Be a better storyteller, build connection & evoke the senses
This article was written by Esther Brokke, professional speaker trainer and presentation coach and the co-host of Campfire Stories.
This year undoubtedly has changed all of us in one way or the other. The pace of life feels as though it has both slowed down and sped up. A lot of us have had to pivot our lives and our work, and at times, this year has been enormously stressful and annoying. But I take the good with the bad, and the slowing down has been a welcome blessing for me.
And of course, at this time of year, we are supposed to slow down. Personally, I cherish this time of the year. The trees let go of their leaves to make room for new buds in the spring, and everything naturally winds down for winter. It is around this annual rhythm that I mould and fold my life story. I think about this crazy year and sense the stories that live within me. I mourn the losses and the things I did not accomplish or do, and I celebrate and am grateful for everything that I welcomed into my life.
As we all had to make the best of this year I did it by welcoming things that were already there but I just never quite had the time to nurture in the way I wanted. For me, that was noticing and spending time under the beautiful trees that inhabit a nearby quiet and peaceful graveyard and listening to the chorus of sound as the wind touches each tree and its millions of leaves. And finally making use of the two metres of cookbooks, which for years have stared me blamefully in the eye, and filling my home with humming, domestic satisfaction. And the coffee and philosophical morning conversations I had with my four sparkling lockdown buddies, which laid a solid foundation for friendship for years to come.
With the slowing down comes more sensory awareness. And what I mean by this is, living at a slower pace has enabled me to see the world in a more colourful way – I notice things much more and much more deeply. But also, it enables me to communicate with much more colour. Our culture is obsessed with efficiency – particularly in the workplace – and as a consequence we tend to strip the colour from our words. And in striping out the colour, we are also striping out the stories. And it is through stories that we communicate, learn and understand the world.
It should be said that the basis of these stories lies with our senses. All our memories are formed from our senses. And our memories are short stories we contain within us, and from those we form grander narratives, about ourselves, who we are and our place in the world. But it all begins with the senses. The senses are a goldmine for meaningful memories. It is a gateway to our hearts.
Today, our communications with one another are limited and often online. Yet digitally, we can’t experience our interactions with one another with all our senses. And this is making it difficult for us as humans to properly connect with one another.
There is an answer: to tell stories that engage the senses. A picture tells so much more than a thousand words, right? So create a verbal picture. Get others to feel as though they are there with you, through your storytelling.
How to be better a storyteller
Implementing senses in our storytelling is a muscle that can be trained, and there is this very satisfying exercise that you can do. It will make your memories sharper, your awareness bigger and a ZEN state accompany through your day.
So start practicing making verbal pictures.
When you find yourself in a spare moment, stop for a while, take in the moment and feel your surroundings. Notice how your body is positioned in the space. Then scan your senses one by one by giving words to what they experience.
What does your eye see?
What do your ears hear?
What does your nose smell?
What does your mouth taste?
What does your skin feel?
How does all of this makes you feel at that moment?
Don’t judge, just register it all.
I bet that in a year you can still remember the memories that you make in this way. Your consciousness will grow bigger, your satisfaction with life will deepen, and on top of that, you will become a better storyteller.
This article was written by Esther Brokke, professional speaker trainer and presentation coach and the co-host of Campfire Stories.