Teller Guidelines                               Revised  Sept 4/2024
 

Story Telling Inquiry  

We love to welcome new and experienced tellers to our stage. We ask tellers to read and observe the guidelines below.  After reading them, if you would like to share a story at Around Town Tellers, please contact the program coordinator. Program coordinator contact information can be found on the Stories on Friday page of this website.

 

Story Preparation 

Choose A Good One  Pick a story that is meaningful and very enjoyable to you.

 

Does your story fit with our monthly theme?  Our shows seem to be most successful when our tellers observe the theme of the evening. Themes are found on the Stories on Friday page of this website.
 

Your story will be told, not read  Oral storytelling needs to be clear because it goes by listeners’ ears quickly. Use good judgement when it comes to the subject matter and language. Listeners want to feel something and to be engaged.

 

Learn the story   Winging it does not work. You need to know the story. You don’t have to memorize it (but you must know it, so that you do not need to have any paper with you on the stage). Once you decide how you learn, then settle down and do the work. Practise, practise, practise, until you’ve really got it.

 

Get it ready for showtime   Once you really know the story, start adding the touches that will make it great. Think about how you are using your main instrument: your voice.  It needs to be loud enough, and interesting enough, to hold your audience. Vary the tone and the intensity.  Choose the pacing to include some pauses and space, to give listeners time to process.

 

What is your body doing while you tell the story?  A story can be effectively told in so many ways – even standing perfectly still and letting your words, your face, and your voice do the work. Do your gestures match your words? Tell your story in front of a mirror. Tell it to others as often as you can!

 

Preparing for Story Sharing  

Contact the Program Coordinator  to discuss sharing a story with Around Town Tellers in Nanaimo. She will schedule you to tell. 

 

Submit information about your story to the program coordinator and to the evening host. The program coordinator, and also the host for the event, will contact you. You will be asked to provide:

1.  the title of your story

2.  a brief description of what your story is about and what the mood of your story is. Is is funny, sad, reflective, scary, historical? This information helps our host to place you in the program.

3. the length of your story. It should be no longer than 8-12 minutes. If your story is longer than this, you will need prior approval from the program coordinator.

4.  a short bio. so that the host can briefly introduce you to the audience.

 

Email this information to the program coordinator two weeks in advance, so we have the information to produce our programs, and meet media timelines. The host/mc for the evening may also contact you for further details, as needed. 

Time yourself at home. This is very important. The time you choose must be adhered to, so that the program runs on time.

 

On the Night You are Telling

 

Arrive one hour early. We ask tellers to arrive by 6:30 pm the evening of the show to check in with the host for a briefing and for mic testing. All tellers must use the microphones.

Using  the Microphones  There are two mics, and a there is small Zoom camera so that the Zoom audience can hear and see the event. When telling, please include the Zoom audience by standing centered behind both mics and within camera range.

Reminder: No paper on the stage. Our goal is to keep oral storytelling alive.

Showtime!  Trust yourself. You’ve done the work, you know the story, you know it’s a good one, and you know you are good at telling it. Relax and share your enjoyment of the story with your listeners!

 

Cancellations  Please let the program coordinator and host know as far in advance as possible if you need to cancel due to illness or other circumstances. 

                                Welcome! and thanks for joining us. We look forward to hearing your stories!

 

The story is told eye to eye,

     mind to mind, and heart to heart

                                                  - Scottish Traveller proverb