A great story is even better when the listeners actively become involved in the storytelling experience. Children especially love to participate. They can repeat lines like “Aha!” or “Who will help me?” They can sing a little ditty or make sounds like screams and giggles. They also enjoy physical...
Articles by ecravitz
Time to Perform – Using Your Voice
Time to perform! All eyes and ears will be on you, but you’ll be ready because you have picked, pictured, and practiced. Here are some tips to help you through the best part of storytelling…the telling! We’ll start with your voice. Voice When telling a story, use your regular...
Let Me Look Into Your Eyes!
Now you see me…now you don’t! Which actually could seem quite true in a storytelling session. After all, the listeners are picturing your story in their minds, so maybe you really do “disappear!” The best tip when telling a story…look at your audience. Maintain eye contact. Your audience will...
Practice! Practice! Practice!
I practice my stories three times, hence the title of this blog. When you feel comfortable with your stories and ready to tell them, you’ll know what’s right for you as far as number of practice times needed. A new story for me means lots of thinking about the...
Practice Makes Perfect…Well, Not Exactly.
Okay, you’ve picked your story and you’re ready to tell it. So now what do you do? Practice until it’s perfect! Right? Nope! Yes, of course, you should practice. I never tell stories unless I have practiced and feel well prepared. But the key is not to have a...
Pick a Story
The best tip on choosing a story to tell is to pick one that you like. Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? But that’s the trick to telling a good story. Choose one that you like; that you can relate to, and has a special quality about it that is...
Is a Comedian a Storyteller?
Someone asked me if a stand-up comedian’s performance is storytelling. That was an easy question. The answer is…yes. And don’t most of us love those funny stories? We relate to the events happening in the story, laugh out loud, sneak peeks at each other when some of the situations...
The Gift of a Story
Before I retired as a teacher, I loved giving my kids gifts: pencils, erasers, stickers, cookies. But my favorite gift to give kids? Yep the gift of a story. My kids loved when I would tell them a story. They listened. They participated. They clapped. They told the stories...
Stories and Kids
Recently, I told stories at our local intermediate school’s Literacy Night. I had two sessions. One for third graders and the other for fourth and fifth graders combined. What a great feeling when the kids gathered in front of me…munching on popcorn, I might add! I chose to tell...
Literacy Night and Storytelling
I feel quite honored that my intermediate school, where I used to teach fifth grade, contacted me again to tell stories; this time for their Literacy Night program. I’m thrilled that the school has made the connection between reading and storytelling. Not to mention that fact that I know the...