Liz Warren | Storyteller

Before words were written there was only one way to tell your story. You spoke it. If you really liked your story, you honed it inside your head, you saw the pictures you wanted your friends and family to see, and then as you spoke them aloud, you added gesture and tone of voice and paused for emphasis. It was then that a storyteller was born, someone who could bring life and emotion, and adventure to the audience from the happenings of their life. Everyone tells stories: but perhaps you decided to become compelling storyteller; someone worth listening to not just for the information you had to share, but the way you decided to share it.

The art of writing does the same thing, but it is more time consuming. You need pen and paper if not a computer and an editor.  It takes more words to tell on the page because you have to use words to express gesture and tone of voice – plus, you need a strong vocabulary, writing skills and proper punctuation.

And what if we wanted to make movies of what is inside of us? Now you need equipment: digital cameras, props for scenes, perhaps animation, and a variety of locations. Add to that the need for microphones and trailers, things to sit in and on. You need live voices, actors, and producers, music, and hundreds of others things like set and clothing designers, lights, researchers and producers.  Dozens if not hundreds of people need to get involved and buy into your story. An enormous amount of time, talent, and money is needed.  Watch Andrew Statin’s Ted Talk: The Clues to a Great Story, and you will see him expound on the art of storytelling.

Now, let’s go back to the beginning:

 After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world. That means: all we really need for a great storytelling is some food, some place to tell and a few companions!  Oral storytelling is still the number one way to save the world! And it doesn't take a fortune….It just takes a personal desire to share what is truly important to you. If you want it to be great storytelling, hone it!