A storytelling exercise

Tell stories whenever you are asked, “How are you?”

You know the general pattern. The shop assistant says, “HelloHowAreYouToday?” and you reply, “GoodHowAreYou?” and they say, “Good.” This is little ritual happens even though any one of you may not be ‘good’ in the sense of physical wellbeing. It’s may not be the time or place to discuss ‘good? in the sense that we are all created ‘good’ and it’s our behaviours that may not be acceptable at times. And the queue waiting behind you may not appreciate a drawn out pop psychology session related to the mental well being of either one of you.

Here’s a quick alternative to help you practise your story telling.

Example 1

• Hello, how are you? (bland expression)
• Disappointed! (slight frown)
• Why? (surprised) … supervisor’s ears prick up
• Because when I was here yesterday you didn’t ask me if I had remembered to buy coffee. I’d run out at home. (slight smile, twinkle in the eye)
• Laughter … especially from supervisor who quips, “Oh, so now we have to read customers minds now do we?
• It would have been helpful!? (General smiles all round)

Example 2

• Hello, how are you? (bland expression)
• Worried! (slight frown, twinkle in the eye)
• Oh, why’s that? (slightly concerned)
• Because I’ve been coming here everyday this week for supplies and, at this rate, my money will run out. (slight smile, twinkle in the eye still)
• (Laughter) Good for us!!
• Well, that’s a good point … happy to help! (General smiles all round)

Example 3

• Hello, how are you? (bland expression)
• Devastated! (clown face of despair)
• Oh dear, what’s happened? (slightly concerned)
• I’m reading these books about a hero who is learning and growing skills and getting into all sorts of adventures and situations and it’s exciting and a fantastic story! (slight smile, twinkle in the eye still)
• (Puzzled) So, how is that a problem? (smiling but suspicious)
• Well, the author hasn’t written the third book in the trilogy … and people who read the first two when they first came out have been waiting 8 years! We may never get to find out what happens! (General smiles all round)

Postscript

• The pattern works best when you start with the feeling. (or thought bubble, or sensation). It generally evokes a response. Sometimes just a look that says, “You’re weird, I don’t want to engage with that!” So be warned!
• This pattern can be used when a friend’s name pops up on your phone, have a bit of fun! (Unless you need to tell them how you are really feeling. But that can be a story too!)
• The task is to spot as many of the parts of the storytelling process in the exchange regardless of the order they occur. [facts] … [thoughts/ feelings/ sensations] … [meaning/ consequences/ so what?] … [story listener responses/ reactions] … [storylistener choice: “So what? What’s next?]
• [Story listener choice] is not necessarily indicated in the examples above. What would you do?

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After trying this, come back to this section and share the exchange!

Your comments

Because this is a learning community space, the task now is to critique the ideas &/or stories presented here.

• Use the comment space below to share your ideas, responses, questions, alternative points of view, or suggested improvements and reasoning.
• Share how you would use any of this appropriately in your context, with your skills, and in your style!
• Add below any of your own related experiences or similar examples of stories or ideas you have seen, heard, or tried.