Safety Net In Storytelling - Essay Example

Safety Net In Storytelling Storytelling becomes somewhat challenging if it is required. Unlike in everyday interpersonal communication with my family, friends, and other people who are close to me where we recount some moments of our lives, telling stories in front of an audience expecting excitement and thrill always gives me the jitters. Their expectations and anticipations really scare me making me want to finish as soon as possible in order getting away from their critical eyes. My fear of failure becomes my greatest challenge when telling a story in front of other people.

Being the idealistic person that I am, I want things to be perfect which means having that right story which appeals to my audience and having the capability to deliver it in the best that I can ever imagine. I dream of making people awed by my story, impressed by how I am able to convey the proper emotion, use the right tone, and maintain the excitement all throughout. However, I must admit that behind this high expectation of myself, I always fear of forgetting the plot and much worse having a mental block in front of listeners.

Having been experienced going blank while telling a story in front of my class, I am afraid that this might happen again in the future. There is nothing more embarrassing than standing there trying to recall the next part of the story while realizing how stupid you are. With my enthusiasm to please my audience, I always want to convey the story as exciting and thrilling as I want yet I struggle with the fact that my delivery gets boring at some point. I am always disappointed with the sight of my listeners drowsy and uninterested.

With all these fears and weaknesses, I find the article about safety net very helpful. It reminds me that most of my worries are also faced by almost all people and that there are certain ways to overcome them.My dilemma of mental block and forgetfulness when it comes to delivering a story is addressed by the article. I intend to put what I have learned in practice by avoiding my tendency of announcing that I actually forgot what happens next. When faced with forgetfulness, I have had developed the habit of apologizing about my forgetfulness.

However, the article stresses of being relaxed and describing in as much detail the last part of the story and hope that the next scene will eventually flush into my mind. I have to still show confidence in myself, showing the audience that I am still in control in spite of the embarrassing situation through the other various techniques described. The struggle of keeping the storyline exciting at all times can be remedied by not promising to tell the story to the audience but announcing that I will be telling about a story.

I also think that allowing the audience to participate in boring scenes by asking their ideas will get the boredom out of them and at least keep them awake. Also, I believe that having a personal interest on what I am talking about will not only enable me to remember everything but will also make every single scene and part exciting.