World Storytelling Institute

presents

 

 

Storytelling Training for Adults

 

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Would you like to improve your abilities --

 

To captivate your audience,

both emotionally and intellectually?

 

To arrest and hold your listeners' attentions

as you paint pictures with words and gestures,

and weave unforgettable tales

about thrilling adventures?

 

If yes, this training is for you!

 

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Participants would especially be coached

to tell in the "Candid" Storytelling style.

 

Two reviews of the training,

and links to two end-of-training storytellings

are here.

 

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Sometimes storytellers tell rapidly

and at a steady pace due to a fear that

if they might, for example, take pauses,

they might lose their "train of thought"

and/or their listeners might "walk away."

 

But this is an illusion.  Pauses could

draw listeners further into the telling if

one is telling well --

1) knowing the story very well,

2) visualising the images,

3) feeling the emotions, and

4) being illuminated by one's sense

of the meaning of the story.

 

Also good to keep in mind:

* Storytelling is not just for teaching

(with the the teller being goal- and results-

oriented).

* Storytelling is also for activating listeners'

imaginations (encouraging listeners to

wonder and wander, and to visualise and

to think for themselves).

 

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This training's approach to story

is inspired especially by Dr Carl Jung's work with

Symbols, Archetypes, and the Collective Unconscious.

 

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For Additional Info and to Register:

98403 94282

info@storytellinginstitute.org

 

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Training activities include developing and telling:

1) Animal Fables.

2) Fairytales.

3) Epics, Myths, and Historical Stories.

4) Personal-experience Stories.

5) Original Fictional Stories.

And incorporating

Rhythm, Melody, and Rhyme into Speech;

and Body Language, and Rhythm into Movement.

 

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Included in this training --

Training in "Ways to conduct Workshops,

Courses, and Festivals via Videoconference."

 

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If possibly interested to receive this training,

please contact the WSI at

98403 94282
info@storytellinginstitute.org

 

             ___________________

 

 

This training is designed especially for Parents,

Educators, Human Resource Trainers, Therapists,

Social Workers, Performers, Creative Writers,

Tour Guides, Home-Schooling Parents, Professional

Storytellers – and People interested in becoming

any of the above.

 

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The training would be given by

Dr Eric Miller (PhD in Folklore, MSc in Psychology),

Director, World Storytelling Institute.

 

Dr Eric has been giving versions of this training

for the past 17 years (since 2007).

 

The World Storytelling Institute's webpage is

www.storytellinginstitute.org .

 

Dr Eric's webpage,

containing links to 89 of his writings, is

www.storytellingandvideoconferencing.com .

 

Links to 20 of these writings

that relate directly to Storytelling are at

www.storytellinginstitute.org/22u.html .

 

 

Writings by Dr Eric relating to Storytelling 
for Teaching and Learning include --

"Storytelling and Interactive Education"

"Notes: Storytelling Workshop for Teachers"

"Ways Storytelling can be used for Teaching-
and-learning"

"Ways Verbal Play such as Storytelling and
Word-games can be Used for Teaching-and-
learning Languages"


Writings by Dr Eric relating to using Storytelling for Therapy, Healing, Personality Development, and Soft / Life / Communication Skills Training include –

"Story and Storytelling in Storytelling Therapy 
and Expressive Arts Therapy"

"Fairytale Therapy: A Type of Storytelling Therapy"

 

 

Links to 91 newspaper and magazine articles

relating to Dr Eric's work are here – including

an article about his training in Storytelling.

 

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Links to recordings of 22 storytelling-related

videoconferences Dr Eric has co-facilitated

are here.

 

For info regarding Dr Eric's experience with using videoconferencing to give training in storytelling,

please click here.

 

Please especially see the 12-page section of

Storytelling Magazine that Dr Eric guest-

edited in 2017, titled, "Ways Storytellers are

Using Audio- and Videoconferencing for

Training, Discussion, and Performance".

 

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Dr Eric's CV is at
www.storytellingandvideoconferencing.com/02.pdf

His Life Narrative is at
www.storytellingandvideoconferencing.com/01.html

 

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To discuss the training please contact:

98403 94282
info@storytellinginstitute.org

 

             ___________________

 

 

Two aspects of Storytelling are: the stories themselves; and ways of telling the stories.  


 

Story Content 

Types of Stories. 

Finding and Creating Stories. 

Elements of Stories. 

Symbols and Metaphors in Stories. 

Story Structure. 

Dramatic Tension. 

Story and Place. 

Story and Community. 

Story and the Past. 

Story and the Future. 

Storytelling and Personality Development.   

Freudian and Jungian analysis of Fairytales. 

Therapeutic Uses of Storytelling.

Using Storytelling to Teach Academic Subjects.                              

 

Story Performance

Vocal and physical warm-ups.

Breathing/Singing/Moving and Storytelling. 

Eye contact.

Role-playing by tellers and listeners. 

Psychological, verbal, and physical audience-participation. 

Stylized speech and movement -- by the narrator, and by story characters. 

Timing, pacing, and rhythm; striking a pose; pauses. 

Story Mapping / Painting / Drawing. 

Storytelling accompanied by Illustrations, Puppets, and Props.  


Ways of Coaching Storytelling. 

Using stories in inspirational speeches. 

Using stories in sales pitches.

Facilitating Story Contests, and Storytelling Festivals.

 

Storytelling is a form of Public Speaking that may also feature some Acting (when one role-plays and speaks as charactters).  Thus, this is a Workshop in Public Speaking and Acting.




Regardless of whether a story's characters might be humans, animals, divinities, aliens, etc -- all stories are about situations.  Story characters are in these situations, and story listeners may identify with the characters, and project themselves into the characters and the situations.  Listeners can think about, and imagine, if they might do things similarly to or differently from ways the characters are doing things.  This gives the listeners practice for living.

 

 

Storytelling for Discovery, Inspiration, Development, and Transformation
 of one's self is one of the Workshop topics.  There would be also an introduction to the field of "Storytelling Therapy" / "Therapeutic Uses of Storytelling" / "Storytelling for Healing."


Telling a story can be the first step in an interactive process. 

After each story is told,
1) The storyteller can lead a discussion about the story,
2) The listeners can draw/paint the story,
3) The listeners can make puppets and masks relating to the story,
4) The listeners can act-out the story as a skit.
5) The listeners can be invited to add to, and in any other way, change the story.
6) The listeners can be invited to tell additional stories that might come to mind -- real-life experiences, as well as traditional stories, etc.


Some Guidelines for Storytelling:

1) Before Telling a Story
One you have selected a story to tell:
a) Identify one or more turning points / key scenes / dramatic moments, of a story.  These are scenes in which important things happen, important decisions are made, and/or important actions are taken. 
b) Visualise each episode of the story, and practice describing what you see.  One way to practice is alone, silently, with one's eyes closed.  Also:  You might write the story.  You might represent the story visually, as a series of images.

2) While Telling a Story
Get to the key scenes in a timely manner.  "Step into" characters (role-play), especially during the key scenes.  When speaking as a character, at times look into the eyes of a listener and address her as if she were another character in the story.  Doing this invites the listener to join the play, to pretend that she is also a character in the story.  One at a time, you can do this with other listeners present.

3) After Telling a Story
Lead a conversation about the story with the listeners.  Ask "open questions", such as,
A) "What is one thing you liked about the story or the way it was told?  How did you feel about the story?  What do you remember about the story?  How do you feel about the ways the characters behaved?"
B) "Might there be something about the story that you might like to change?  Might you like to add a chapter?”

C) "Does the story remind you of any of your own experiences, or of any other story?"
4) "What messages, morals, meanings, and take-aways do you get from the story?"

In addition to Basic Storytelling, there would also be some consideration of

1) Storytelling for Teaching and Learning.

2) Storytelling for Therapy, Healing, Personality Development, and Soft / Life / Communication Skills Training.
3) Collecting family stories, and other oral histories from various individuals and groups.
4) Story and storytelling tourism (visiting the countryside to visit the places of a story, and to hear and tell stories there).
5) Uses of storytelling in the Business World.
6) Methods of (spoken and visual) translation during performance.
7) Using storytelling to teach a language.
8) The history of the modern Storytelling Revival Movement around the world.

9) Facilitating storytelling festivals.

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Versions of the above-described training could be designed for any duration, for any group size, for people of any age and profession, and to occur in-person or via videoconference.

 

Info about an 8-month (June 2025 to Jan 2026) version of this training is here.

 

 

 

 

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