Become a Storyteller!
Storytelling
Put down the book, take your eyes off the Movie Screen, TV, and/or Smartboard. Put the book to memory and become a storyteller.
Anyone can become a storyteller!
One of the most important things with good storytelling is the ability to be expressive and it's hard to do when your attention is directed away from the audience.
There are 4 things that become important during storytelling.
- Facial Expression
- Hand Gestures
- Physicality
- And Movement.
If you are using a hand-held microphone and/or reading from anything, you are inhibiting this ability.
Nothing adds more dynamics to a presentation than a storyteller who knows how to use the audience.
You may not be able to play the guitar and sing like I can, but you can become a storyteller.
The Story
"Baseball, Bullies & Angels"
For me my YA Novel "Baseball, Bullies & Angels" was a game changer. It opened up the presentation market to include 6th, 7th and 8th graders, and it gave me more material to use in my 4th and 5th grade programs. It also did something that was totally unexpected.
My experiences:
- Being Bullied
- Struggling with ADHD
- My achievements as an athlete
- And my baseball career
They made me extremely relatable.
Kids that were being bullied, understood my struggle and knew that I understand theirs. Those kids that can't get their footing in school discovered that I was one of them. Due to an injury, my baseball career was short-lived, but the shared experience always connects me to the athletes in the room.