My Philosophy of Storytelling

Storytelling is not simply the act of recitation but an active adaption of a story that connects the teller to an audience, creating a sense of community. Whether a story is meant to edify, scare or simply provide entertainment, it is a time-honored tradition that dates back to a time before printed words. Oral tradition however has experienced an amazing renewal thanks to digital technology. I came to this course as someone interested in radio production. Especially in America, storytelling on the radio has been a staple of popular culture. Therefore, my main goal for the course were to learn more nuance in my speech patterns and appearance so as to more effectively convey my story.

One radio program in particular has influenced my desire to make radio stories. This is of course the popular public radio program This American Life hosted by Ira Glass. The no-frills non-fiction stories hold millions of people rapt every week, and even more now that the program is available via free podcast and in beautiful, cinematic visual style on cable television. What makes the show such a treat however is that the stories are never overly sentimental or fantastic. The plain spoken style makes the content even more striking because there are no frills to mask the truth. Since Ira Glass got his start as a journalist in public radio he does offer a somewhat neutral approach to his interviews. However, the best parts of his stories are the parts where he breaks his neutrality and laughs.

Another element of This American Life that illustrates its ability to create community is the way Glass and the other contributing producers take turns telling and listening to guests tell stories. The best part of storytelling is that since it is collaborative, the storyteller has ample opportunity to enjoy other people's stories in return. Storytelling is so ingrained in culture, that taking a few moments to enjoy someone's voice and give in to the experience is often akin to meditation. Not in that the mind is empty but because it interrupts the constant flow of one's inner voice and encourages subjectivity.

While I have a appreciation for both journalistic style and first hand accounts of history through oral history clips, it is really informal storytelling about the human experience that really appeals to me. Over the duration of this course I have also learned that my favorite stories to tell and to listen to are ghost stories. There is something about the way that the paranormal makes my senses prickle up that makes them even more engaging. Oftentimes, I will listen to a ghost story and fall back on old superstition, having to turn on the lights and the television to interrupt the moment.

I also learned that spooky stories illicit the most animated parts of my speech when I am storytelling a story. Because I grew up surrounded by gothic influences like Edward Gorey and scary books like Steven King, the genre of horror stories is very comfortable and familiar. One of the more difficult things I learned through this course was that I needed to be more careful about my selection process. Above all, the best way to make a good storytelling presentation was to make sure that I resonated with the material personally.

According to Elin Greene “...knowing whether or not a story is right for you and your listeners is attained through trial and error-through the experience of telling and listening. But it also implies an enjoyment of storytelling literature and a wide knowledge of its background.” Although I did ready the textbook before our course started, I did not realize how true this statement really was until after I completed all three of my presentations. For my second presentation, recorded for an intended audience of children, I chose animal stories.

Even though I did resonate with the stories it was not quite enough to effectively convey it to an audience of my peers. A few of the comments I received in response included suggestions to use varying voices for the different animals. A few members of this course have had some fantastic theatrical backgrounds. I loved watching their stories because they were able to channel all the different characters in a striking manner. I did not feel comfortable doing cutesy stories however and discovered that I liked parred down, simple stories instead. Working on direct eye contact and preparing more for my recordings beforehand seemed adequate to me.

My background is centered in writing and literature. Obviously, the connection between my love of literature and my desire to learn more about storytelling is apparent. However, what I did learn more about was that I should incorporate my abilities as a writer more into my process. I dislike memorizing stories actually but I love telling them. This may be the reason why I enjoyed recording “Bloody Mary” more than my other stories. Instead of sticking to the script, I simply exaggerated my own experience with a ghost story from high school. In response to my video, my classmates expressed significant recognition that my abilities as a storyteller have indeed improved.

Elin Greene writes that “Storytelling has been called the oldest and the newest of the arts. Though its purpose and conditions change from century to century, and from culture to culture, storytelling continues to fulfill the same basic social and individual needs.” (p. 1). I couldn't agree more. Even if storytelling is moving the way of digital technology, it still serves the same purpose in society. People need to be reminded that they are connected with something larger than themselves. Whether a story concerns a folk tale or a ghost story, it almost always has been passed down from generation to generation.

For example, even though the story of Bloody Mary is probably based on a folk tale about a witch, it is still unclear what the origins of the tale actually are. I learned the story in the schoolyard in third grade from other kids. The lovely permutation of the tale is what makes it the most intriguing to record. In the future I plan on continuing to contribute stories to the public via podcast and digital video recordings. Since I am graduating this semester from SJSU I will have more time to spend on projects and continuing my learning process in production.

Here is a link to my retelling of "Bloody Mary". Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6pHjbmveig