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Storytellers have been prized since the beginning of time. Yet the art and styles of telling stories may get lost if we don’t encourage people to be storytellers.

Fun Fact:

Leo Widrich wrote an article called “The Science of Storytelling.” He says When we listen to a boring presentation only the language center of our brain get’s activated. But “When we are being told a story, things change dramatically. Not only are the language processing parts in our brain activated, but any other area in our brain that we would use when experiencing the events of the story are too.” Source: http://lifehacker.com/5965703/the-science-of-storytelling-why-telling-a-story-is-the-most-powerful-way-to-activate-our-brains

Storytellers:

Two of my favorite podcasts are all about telling stories, but they do them in vastly different ways.

Serial tells the stories of folks that might not get heard in the rush of news coverage.

Lore tells the stories of folklore, legend, and culture that capture our imagination.

There is an art and power to storytelling. Most people can read things and try to infuse life into the words. But there are some people who have “The Voice”. When they start to speak, people quiet down and the attention turns to them.

I’ve met and listened to several types of storytellers in my life. Being a Christian, I get the opportunity to read and hear the scriptures read aloud. Try as I might, my reading is not smooth and flowing. But I’ve had the joy of being around people who narrate the scripture. They take the words on the page and give them weight, tenor and strength. The words seem to flow. One of these narrators is my friend David Bainbridge.

David’s voice is warm and pleasant. When you listen to him, you can hear the smile in his voice. I enjoy listening to him read because, his story telling helps bring the words clearly to mind and allows me focus on the story being told. I know that some of his story flow comes from practice. He has a big family and I know he reads to his kids and leads them in scripture. So that practice helps, but I believe it goes beyond that. True storytellers have it within them and it comes forth.

My Granddad Allred was part of a different genera in the storytellers field. He took the story and imbued it with life and laughter. My mom has said, she would rather have her dad recount a movie than go see it herself. He could spin the stories he told into events. My Granddad served in the Army in World War II. Like most of his generation, he kept the hard and probably horrific things of war to himself. But he didn’t cut himself off from the war entirely. He told stories of the funnier aspects of life in the service. His stories had us in stitches. I remember listening to him and laughing so hard, breathing was difficult. I sure do miss him and wish we had taped him telling his stories. It would be a poor substitute, but oh the joy we would have to hear him again.

I’m an avid listener. I spend my morning commutes and even time at work listening to podcasts. I send my afternoon commute listening to audiobooks. I enjoy reading, but I consume audiobooks. After years of listening, I’ve come to appreciate that group of storytellers are best called voice actors. Voice actors take the words on the page and make the characters come to life. They can take a good story and make it great. They inhabit the rolls. I’ve worked around actors young and old in community theater. I have seen the work that goes into making a character come to life. But what amazes me is that these voice-acting storytellers bring life the entire cast. It is frankly amazing.

The last group of storytellers I want to talk about are those who commit it to paper. Yes there are writers and authors who create works and even take existing stories and commit them to paper. But within that group are the storytellers. They take words and ideas and put them together in ways that draw us in and help us to get lost in that world. As someone who blogs and does some writing, I have a high respect for those who can take words and make them into a living world.

What I Learned:

So what have I learned? Storytellers come in come in a wide variety styles. Many storytellers have a natural gift to make words come to life. A great deal of them may not even realize they are storytellers. So I’ve learned to encourage people to talk and write. I’ve learned to encourage people to share their stories. Because this world needs more storytellers to make us laugh, help us to hear, and allow us to get lost in the words.

So don’t be afraid to speak. Don’t be afraid to write. Don’t let your expectations of what a storyteller is stop you from sharing your story. The world needs more storytellers and you might be the one that someone really needs! I’m learning to tell my stories and encourage others to do the same!

I’m Geoff Gentry and this has been Stuff I Learned Yesterday.

 

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