What are the basics of how to tell a story?
Pretend you’re confident! – Don’t apologise as you start, either with words or a cowed body. Relax, breathe, play – it’s a fun game that everyone wants to play with you, not an ordeal. Tell in your own words. If you try to memorise the words of the story, you set yourself up for failure and confusion. Just remember the few lines of plot, and feel free to let them come out differently – no matter how hard you try the story you learned won’t be the story you tell. Let your imagination work – that’s what will create the magic, not your feats of memory. If you get stuck, keep going. Don’t frown, curse, stop, or apologise. Simply describe details of sounds, colours, smells, clothes, atmosphere etc. to play for time – this is also a psychological trick because it stimulates your imagination and mental images, and keeps your energy up, which are the best way to trigger your memory. Or stay silent and still engaged with people’s eyes and they’ll think it’s a dramatic pause, as you let inspirat
