forcefulness of para- language's interpretation of the message beyond what the words convey. The tonal quality of the voice's para-language and the body para-language combined are considered to be responsible for well over half of the receiving and understanding of the message. The body para-language itself is the primary communicator of a message. The estimated number of body language symbols we share and send and retrieve at low levels of awareness is enormous. The closer we are in sharing existential experiences the more para-language symbols we share and use.
PERFORMING: When you change characters in your story, do so with body and voice. Great changes are not needed-only that quality and quantity of change necessary to convey a character change and to direct and enhance the imagery of your audience. With experience and practice, vocal accents and body mime, you can improve characterization; but even slight changes, while you are learning can be very effective. At minimum, you can pitch your voice high, normal, low and speak fast, normal and slow, nasal and non-nasal for beginning vocal characterizations. The vocal changes allow you to change characters without having to say, "Ms.Rabbit said.... Mr.Possum said...." etc. There is a difference between being a story presenter and a storyteller. As a story presenter you are a narrator through the whole presentation. As a storyteller you are still a narrator in places but now you bring in to play your own creative skill as you bring life to the story's characters.###
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Subject: Advanced workshop thoughts and Workshop Notes!
The workshops I have been doing the past three years (group or one onone} is the final step in developing oratorical talent skills to perfection. I use instant feedback and dialogue. First to shift from straight narrator to character thinking aloud and characters in dialogue, next to remove all patterns in the voice or body that do not support the flowing moment of the story, then to insure that all para-language [vocal & body] supports the words of the story and flowing movement of the story. My success rate has been quite strong because I know why some speakers are better then others when telling astory.
My fees are still $1.00 less then you can afford providing we can find common time and place for teaching either one on one or one to a group. Later in the year I'll be able to put up a limited number at minimal cost at my home in mid-town Atlanta, GA, USA. So if interested now is the time to initiate scheduling. Basic cost then is Airfare - food and whatever is available for honorium payable only after workshops and on students ability to pay and only then payable following awareness of success in talent development during future performances. In Atlanta the current classes are drop in $ free when I'm in town.
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