In many of my previous tips I have included one concept that should be addressed as a principle, by itself. It is the concept of first, knowing yourself ...and accepting who you are.
In Hamlet, Act I, Scene III, Polonius says to his son Laertes"
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
For me, there are two pieces here: The first is to be true to yourself, to your own character. Do what you know is right for you, no matter the circumstances.
The second part is saying, 'The reality is that, 'Thou canst not then be false to any man.'" I have said this to and about storytellers before: When you tell a story, you reveal yourself and who you are to your audience. In other words, you can't NOT be you.
So, if you must always be YOU, then it follows that in order to be a good storyteller, you must also accept who you are, warts and all. Don't fight it.
Years ago, when I was a therapist, my friends in the medical records department discovered something in the Dictionary of Medical Terms. (How or why they found it, I am not sure.) It was the term that is defined here: witzelsucht. Finally, I had a diagnosis! (and yes, my sister can wholeheartedly concur.)
Ever since then, I have not fought against it, I have embraced it (as many of you can attest to)!
If you are a redhead, embrace those freckles...use them in your stories..."There were more stars in the sky than freckles on my face."
If you are tall, use it..."In those days, I wasn't the only one who could touch the sky, everyone could."
Cassie Cushing loves dark and twisted tales...that's why she tells them so well!
So, when you are looking for a story; when you are trying to figure out the language; when you are struggling with the meaning of the story - heed the words of Polonius - This above all: to thine own self be true.
- National Storytelling Network? You should be.
Saturday - February 25th - 1:00pm - 4:00pm
March 3-5
Saturday, March 4th - 9:30 am - 11:30 am
Colleague and Organizational Teller Annette Simmons shared a post recently that caught my eye. it's a bit long, but quite eye-opening. It has to do with organizations and why they need to stop focusing on awareness of an issue and instead be concerned with what action they want to move people to. Which also means they must know their audience.
