How to be a good storyteller in a casual dinner

Last night we had a couple of friends at our place, for a quick catch up with a very casual setting, comfortable clothes and light yummy snacks (yes, let's leave it as light snacks for now), we were all at ease in sharing our exciting stories. As we were sipping on our Arabic coffee and the "light snacks", childhood stories started to pour out smoothly, with all its excitements, adventures, actions and most important lessons learnt throughout, which shaped our current personality.

As we were talking, K (name will be anonymous) started sharing his stories, he was able to go on and on putting us in every story, describing every single part of his story as if it is live, we felt every word, we felt every scene, his energy had hooked us into the story as if we are living it now.

This made me reflect that we all engage with people on a daily basis either formal in our work or informal through casual gathering but the common thing is that you always communicate and have a story to tell in one way or another. The more your are able to understand the art & science of “Storytelling” the more you will engage, entertain and most important keep your audience on their feet waiting for the next word in your story.

5 things I learned from yesterday engaging storytelling

Build-up - Adult stories are not the same as bedtime kids stories, you do not just sit there all ears waiting for someone to read it from a book. Instead there has to be a build up, the topic that is being discussed have to link to the story you want to convey, so try to find the right time, right link and most important right cue from the audience that they are open now to hear your story and will be relevant to them.

Language - A casual dinner is a place where friends gather for a casual talk, so the use of words has to be suitable without turning off your friends and just make you sound as a one way monologue. If you are used to throwing a couple of slang words, go ahead, if you want to mix different languages (e.g. Arabic/English) go ahead, and if you want to mix the tonality between serious and humor, feel free. Make sure it is a casual smooth talk.

Use of Names - One thing that K did and was spot on for our engagement was calling our names all along. I felt he was talking specifically to “me”, the emotional side of his story was dedicated to me as a person. Ensure in a small groups you call people with their names they will be much more attentive.

Hand/Body Movement - K was able to use his hands gesture quite well to draw for us the scene he was describing, he was also able in some cases to stand up move pass the center table and literally act the scene, he made every possible body movement to ensure that we imagine the scene exactly the way he wants us to live it with him.

Emotions - the more you bring the feeling and emotions in your story, the more your friends will connect with it, this can be through your facial expressions (if you want to depict a sad mood, change your face into sad, drop your tone of voice), if you are lively and fun (make a move to show it), ensure that they live the same emotion with you.

Finally, a good storyteller is someone who entertain but deliver a message that resonates with people both inspirational and emotional.