Another excerpt from my Intro To Christian Education Textbook, Christian Education, Foundations for the Twenty-first Century: (pg. 123)
"Within the art of teaching, nothing is more engaging than effective storytelling. Though some people naturally do it better than others, anyone can learn to do it better. Several guidelines are worth considering.
Feel the events of the story. Much of what we read in a Bible story, for example, describes real events concerning real people. While Jesus told some fictitious stories (parables), even in such cases he showed a careful concern for reality. Understanding these principles will help you become a better storyteller:
- Real people have real feelings (emotions), not just disembodied information systems called brains. Thus, thinking always occurs within some combination of emotional colorations.
- Various people's reactions and feelings about a certain situation are reasonably similar. Few difference occur simply because of the passage time. The disciples' reactions to Jesus' declaration that "one of you will betray me" must have produced the same sort of shock, dismay, and suspicion among the disciples then as it would in our times.
- Learn to find central purpose in any basic story. Telling Bible stories give excellent practice and appropriate illustrations of this skill. The entertainment value is secondary to the purpose revealed in the content. Imagine the reality of the story by personalizing it. Adopt the voice and the "lines" of one or more characters in the story. How does it feel to be there?
- Learn to tell the story simply and clearly. Make it your own experience as you tell it. For example, in the central story of John 4, one apparent conclusion is that the Samaritan woman of Sychar became the first large scale community evangelist. Discover and draw out the emotions and feelings of the situations described.
- Learn to interpret a story well. This ability depends on being able to relate faithfully to both information and feelings."
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