RECENTLY DISCOVERED THOUGHTS ABOUT STORYTELLING

Here are two wonderful perspectives on storytelling that I came across yesterday on the internet while researching ideas that storytellers have about the power of telling. Both perspectives are worth your time to reflect upon and perhaps each may prompt you to collect your own thoughts about why you tell stories or enjoy actively listening to them.

‘It is by telling our stories that we come to know ourselves, and whenever we hear another’s stories, we understand them. We come to appreciate their strengths and vulnerabilities, their joys and sorrows. Storytelling teaches us to listen and enables us to find our voice. It entertains us and challenges our thinking. Story continues to enhance our lives and bring us closer together.’ 

Annette Knowler in the Handbook of the New Zealand Guild of Storytellers (2004)

‘When I tell a story, an introduction of myself, I get in touch with my personal culture. In a sense I lay down a carpet so that others can come and sit on it. When I hear someone else’s story, I pick up something of their values, their beliefs, and the many wonderful things about them.’ 

Rebecca L. Copeland (2004) (Original source unknown)