story telling max7 part 1

8/22/2019 Story Telling Max7 Part 1

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story telling Max7 part 1

Storytelling Is an Art 1

A resource for ministry to children

The bible references for this workshop.

All the bible references will be from the King James Bible. (Passive Voice)

All the bible references are from the King James Bible. (Active Voice)

Storytellers use the Active Voice.

Do you know the difference between the Active Voice and the Passive Voice? Tick

YES/NO

Storytelling is a Performance Art.

An art is an a skill that has to be understood and as such can be taught.

Art is something that is practiced & will improve with Practice, Repetition &

Rehearsal.

[KJV] Psalms 47:7 For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with

understanding. (implies skill & art)

[KJV] Daniel 9:22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I

am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.

Are you ready for this? Tick YES/NO

This means we will.

Tell our stories well with all our skill and understanding or with all our art.


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Do you want to be a good storyteller? Tick YES/NO

So we are called to:

Praise the Lord with skill and understanding or Praise the Lord with all our

ART

Do you want to learn how to do this? Tick YES/NO

It is essential:

That stories are Interesting

It is not enough that the story is interesting to the storyteller himself/herself; it

must be interesting to the hearers / those who listen.

If a story is not interesting then a story is boring.

Circle these words "Interesting" & "boring"

Interesting or Boring

If the story is boring then the storyteller loses the attention of the listeners.

If you lose the listeners then crowd control will be virtually impossible & some

type of corrective force will be needed to keep order.

Do you want to be?


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INTERESTING Trick [ ]

OR

BORING Trick [ ]

If you are interesting

Then you will keep order almost without effort.

Do you want to be interesting?Tick YES/NO

The Great Storyteller

It always looks inspired when the same group of children is very well behaved

with one storyteller BUT almost unmanageable with another storyteller telling the

same story.

Have you ever listened to any great storytellers? Tick YES/NO

Are you worried or concerned about controlling a group of children while you tell

them a story? Tick YES/NO

The underling fact is:

The storyteller, who is interesting, will have the control of the children.

It is as simple as this.

Do you find it hard to control a group of children when you are telling them a

story? Tick YES/NO

If you answered YES to this THEN you may find this next section helpful.


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Children and Order

Please don't get upset when I say that children are like pack animals.

Human beings are really "pack animals".

Well actually they are not animals as such, but they do live in packs or groups.

Nations/tribes/families/groups/teams

That is why they follow leaders.

The Bible describes the church in terms of people who follow leaders who follow

THE leader.

Children are the same, in that, they follow leaders.

Have you noticed how children will often follow a leader? Tick YES/NO

In the old-style Sunday Schools:

The teacher was the natural leader.

I'm not saying that this is wrong, but it does not really fit the situation today.

Teachers do not have the control of the classroom in the same way that they usedto have.

If you want to be a teacher in a Sunday School, it would be useful for you to see if

you can sit in and watch a primary School or even a high School class today.

I know that in many parts of the world the cultures are different BUT all cultures

are changing. The children are becoming more assertive.

Have you ever sat in on a School lesson? Tick YES/NO

I think that you will be surprised.


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Most classrooms in, my country, normally allow children to talk to each other

during class and there is nearly always music playing in the background.

Go into a child's home and often meals are enjoyed, not on the kitchen or the

dining-room table, but in front of the television set.

Do you see the point of this? Tick YES/NO

You cant instil an order on a group of children in one hour a week when they dont

have that order at School or home.

The children enjoy "cartoon style" shows

Look at childrens TV shows

An enormous number of colour filled images flash across the screen.

More colour, more contrast, more images per second, more contrasting sound.

Controlling a group of children is getting harder & harder.

The idea of a controlled environment where the teacher is the leader has always

been challenged by children of every age.

In a Sunday School type program

We have a child for maybe one hour each week.

In this hour, we have certain goals.

What is our primary goal?

Is your goal to teach children how to sit still?

Is your goal to teach children ethical behaviour?

Is your goal to teach children principles of obedience?

OR is your goal to teach children about the person and the work of Jesus Christ?


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Have you ever thought about this? Tick YES/NO

What do you need to teach?

Obedience OR faith

Faith comes first. Faith should come before obedience.

[KJV] Romans 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to

faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

Do you understand this difference? Tick YES/NO

I think our aim is to teach children about Jesus.

We know that faith comes via the word of God.

But we also know that children don't listen and certainly don't hear when you just

read Bible verses out aloud with no skill or understanding.

Underline SKILL & UNDERSTANDING

Compliance / Order

The first matter I would like to consider is the subject of "Compliance".

You will need methods of compliance to bring a sort of order to your time with the

children so that all the children can absorb this precious knowledge of who Jesus

is.

Limited Time

Because of the time constraints, the methods we use to get compliance are "quick

and dirty".

So how do you get this co-operation? How to we get this compliance?


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I say this because we dont need to teach a moral lesson about order, etc. but

simply create a temporary atmosphere so that the children have space and time

to learn.

Do you see that we only have a limited time? Tick YES/NO

Mosaic Principles of Learning

It is great to know about the "Mosaic Principles of Learning".

Mosaic in that each child has an optimum way in which they learn.

Some children love to hear, some to act out, some using craft and so on.

MAX7 & OASIS wrote the book on Mosaic Learning.

This wonderful method STILL needs the attention of a group of children in order to

be effective.

Efficient & Effective Compliance

This is not necessarily brought about by creating an environment of law and order.

To have justice in a law and order system requires time and even an

understanding of the special conditions of each child so that a fair mitigation can

be arrived at.

Frankly, in a Sunday School class we just have not got the time to do this.

Do you understand this? Tick YES/NO

How then do we arrive at compliance?

The compliance of the group so that each individual in the group can learn

through the different Mosaic approach that suits them.

First remember children are pack animals.

If you control a leader of the pack you will control the environment of the class.


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So the first job is to discern just who the real leader of a particular group of

children actually is.

Good or Bad Influence

NOW dont worry if the leader has a GOOD or BAD influence!

This does not matter.

You are not picking a leader for the group.

You are going to use the leader that is already there.

Do you understand this? Tick YES/NO

Leaders come into 2 general types.

There are the ones who are out front and.

There are the ones to always have a "front man."

The front man is the one who always gets caught but the real ringleader stays

hidden.

Find the leader.

In Oasis or MAX7 this is quite simple.

Arrive before the Launch Pad (before the start of Sunday School) and watch the

children playing or during games that are held before OASIS / MAX7 / Sunday

School actually starts.

As you look at the children playing you will be able to notice the real leaders.

A very strong leader will influence both boys and girls, and a not so strong leader

will influence children of their own gender.

Of course there are exceptions to any rule that this is a good general approach.

Going into the time with the children

We know that the program is split up into many fast moving segments.


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This will mean that often the natural leaders of the children don't get the

opportunity to exercise their influence.

But make no mistake about it their influence is there.

Storytelling Time

Activities settle and all movement slows down as they get ready for the story.

This is a time when a leaders influence will start to surface.

You are going to manage this environment. How?

Skill OR Force? Go with skill. Skill is better.

SKILL OR FORCE Underline the one that you would like use.

You going to tell a story

Have lots of different start-ups

These are short

& then start with RULE ONE (you will learn these rules later on)

Spot the leader

As soon as you spot the child with the influence you need to act.

Now remember we are not teaching moral ethics we are simply maintaining order

so that the maximum benefit of the class and the time with the children will be

passed on to all the children there.

The stories main character

The leader should become the main character of your story & so you can grabthe leaders interest & attention.

If you have the leaders attention then you have the attention of the rest


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Circle ATTENTION

Interesting starts in the mind

Firstly the mind of the storyteller must be interesting.

Yes interesting starts in the mind of the storyteller not the listener.

Do you think that you are an interesting person? Tick YES/NO

Develop an interesting mind.

You know the scripture says:

[KJV] PRO 18:24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is

a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Have you got plenty of friends? Tick YES/NO

One of the best ways

To have friends is to be interesting.

Underline the word interesting!

People crave interesting.

Do you know that you can develop an interesting mind?


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Interesting starts in your mind

It seems today that we have lost the art of being interesting.

Many of us feel we are boring.

It is do with the low self-esteem that pervades our modern culture.

Will you make up your mind that, by the grace of God, you are going to become

interesting? Tick YES/NO

We are interesting!

We are unique

There is none, no not one, like us in the whole world of time & space

Circle word "unique"

Yes you can

One way to be interesting is to know about all the bible stories

You cant beat the background reading & devouring the bible stories even if you

dont understand all the meanings

Do you read your Bible regularly? Tick YES/NO

You see your brain

that part that houses your mind is a self-organising system.


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You load it up with info in this case bible stories it automatically starts hunting

for patterns, similarities & contrasts.

This is a God-given gift that we all have. Will you load your mind up with the Bible

stories? Tick YES/NO

Yes your mind will sort them out

into a very interesting kaleidoscope of patterns & associations

Add to this mix a fired up spirit full & overflowing with the glory & joy of the Lord

God.

You dont have to understand how your mind works in order to enjoy the results

Underline patterns & associations

This is a wonderful mix

Who knows what this wonderful & interesting mix floating in your mind, giving

inspiration & a constant flow of ideas & thoughts, will produce?

Words Allow your Mind

To See What Your Eyes Cannot See

Intelligence is the ability to make fine distinctions.

Bible stories will build the intelligence through the increase of finer distinctions inthe minds of the hearers of your bible stories.

Do you believe this? Tick YES/NO

Words allow your mind


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To make finer distinctions

You, the storyteller, take the bible stories this why you should read them again &

again to enlarge your vocabulary to get word power.

Do you read the bible stories over & over? Tick YES/NO

You then translate the words

Into a format that is understood by the listeners & will allow them to see what

their eyes cannot.

Yes, you can do this! You can become intelligent and interesting

Circle intelligent - interesting

Imagination

Fires the emotions which produces empathy which produces interest

If you want friends then be interesting.

All children have imagination

Do you want your bible stories to excite & ignite the imaginations of the children

who listen to you? Tick YES/NO

Learning Storytelling is an art!

It is like the scripture:

[KJV] [John 12:49] For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me,

he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.


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What does this mean?

WHAT I should SAY -IS THE CONTENT

WHAT I should SPEAK - IS HOW I should say (tell) the content

Are you enjoying for this workshop? Tick YES/NO

Ask the Lord Jesus

When you ask the Lord Jesus for help with your storytelling, He will show you

what story to tell & how to tell that story.

Many times we ask the Lord Jesus what the story should be about but we don'task him how we should tell it.

Have you ever asked the Lord Jesus HOW to tell a story? Tick YES/NO

Jesus was the best storyteller

The power of storytelling is huge

The Holy Spirit helps us & opens the hearts & minds of the listeners.

Will you study the story is that Jesus told? Tick YES/NO

Jesus was a storyteller

In fact the Bible says that He only spoke to the crowds with stories (or parableswhich are really stories)

Some of the stories were literally true and some were not.


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Can you spot the true ones that is those that were literal events? Tick YES/NO

Jesus used stories

To illustrate (paint a picture in the listeners mind) and so move the conscience of

the listeners.

Wether a child or an adult, it is the work of the Holy Spirit to fire up the

conscience. Do you understand this? Tick YES/NO

The story is the greatest medium

We can use to teach children.

We need to get our children and tell them stories about the Bible.

Do you want to tell children Bible stories? Tick YES/NO

We want them to

Understand the story

Believe the story

Remember the story

Underline these three points


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These 3 will form the foundation

Of love, hope and faith that comes from having the word of God in our hearts and

in our minds

Understand

Believe

Remember

Underline these 3 again

Understand the story

Believe the story

Remember the story

The main aim of a storyteller

Is to get the listeners to feel the story

That is, to become emotionally involved in the story.

One of the problems today

Is that children, in watching television, suffer from senses overload with the result

that they become *watchers* or *spectators* rather than PARTICIPANTS in the

story

Do you understand the difference here? Tick YES/NO

Watchers and not participants

This is great for spying but makes for dysfunctional people & we Christians are

anything but dysfunctional by-standees of life


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When it comes to stories and listening to them are you a SPECTATOR or a

PARTICIPANT

Underline the one that applies to you

It's as if children today

Take on the perspective of the camera looking at, observing, and not really been a

part of the story

It seems to me

That they have lost the power of participation because nothing is left to theimagination

You will be able to learn

To use your voice

Tone

Volume

Pitch

Speed

To invoke moods & ignite the imagination

Can you see that this will help children become participants in your stories? Tick

YES/NO

This is the challenge

For the modern storyteller

The modern storyteller must move the listeners right into the story so that they

are not just spectators or "watchers"


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They are living in the story [imagining themselves as the main character]

They start to live in the story

In my younger days whenever I went anywhere to minister I would always go

along to the Sunday School and to tell the children a story.

And to this day this is one of the reasons that I know so many mothers and fathers

who now have children of their own.

When I tell stories

I make the main character very similar to one of the children who are listening (if

there is a group leader who influences the rest in a negative way I pick that one)

because I want a complete identification with the character in the story.

Inside the story plan

We follow the five basic rules

If you learn and practice these five rules you will become a great storyteller.

Is this what you want? Tick YES/NO

Rule Number One

Begin the story strongly not a greeting but by hitting the main point

Rule Number Two

Use only one theme & one main character (modern TV shows often have more

than one theme, but we need only one theme with one main character)

Rule Number Three

Use simple language (at the level of understanding of the listeners)

Rule Number Four

Paint a picture in the listeners mind (they can join in their imagination)

Rule Number Five


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End with a call for action by appealing to the listener's emotions

Learn these off my heart

Begin the story strongly

Use only one theme

Use simple language

Paint a picture in the listeners mind

End with a call for action by appealing to the listener's emotions

This story plan is

1 Begin Strongly

2 One Theme

3 Simple Language

4 Paint a Picture

5 Appeal to the Emotions

The Story Theme

You have one main character in your story about one main event.

The best stories present a main character that you can identify with, who gets into

an impossible situation and one way or another as the story unfolds & the

situation resolved

Will you plan your stories so that they have one main character and one main

theme? Tick YES/NO


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Now that sounds

Like a bit of a mouthful but really stories are about someone you can identify with

overcoming problems.

Because good stories appeal

To the imagination good stories must be felt.

So you have one main person (animal or anything -- I now a great story about

trees or rather 3 special trees) and you present difficulties and tension that has to

be overcome.

Do you want to tell stories that I felt? Tick YES/NO

You have to package this

& put it together in a way that is interesting.

Telling the story is not the same as writing the story.

Underline the words "writing" and "telling"

Look at this parable

Of the Good Samaritan

Or I should say the story of a Samaritan traveller who did good and noble things

when he stopped to help a fellow traveller who had been attacked, robbed & left

for dead by the side of the road.

If you understand how this story is put together you will be able to copy this

format. Are you ready? Tick YES/NO

Notice that the reason


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That Jesus told this story was to explain who a neighbour is

The story is not just about an unknown traveller & what happens to him.

It is about who helps him.

Jesus told the story and it is a classic.

It is actually not about a Samaritan traveller but it is about an ambushed traveller

who does & does not help him.

And so this story demonstrates who a neighbour really is.

What is the point of this story? Underline the words "Samaritan traveller" OR"neighbour" to indicate that you know that the main purpose of this story

So let's look at

How the master storyteller told a story

You can find this story in Luke chapter 10

We are going to break down the format of the story so that we can reproduce it.

Are you ready for this? Tick YES/NO

N.B. Simple action words

Good Stories draw pictures in the mind

Stories are used to illustrate abstracts

Stories should not contain abstract concepts as such.

Stories are about NOUNS & VERBS.


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Underline NOUNS & VERBS

A little Grammar Lesson

Noun - A word used to name a person, place, or thing.

Verb - A word used to indicate action, a state, or an occurrence (e.g. hear, be,

happen).

Adverb - A word indicating manner, degree, circumstance, etc., used to modify an

adjective, verb, or other adverb (e.g. gently, quite, then)

Adjective - A word used to describe or modify a noun or pronoun.

So much for the English grammar lesson

BUT HAVE YOU GOT THE HANG OF THIS? Tick YES/NO

Look at the structure of a story:

Main Point: Just Who Is Your Neighbour?

Luke 10:30-37

It's Only 6 verses

Jesus starts story by:

Count the words here not many, are there?

1. Setting up the scene

-- In 28 words


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[KJV] Luke 10:30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from

Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment,

and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 28 words

We have met

The main person of the story

We know what he was doing

Which road he was on

Where he was going

We know what happened to him

We have six actions (verbs) of

Going down a road,

Falling into the hands of robbers,

Being stripped,

Being beaten,

The robbers went away,

The robbers left him.

Think about how you format your story

There is no passive voice used. Do you know what this means? Tick YES/NO

NO well use only noun to action sentences

Example The bat hit the ball hard NOT The ball was hit hard by the bat.

We have one description


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(An adjective) of Him being half dead,

We have his problem

Wounded & facing death because he cannot help himself

There are questions

How is he going to escape from his latest predicament?

Will he die?

Will someone come by & help him?

Can you feel the tension as you tell the story? Tick YES/NO

We are left in suspense.

Anticipation is built

Tension is increased

That's not bad for 28 words.

Not a single adverb insight.

How is he going to escape from his latest predicament?

Will he die or live?

We are left in suspense.

2. Now follow two quick scenes

To reinforce the man's predicament &

To emotionally involve the hearers


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Surprise is the element

The events are not what the listeners were conditioned to expect.

Note that the two who passed by were the most likely people in the whole

community who would feel constrained to stop and help their fellow man.

The listeners would expect these two people to help a wounded man

The Priest passes by

(23 words)

[KJV] [Luke 10:31] And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and

when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 23 words

The Levite passes by

22 words

[KJV] [Luke 10:32] And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and

looked on him, and passed by on the other side. 22 words

The listeners would have

Already tried to predict the outcome before the story unfolded

They would have already had perceptions about the ones who pass by the injured

man.

Do you try to work out the results as you hear stories? Tick YES/NO

The tension is increased

& the feelings of the hearers are stirred in judgment, criticism & a sort Yeah that

would be right church people - hypocrites

OR whats our faith coming to these days?

The person least likely to assist

Turns up,


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Has pity on him and

Takes ACTION

(Verbs not adjectives)

Practice this using the tone, loudness & pitch of your voice to tell the story

Can you do this? Tick YES/NO

3. The climax

88 words

[KJV] [Luke 10:33] But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was:

and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 21 words

[KJV] [Luke 10:34] And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and

wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of

him. 31 words

[KJV] [Luke 10:35] And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence,

and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever

thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. 39 words

The hero of this story

Went to him

Bandaged him

Poured on medicines

Put the man on the donkey

Carried him to an inn

Took care of him

Paid the innkeeper to continue the care

Promised to reimburse the innkeeper any extra expenses


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This is a surprise ending

It shocked the hearers & illustrated the point of who is your neighbour?

Do you understand the point of this? Tick YES/NO

Jesus used simple plots

Plots that are not boring!

Action verbs

Pictures painted

Anticipations surprised

Result confirmed

Can you follow this format? Tick YES/NO

Two thousand years later

This story is still interesting

It is still remembered BUT only if the modern storyteller amplifies the 3 Helpers in

the way they tell the story.

If you dont explain

The Priest, the Levite & the half-cast Samaritan who did not know how to worship

and was not a Jew

The judgment & surprise will be lost

You will need a short character sketch for each of them


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When to explain the characters

After a strong beginning & before the actual story

Did you know that in Bible times

The Levites were ................,

The Priests were ......................... &

The Samaritan were ....................?

Think about how you will do this.

The judgment & surprise

would be lost if you just used the terms Samaritan Levite Priest without

involving interesting background about them.

I dont know about you but here in Australia most children share multiple parent

links & no one feels isolated by not having a father or mother not living in their

own household

Priest

A minister in the Jewish Religion who was born into the right family & given as a

child to grow up in the job

Levite

A Jewish temple servant who was born in the right family and grew up in the job

from a child

Samaritan

A half-cast born of mixed race parents Jewish / Gentile.

The Jews were forbidden to marry anyone who was not a Jew born of one of the 12

tribes of Israel.

No one loved or liked the Samaritans.

They were mistrusted and considered evil.


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Surprisingly, in this story, the innkeeper trusts the Samaritan to come back and

pay any debt that might have been booked up.

Storytellers use:

Anecdotes - a short narrative of an incident of private life

Parables - a comparison or similitude; a fable or story told to illustrate some

doctrine or moral point;

Do you know that

Jesus never used the following words in his stories or talks or sermons or parables:

Salvation

Grace

Redemption

Can you see this? Tick YES/NO

Jesus used the

Rabbinical method of telling a parable or a story or an example in order to prove a

point

The truth was taught by storytelling painting pictures & illustrations by mouth -

even the Hebrew letters of the alphabet (the shape of them) all tell a story

[KJV] Matthew 13:3

And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went

forth to sow;

Paul used

Paul wrote in picture-less abstracts (full of adjectives & adverbs) in his letters.

But reading a letter is not the same as telling a story.

Parables or pictures


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Carried Jesus preaching- like the:

Ten talents

Prodigal son

Jesus told stories

That explained the point in everyday terms

The story is the best way that a teacher can communicate with people.

Do you still want to be a good storyteller? Tick YES/NO

Jesus used stories all the time

His stories were about everyday life and the way he told them drew people in so

that they could identify with the characters in the story.

Storytelling is still in use everywhere you look.

Not only on TV shows but also on TV commercials.

Good storytellers know that stories always have an effect.

The storytellers Golden Rule

Give your listeners the message you want them to get but tell it the way they

want to hear it

This is easy to do

The package

What is the best and most preferred package?


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The story format!

Even a prophet on the Old Testament gave a hard message from God in a story

package

Do you know this story? Tick YES/NO

Look Up ~Nathan Rebukes David

[KJV] 2 Samuel 12:1 And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto

him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the

other poor.

Read the whole story & practice telling this story

Stories

People love stories.

People need stories.

Children & TV

You know that our children spend over one-day a week watching stories on TV.

They grow up with stories

By the time you get to 65 you spent about nine years of your life watching stories.

People enjoy stories

They like stories and, if you want to communicate, you need to learn how to tell a

good story

Put the story together with the message you want to tell but in the way that they

want to hear it.

You must realise

There are many wonderful stories that you can tell.


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Make a list of the stories that you can tell

If your listeners

Can feel, through their imagination and their emotions, the solutions that the main

character uses to escape from the trouble that he/she is in then listeners will

remember and adapt this information for their own use later.

This is very exciting

You can help people by telling stories to them and they can learn some of the

greatest lessons in life.

Jesus was the greatest storyteller who has ever been.

Remember

Give the people what you want to give them BUT package it in a way the people

want.

Package the truth in a story format

Story telling hints

People want to know how to cope with lifes problems

When they listen to a story

They identify with the main character and if the main character faces difficulties

and struggle and overcomes them, then they identify with that character

Children Need to Experience

The emotion of the moral & hear stories about the moral LONG before you can

challenge them to correct & live the moral

Dont labour the moral point! Tell the story so that children feel the problem and

the solution and then they will start to enact it in their own lives.

Do you labour the moral point when you tell a story? Tick YES/NO

This is the end of Part 1


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Make a list of what you have learned

I have touched on material by Clifford Warne, & others who have helped me to

understand the wonderful effect of telling stories.

Part 2 will help you even more

Did you learn anything? Tick YES/NO

story telling max7 part 1

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