Week 7 Blog Post

What storytelling techniques have you used instinctively and which ones require more work for you? Which techniques will you focus on moving forward?

I find that my personal strength in storytelling is my ability to engage audiences with a suspenseful plot. When I am telling a story to a friend, for example, I notice that I’ll instinctively begin directly from the start of the story, then I will discuss the events that lead to the climax. Following a well-structured and chronologically ordered story, makes people more engaged as they know the events that lead to the main point of the story. The events before the climax are ultimately the key to engaging the audience, as it gives them further insight into the storyteller/protagonist’s life and allows them to empathize with whoever’s story is being told.

While creating suspense in a story is what I would consider a strength for myself, I do however find that I share too much information when building up the plot. When I am telling my friends a story, I tend to dive too much into the details of a specific point or event in order to try and give them as much background knowledge as I can. While this can be good for adding to the suspense of a story, it can sometimes come across as me rambling. My friends have often told me to “get to the point”, due to me going on and on about a specific detail. Moving forward I want to try and tell stories in a way that can keep the leading events of the plot more concise and structured to effectively present a story that doesn’t stray too much from the plot.