My mother was a storyteller. She told stories to my siblings and me, the library children, and, on occasion, adults. I recently finished the Competent Communicator Manual and my first choice from the advanced manual series was the Storytelling Manual. Last Saturday I gave my first speech from it. I practiced on my family the night before. My daughter, who is a thespian, shared some tips with me that I would like to pass on to you.
1. When portraying characters, take on their persona and use focal points. For instance, a little girl would look up when she speaks. “Bad men” would look down and use big gestures. An elderly person would be stooped over and shaky.
2. Use vocal variety to help define your characters. The little girl would have a high voice; the bad men, low, gruff ones; and the elderly person a slow and shaky voice.
3. When using hand and body gestures, keep your body open to your audience. If you’re changing direction, turn toward your audience.
4. Display confidence when you walk to the lectern: shoulders back, head erect, and walk with purpose. Put a smile on your face and take a deep breath.
5. If you make a mistake, leave the mistake behind you and keep going.
These tips certainly helped me last Saturday and can be applied to any speech. I look forward to learning more about storytelling as I continue to grow in my communication, leadership, and listening skills. That is what Toastmasters is all about.
Shannon Watenpaugh
Photo Credit: UNE Photos via Compfight cc and SFPrice
No comments:
Post a Comment