Good storytelling skills are essential if you want to tell a joke, a fairy tale, or try to convince someone with empirical evidence. Some people are born with this ability, but others have to learn it first. Don't worry, you'll learn how to tell a better and more interesting story using wikiHow as your guide! Get started with the first step below.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Mastering the Basic Principles of Storytelling
Step 1. Include your audience
Start the storytelling process by interacting directly with the audience and grabbing their attention. Ask questions that relate to the conclusion, twist (unexpected scene), or the context of the story you are going to tell even if the question is only a rhetorical question. You can make a statement that will grab their attention, such as a hook or clickbait headline. By using click bait, the audience's attention will be focused on your story and they won't feel bored.
- Example in a fairy tale: “Have you ever wondered why moths are always near a fire?
- Example in a humorous story: “I have a story about my roommate from college and this story will beat all stories about roommates. This story has to do with toilets."
Step 2. Create a scene
When you tell a story, you must create a story that the audience will remember. Tell a story by making your audience feel like they are in the story. Continue by creating a scene using details that can help viewers imagine and feel your story. Choose the words you use: use words that describe strong emotions.
- Example in a fairy tale: "Once upon a time, when the old witch was still around and buto ijo was still roaming around…"
- Example in a witty story: “I am the type of person who is quiet and surrounded by many cats. While my roommate prefers to party and have fun.”
Step 3. Set the tension rhythm
Of course, the tension of a story must be built up to the climax and conclusion of the story. However, you must remember to release tension in between your stories. Without this release, your story will seem rushed and tend to be a list, not a story. The real world contains small moments that pop up in between the important things in our lives. So is the story. This release can be a description of the atmosphere of the story. It can also be an interlude to tell details that are quite relevant to the story, or it can even be filled with jokes if your story is indeed a humorous one.
- Example in a fairy tale: “The Moth approached a tall white pillar, and then appeared the Fire which was blazing majestically. The Moth felt something strange in his stomach, and it turned out to be a feeling of love. "Of course not a single hero managed to save the princess in one day, and the Moth spent many beautiful moonlit nights falling in love with the Fire."
- An example of a witty story: “It was New Years when we moved house to a comfortable environment and…I had a bad feeling. So, I'm always on SIAGA 1 at all times. "Think of it as an exercise for blood pressure, won't you?"
Step 4. Focus on what's important
When telling a story, don't forget to include details to make the audience "immerse" in your story. However, don't make your story seem long-winded. Therefore, it is very important to stay focused on what is most important. Don't include unimportant details, but include those that can support your story.
If you have time, share details that can create gaps between scenes or explain the setting of your story, but adjust as needed and see how your audience reacts. If they seem bored, speed up your story and reduce the story details to taste
Step 5. Keep your story logical
Here we can see the importance of recognizing your story and continuing to practice. You know someone who, while speaking, suddenly stops and says, “Oh, I forgot to mention that…” right? Right, don't do that. Don't stop telling the story and come back, as this can reduce the audience's interest in your story. You have to tell the story in a logical and fluid way.
If you forget a detail, you can retell it without ruining the viewer's experience. For example: “Pied Piper is after people's money not without reason. They have agreed to an agreement they made beforehand.”
Step 6. Make the ending look convincing
It will feel bad if you don't manage to come up with a convincing enough ending because the audience will have a hard time deciding whether the story is over or not. There are several ways to create a good ending, namely:
- Ask something and answer it. "That's pretty crazy, isn't it? I don't want to try again."
- State the moral of your story. "So, viewers, this is an example of why you shouldn't bring a cat into the office."
- Be careful with your intonation and voice. Try to increase the volume of your voice little by little and increase the speed of speech as you get to the climax of the story. Then, slow down your speaking speed and voice again to indicate that your story is almost done.
Part 2 of 3: Using Your Voice and Body Language
Step 1. Create the characters in your story
Creating multiple characters in a story will make the story feel different. If you can "act" it differently, you can skip the "blank" parts of the story. You can also make the story feel more immersive. Play with the accents, speech patterns, and voices for the different characters in the story. You can add comedic value to your story by being silly or imitating voices.
For example, characterize your dad's voice with a deep, husky voice and add some dialogue like “[The part relevant to the story.] I'm also going to the garage to build a deck. Or maybe only part of it. Ah, maybe I'll just watch television on how to build a deck.”
Step 2. Make your storytelling “big” or “small”
Align the voice with the feeling your story is trying to convey. Change the pitch and volume to make the story calm or tense, depending on your position in the story. Increase the speaking speed and volume when the story is almost done. Slow down again when you say the conclusion.
You should experiment with dramatic breaks. By suddenly falling silent and staring at the audience, you can add interest to your story
Step 3. Control your facial expressions
If you want to be a good storyteller, you'll need to master the ability to create and change facial expressions to match what you're talking about. Your face should be able to express the whole story. If you want to learn from the experts, watch John Stewart and Martin Freeman's videos on YouTube.
Remember, there are more than three kinds of facial expressions that can appear in one expression. You can convey very complex emotions by using specific facial expressions
Step 4. Speak with your hands
Telling stories using hand gestures can make you look more relaxed and less boring. You can convey emotion, keep the audience focused, and create a feeling for an action by using your hand gestures. If you can't use other body language, you can at least start a story by moving your hand.
But of course don't overdo it. Don't hit someone in the face or spill a drink with your hands. Or hit your face with a glass of drink
Step 5. Act as you tell the story
If you can, move your whole body to act out your story. You don't have to act out the whole movement, but act at certain times to get the audience to pay attention to that part of the story. Of course you can also use this method to create a comedic effect.
Some common gestures, such as Groucho Marx's eyebrow-raising or Rodney Dangerfield's tugging at the collar, can add humor to a story (Conan O'Brien and Robin Williams often use these gestures)
Part 3 of 3: Improving Storytelling
Step 1. Practice
Practice telling a story a few times before you tell it to someone else. Then, tell some of your friends before telling the important person. You should feel comfortable telling your story and confident when adding dramatic breaks and when building a lively atmosphere.
Step 2. Memorize your story
Make sure you have your story memorized by heart and focus as you tell it. This can help you not to forget some important details in the story, and keep your story consistent. This is important if someone wants to hear your story more than once.
Step 3. Turn your story into an authentic one
Don't make your story sound like a fish story or a hoax. The point is that the story becomes more dramatic as it is told over and over again, and the details become more and more mystical. Likewise with the characters who are increasingly unreal. The audience will ignore you when you tell a story like this. Keep your stories authentic or believable if you want others to enjoy them.
Step 4. Master the atmosphere
You should tell your story at the right time and place. Even a good story will feel uninteresting if you are constantly distracted by something. Make sure the place you use is not too much of a distraction and is not noisy. If someone is trying to distract the audience from your story, you need to be able to get their attention back.
Step 5. Interact
The audience or listeners feel about a story will be better when they can interact or join directly in the story. You can ask your audience or find other ways to get them to interact directly with your story, if you want to improve your storytelling skills.
Step 6. Respond to the audience
The most important ability to improve is the ability to respond to the audience. If they start to look bored, end the story or make the story more interesting. If they like a part of the story, develop your story from that part. If they laugh, make time for them to enjoy it. It's a little tricky, but your ability to build the audience's feeling when you're telling a story shows that you're a storyteller or storyteller who won't be easily forgotten.
