What is a good story? If the scouts are rearranging their tents for protection after some spooky tale, or if they appoint several night watch shifts for the night, you have told a good story. A campfire replaces the TV, so for a successful fire program, a good story is called for. One of the best aspects of a story against a TV is that the scouts can use their own imagination. A good story teller can stimulate the listener's mind to take each scout on their own adventure.

A good story has 3 points to hold a crowd's attention. Suspense, strong emition, or humor. Suspense is the most popular and easiest to use. Emotional stories are a bit trickier to tell, but still as effective. Funny stories need a good teller becuase if some parts are missed due to lack of attention, the whole thing may fall on it's face.

When telling a story, think of the meathods for presentation. Have a clear loud voice. Don't sit in a chair, but walk around and use your hands, try to narrate the story with the help of body language. You shouldn't memorize the story, but rather memorize the plot. You don't want to sound artificial. If you just know the basic plot, it will be OK to make mistakes because no one will know, and the story will be more personalized which helps keep the audience's attention. Worst of all, never read directly from a book, try to preform "off the cuff," as it looks more professional.

Story telling tips

Make sure you don't have keys in your pocket to jingle or any other potential distractions. Quiet down the audience before starting, it will ruin it to keep interrupting the story just to dicipline a few kids. Use eye contact, it will help maintain control and keep the audience involved. Use influctions in your voice to help the mood. If you are really good, give the characters voices. Don't be affraid to make short pauses to let imagination take over. Avoid using props, it may distract more than help. Have a friend offstage help with sound effects. Point at audience members durring the story to involve them and use your body to demonstrate digging a hole or running away.

Things to avoid

There are many things that can go wrong in a story that could have been avoided. Keep in mind who your overall audience will be, a story for cubs might not have enough suspense as a story for older scouts. Beginners shouldn't start off story telling with more complicated tricks like adding voices to different characters. Watch the group, and if you are loosing their attention, try to end your story before embarassing yourself. Most of all, make sure you are having fun, then the audience will have fun.