While competitions such as spell-bee, subject-specific olympiads and others help children better their scope for learning and knowledge, the art of storytelling makes sure they present their talent right
Begin to tell a child a story and they will play the perfect audience. They have an innate love of stories and it is evident in the way they yearn for someone to narrate one. But only a few end up becoming good storytellers. Practising the art makes them more confident, creative and also impressive public speakers.
Here are tips parents can use to make children fall in love with the art of story telling
Expression Matters
Make children understand the need to connect to the audience. For this, they need to see what connecting to the audience means. Take them to a show and ask them to observe the way the person on the other end is trying talk to the audience -- through his expressions, comic elements, voice modulation and so on.
Expose them to good stories:
To become a good storyteller, your child should read a lot of good stories. Sentence structure, tenses and grammar are vital things to narrate a story in any language. Exposing them to a variety of stories helps them to be more creative and also learn the correct usage of words. Take them to a library or a book store nearby and let them pick the books they like. You could also make them listen to audio books that are available in plenty on the internet.
Professional Storytelling
Once they are well versed with the art, take them to a storytelling workshop or classes where they can measure their skills against others. Ensure that it is considered healthy competition and that they can learn from others and improvise. They will also get professional help when they attend workshops such as these.
Need For Practice
Any art form can be mastered only when it is practised regularly. Use different ways to make the art interesting for them and help stimulate their interest. For instance, make them practise in front of the mirror. Children love to watch and admire themselves. Let them, while practising, also be their own judge. Ask them to reflect and make improvisations. You can also record their acts. Narrating a story in front of family of friends can also prove to be helpful.
String-a-long stories
Practising storytelling in any form is helpful. Try to make the experience of story telling fun for children. For this, invite your children’s friends home for a get together. Begin a story and make each of them tag along and improvise in the process. Interest develops as they are among their peers having fun and also learning.