How To Tell a Story?

Storytelling is an art form that is ancient enough to retain our culture and tradition. The story is easily understood by everyone, regardless of language, hometown, or heritage.

There are various reasons for telling a story –it can be for entertainment, sharing the message, educating, etc. Stories stimulate the imagination and bring people, groups, or communities together.

1. Components of a Story

Below are the three components that make up a good story:

1. Every story has at least one character, which can be a person or an animal or anything personified. There is a main character who leads the story. There are other secondary characters too.
2. Every story has a conflict which is a problem revolving around the main character. Conflict makes the audience connect to the story. Without conflict, the story has no purpose.
3. Every good story has an end. It can be a happy or tragic ending. It occurs after you learn what happens to the characters when the conflict is resolved.

Now that you are familiar with the important components of the story. Let’s learn about how to tell a story.

1. Storytelling Process
1. Hook their attention before. You start the story and tell them why it is important to listen. Use adjectives to introduce your story or start with dialogue.
2. Keep it simple- make sure you keep the language simple so that many listen to you. Avoid misunderstandings so that the message is conveyed to the audience.
3. Add your experience- This will connect the audience with the story.
4. Practice and practice thoroughly-rehearse narrating the story in front of your friends or relatives, ask for feedback and work on it again and again. This will bring confidence to speak in front of many.
2. Do’s and Don’ts for Storytelling

Follow these do’s and don’ts to share a captivating story.

Tell A Story In English

Sample Story

You can use the sample story below for storytelling.

The Boy Who Cried “Wolf”

Once upon a time, there was a boy who was bored with his usual chores of grazing his sheep on the hillside. Once, he cried out for fun, “Wolf! Wolf! the wolf is chasing the sheep!”
The villagers heard the cry and soon came running up the hill to the boy to drive the wolf away. But the moment they arrived, they saw no wolf. The boy was amused when he looked at the villager’s angry faces. One of the villagers said, “Don’t scream wolf, boy, when there is no wolf”, warned the villagers angrily and went back down the hill. Later, the shepherd boy cried again, “Wolf! Wolf! the wolf is chasing the sheep!”

The villagers came running up the hill again to scare the wolf away, but as they saw there was no wolf, they strictly gave him a warning “not to call wolf when there is no wolf”. They went back, grumbling down the hill once again.
Later, the boy saw a real wolf sneaking around his flock. He quickly jumped and cried out loud, “Wolf! Wolf! But the villagers ignored him and thought that he was again fooling him and didn’t come up to help.
In the evening when all the villagers went looking for the boy who didn’t return with the sheep. When they went up the hill to check, they saw the boy crying, “there was a wolf here! the flock is all gone !”I cried out to the wolf and no one came to help,” he wept.

A man went to console him and said “no one believes a liar even if he is telling the truth”.