Storytelling with Teens

Stories can engage and inspire young people, helping them to learn and grow. Oral storytelling with teens is a great place to start if you want to connect.

Oral storytelling is a powerful tool that can be used to connect with teenagers.in the picture in yellow hues, there is a teenager seen from the back. the teen is wearing a yellow and white hoodie and appears to be looking up the staircase they are walking on

When told well, stories can engage and inspire young people, helping them to learn and grow.

There are many benefits to using oral storytelling with teens. Stories can:

Help teenagers learn about themselves and the world around them.
Stories can provide teenagers with a safe and engaging space to explore their experiences and emotions. They can also help teenagers to learn about different cultures and perspectives.

Encourage teenagers to be creative and imaginative.
Stories can spark teenagers’ creativity and imagination, helping them think outside the box and develop new ideas.

Build adults to build relationships with teenagers. Stories can build trust and rapport between teenagers and adults when told well. This can be especially important for teenagers who may not feel like they have a voice or may be struggling with difficult issues.

If you are interested in using oral storytelling with teenagers, there are a few things you can do to get started:

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3 Things to Know About Bedtime Stories

Let’s not forget the benefits to parents of storytelling with their children. Whether you read books or tell stories, you slow down and bond with this little one you love. Take the time in the evening to snuggle with your child.

Most every parent knows the request for “I want bedtime stories, please.” issued by their little ones. So here are three tips about bedtime stories that are fun for you and them.

1. Learn to tell stories and not just read them.the cover of the daddyteller book features a man and boy in white shirts and blue jeans. the man is kneeling down in front of the standing boy and their foreheads are touching face to face

You are not limited to the books on your shelf from the bookstore or library. Stories existed and were passed on well before cheap printing was available. So put down the book and give your kids the gift of looking them in the eye while you talk with them. Learn to tell, not just read stories, to your children. Explore guides like the “DaddyTeller” ™ book that teaches Dads (and Moms, too) how to be heroes to their children while passing on family values through a straightforward story at a time.

2. Storytelling improves literacy and math skills.

You might be thinking, “Bedtime stories improve literacy? Continue reading “3 Things to Know About Bedtime Stories”

Book Review: The 1810 Grimm Manuscripts

Book cover. Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org “The 1810 Grimm Manuscripts” is translated and annotated by Oliver Loo.

If you are looking for a book of quick Grimm fairytales for sleepy-time reading, this isn’t your book.

If you want to dive deep into the nuances and research of some of the earliest versions of the collected Grimm tales, this is a pool of knowledge and information you need to visit.

Loo explores the subtle meanings of many words in the often-handwritten notes of the Grimm brothers, bringing to light a new understanding of what words mean, acknowledging that some German words can’t be directly translated. This is especially true as he works to define some phrases and meanings that are more than 100 years old.
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Two Plus One is Greater than Three: The Presence of the Number 3 in Fairytales and Folklore

Although I do not believe that the “number three” requirement should limit the classification of a story as a folktale, such a requirement for classifications does elicit several questions. Why the focus on the use of the number three? What does the number three represent?

(1+2) > 3: The Presence of the Number Three in Folktales

By: K. Sean Buvala

As storytelling has moved from its perceived position of folk art to more mainstream recognition, the inevitable attempts to classify, catalog, and define it have become more ambitious. Storytelling is now a subject one can “take” for college credit. Although I believe that learning storytelling in a focused environment is overall a positive area of growth for storytelling, along with these classroom opportunities comes the need to create and memorize definitions of the characteristics of different types of stories.

Three wedding rings stacked on a dark background

For many storytellers, educators, and folklorists, the classification of a “folktale” requires that it include some reference to the number or sets of three. Such stories as “Three Blind Mice,” “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” and “The Three Billy Goats Gruff” are common examples of the titles and subjects of basic folktales reflecting this concept. Although I do not believe that the classification of a story as a folktale should be limited by the “number three” requirement, such a requirement for classifications does elicit several questions. Why the focus on the use of the number three? What does the number three represent?

Continue reading “Two Plus One is Greater than Three: The Presence of the Number 3 in Fairytales and Folklore”

Storyteller: What is Your Singular Subtlety?

purple hued picture of a hand holding a lens

What is the singular, intentional and subtle thread that runs through the story you are telling?

With a skilled storyteller, many things are happening in each storytelling that the audience may not be consciously aware of. It can be as simple as a gesture you make, a tone shift, or a pacing decision. I consider this singular subtlety to be felt by the live audience as a “something.” They’ll feel this when you, as the teller, get out of the way of the story; don’t preach, don’t moralize, don’t teach. Speak it and let the subtlety do the work.

Example One: When I tell my distinct version of “Beauty and the Beast,” I’ve decided that Beauty is a take-charge, inner-strength person.

Her presence and actions are intentional, measured, and concise. She is strong in the chaos of her family, learning what her fate is. She is strong in the face of the storm, which is the Beast’s anger. She’s not a victim. Note that in my telling, I don’t overtly name this strength. I don’t tell my audience about Beauty’s personality. I show it. I use it. I model it. I embody it.

Example Two: More business storytelling: my story of the angry manager in the bathroom has a subtle thread of “bemusement.” If you don’t know the story, it’s essentially how one person at a corporate event thought the speaker was terrible and angry-man was being very vocal about it…in the men’s bathroom. I was the speaker. . The bemusement shows in my telling, in how other people reacted to the manager, in how I responded to him, and ultimately how he responded to me.

Example Three: When I tell “The Tiger’s Whisker,” my subtle thread is “quiet.” Everything in this story, about a woman training a tiger to make a magic potion, is quiet. Never once do I say “quiet” in my words, but I know the singular subtlety is quiet. It’s not the subtle “strong” of Beauty; it’s the “quiet” presence of each character. And no one is “bemused.”

What is the singular subtlety thread that ties any of your great stories together?

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Sean Buvala is a storyteller and communication coach in Avondale, Arizona. He is the founder and director of Storyteller.net. Photo by Stephen Kraakmo on Unsplash

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