I feel sorry for the children listening to my new Christmas story

How to get stories from good to great

Each year, I feel a bit sorry for the first groups of children who get to hear my new Christmas story.

Why?

Because I know that the same story will be a much better experience when I tell it for the 10th time.

Isn’t it boring to tell the same story again and again?

Not at all!

It’s the same story, yes, but it also changes. Parts that don’t work are kicked out. Interesting parts that come up spontaneously end up staying.

I don’t work with a script, so this happens very naturally.

And…

Did you know that each story has an inner rhythm? Scenes where you need to speed up, scenes where you need to slow down.

As you tell a story many times, you learn to dance to this inner rhythm with your listeners!

But what if I do get bored telling it for the umpth time?

I play.

I weave details of the performance location into the story; I adapt to different audiences; I try out new rhymes, moves, locations, and atmospheres.

What works? What doesn’t?

Not boring at all!

Now, back to these first listeners…

Do I need to feel sorry for them?

No.

I always prepare stories well in my imagination and practice them with colleagues and friends before I tell them at a paid opportunity.

These first listeners get a good story.

It’s good, but not yet great.

And the only way it might become great is to tell it many times.

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