

She says, ‘I can’t believe it’s you!’ And I say, ‘I can’t believe it’s you, either!’” That’s how most of us naturally tell stories. When talking to a friend, you might say, “So, I’m at the farmer’s market, and who comes up to me, but my best friend from first grade. But the truth is, that’s how most of us tell stories anyway. This might seem like an awkward thing to do-to tell a story about something in the past, using the present tense. As a storyteller, you will be more connected to the story if you’re telling it as if it’s unfolding right then. This helps bring the story to life by placing listeners right into the action. When you’re telling a specific 10-minute story, only provide the information that supports that story and moves it along-not everything that happened before and after the story took place. An autobiography covers a person’s entire life or career. Know the difference between autobiography and memoir.And, well, something must have happened in the middle to get us from point A to point B. To ensure that you have a beginning, middle, and end, focus on a turning point, or change.You might not consider the impact that part of the story has had on your life or the lives of others. You might not go into what happened before, to bring about that part of the story you’re so focused on. That might sound obvious, but often we get caught up in one part of a story and don’t zoom out and see that one part in perspective. Your story should have a beginning, middle, and end.Here are some key techniques to effective, engaging, true storytelling:


Nobody likes a know-it-all or someone who tries to seem perfect. Listeners are much more sympathetic toward storytellers who admit to human flaws, fallibilities, and shortcomings. Because you already know quite a bit about true storytelling-it’s innate for all humans and so you yearn for it.

Ironically, this is probably one of the reasons oral true storytelling has been gaining in popularity in recent years. In the digital age, when we tend to communicate via the abbreviated shorthand of texting and social media posts, it’s easy to lose touch with the instinct that had our ancestors spinning yarns around the campfire and passing down oral histories.
