Story Telling
Storytelling
“Storytelling begins with the notion that in
the not too distant future, sharing one’s
stories through the multiple mediums of
digital imagery, text, voice, sound , music,
video and animation will be the principle
hobby of the world’s people.”
-Anonymous
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Contents
What makes a good storyteller?
Seven Elements
Performance Tips
Helpful Web Sites
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WHAT MAKES A GOOD
STORYTELLER?
GESTURES
SURPRISE
REPITITION
HUMOUR
TRUE STORY
POINT OF VIEW
SOUNDS
PROPS
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Seven Elements
A Point of View
A Dramatic Question
Emotional Content
The Gift of Your Voice
The Power of Props
Economy
Pacing
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A Point of View
All stories are told to make a point.
You, as the author, need to figure out
what you intend the viewer to “get.”
What message are you trying to
convey? In other words, what is the
theme?
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A Dramatic Question
A good story has a “hook” that will hold
the attention of the audience until the
story is over.
Many stories end dramatically with a
“Punchline”
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Emotional Content
A story that deals with our emotions,
- such as loss, love, loneliness,
courage, acceptance, rejection,
hardship, etc. - will help the audience
maintain their attention.
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Your Voice
The way you use your voice can impact the
story you tell.
Tone of Voice: Slow, Fast, Loud, Soft
The tone of the storyteller’s voice provides
the drama and sets the mood, while
engaging the reader. It draws the reader
into the plot development through the use
of story elements.
Caution: You don’t want your final project to
sound like you are reading your paper.
Practice!
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The Power of Props
Music can set the mood.
The goal is to match the music to the story.
Use simple props, like a hat, glasses, a wand.
They help keep the audience’s attention.
You can also use visual content; pictures, a
presentation, to help tell the story.
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Economy
Use the least amount of images / words
required to tell the story.
Your selection of pictures and words
should illustrate the theme without
becoming a distraction.
Too little is BETTER THAN too much
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The Last Tip
THERE IS NO ONE WAY!
RULES ARE MEANT TO BE
BROKEN!
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Pacing
Changing the pace of the story can be
very effective. The narrative can have
pauses, the music can change tempo,
and the images can be set to enter at
different rates of speed.
Changing pace allows the audience to
concentrate, think, and maintain
interest.
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Presentation
Quicktime Movie (iMovie, MovieMaker)
PowerPoint
Flash
HyperStudio
Keynote (Apple)
Advanced Movie Editors (Casablanca,
Final Cut Pro)
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Websites
Digitales
Center for Digital Storytelling
A Collection of Sites
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