The dragon and Elisabeth: as told

Told it, did not read it. I read it so many times, that the story did stick in my mind. And of course, most of it I did tell with my words, not trying to stick to the text word by word.

 https://www.facebook.com/EmperorOnlineToastmasters/ 

 Emperor Online Toastmasters is Zaldy's club on Facebook.  

They liked the story and how I told it! 

Brian, who is also on Pathways did give me the oral feedback. While the "voice variety was ok" my hands from time to time too near the screen. Then, I asked others opinion too. Vivana, from Malaysia having read my blog, and listened to the telling of it for children, said to me that my voice variety improved by listening and reading it, too. 

Monday, another online meeting this time not going to Manila, but the other end of the world, British Columbia, instead of Emperors Toastmasters to Royal Roads, they meet noontime (their time) in an University campus near Vancouver in Virgin Islands.

When I told the story it was 3 pm in London. It begun to rain after a lot of warm.
In Philippines it was 10 pm in the evening already stiff and humid!
Near Vancouver only 6 am in the morning!
And 9 am in Florida.

Still stunned to be able to meet at the same time through so different timezones with others I begin to know better and better.

A toastmasters pal come to visit, this morning "for a coffee only". Young, she is only 60 and we know each other now 7 years. She gave me the occasion to tell my next story that is growing in me, the second time. Not only she knows those about I wanted to give my speech but she is a wonderful active listener.

 Yes, Doug is so right: telling it again and again it does become better and I do realise what part works best and how to orient it. Who knows, perhaps it will even "grow enough" so I can tell this one instead an old one!

Most important: have a Friendly Voice!

Ralph Smedley wrote a book about how to use your voice and the exercises to do for improving it. I had the change to find it on Amazon a few years back.

What got me was one of the first chapter of his book:
The most important: have a friendly voice!

When you feel confident, playful, in phase with your audience, the voice shows it.
When I thought "what they will think if I tell them this?" the voice become flat.
When in love with the audience, "in friendship" complicity with them, the voice come out great.

I looked up some of my old recording, that confirmed those observations to me again.

So of course, it is great to make exercises, to play with the voice, to train it for different tones, rhythms, pitches, paces and intonations even, but finally, the day of performing, we are there with the audience and in the moment, forgetting our voice, our body.

All there in the moment, with the audience and the story. To transmit it the best we can that time.

To be friendly, we have to feel friendly. To feel friendly, we have to know at least some from the audience or feel as our friends. Each time I can, I do speak to at least one or more people from a new audience so we feel already "knowing" each other. With two benefits. They feel also as my "special pals" and I feel they are mine when I am on the stage. It does help a lot.

Here are plots by Doug Lipman for his class "growing a story":

How some of our different "oral elements" are contributing through a story telling. From all, in oral story telling, words are only one of them. So much more goes on. In normal circumstances we do it without really "staging" them. Or, experimenting just with one to see the difference. Remembering to exaggerate one movement, or one sentence or move a little at one time. When it is too staged it becomes artificial, and the audience senses it immediately.

Yes, we do have to practice, to rehearse, to learn bits of it well, but once there let go and be there.
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There is a strange thing with pathways levels and projects, as for now. If you click on how you feel "after" it thinks you finished it! And it is not true. Back-pedalling does now work. You have just to wait and not click on Evaluate, the task when you tell how you liked a project, before finishing giving the speech expected.

I remind myself, "do not rush!" enjoy each project as it comes, delight in it, as I tell in my standup comedy routine "take your time and do not rush to the end". Even if, not knowing what will come, not being able to read through the next level and next level tasks, in my path, pushes me to go a bit faster. Ah, my curiosity! We really should be able to read all the tasks of our path. Then we could go, I do believe slower through each level. But understanding well path.

I will or not be able today to tell my story used for voice variety, all the way to Manilla.

And probably, I will stick with telling an old Hungarian Folk tale (translated by me and adapted) for the Storytelling project, next week, instead of making a new story, as the story I try to tell in the future story takes time to "grow". It is only half baked.

Using our voice, playing with it can be fun

I could of course, tell my own story and let the voice take care of itself, as my sentiments come out when I feel in the "moment" of telling a tale.

My next telling, I have the project of Voice Variety, from the level 3 of Pathways electives, and how many different ways we can tell. I chose this book I discovered first when I my grandkids where small. They loved it! I still love this story a lot, an inverse rescue and folk tale modernised.

Lately, I was really happy to discover that in 1980 the author, Robert Munsch, told it himself! With the right places exaggerated, tone pitch etc changed to the kids. So I will try to learn it or read it or both.

I know, my pace is not to bad and my pauses either, and from time to time I succeed to use another level down my voice for a man's voice too, but "tone"? I never thought of it really how much it can convey emotion! In the project, they propose you try "Grand-mother is coming Friday" in different ways.
Secret, joy, dread, panic, excitement, and so one.

Instead, you can use "My grandmother is coming today" and use anyone you know instead of grandmother (mother in law, daughter, a friend or...) and try to see how many ways, just by adding a feeling behind, the words seem so different.

I am happy I have chosen voice variety! Can play with telling same things in different ways. At age 83 (almost) become childish - be like a child again.

I already have my place: telling it at Witty Birds meeting next week. Here are all the online 100% clubs I can visit and ask for a speaking place, some I go regularly, others less often.