I had a dear friend who spent most of his adult life traveling and teaching groups about plants, botany and herbal medicine. Each place he visited and spoke, would give him rave reviews and invite him to come back again and again. Each talk would draw a crowd of students young and old who would gather to listen, walk in nature, take notes, learn...to get inspired.
One time, I asked him how it was that so many people would come out to learn a new and challenging subject (lots of Latin, walking, botany, etc.)
He said that he thought it was a desire deep within people to stay connected to the Earth and also a calling to remember and carry forward this more ancient knowledge.
And as a teacher, what he felt made him a success in spite of being an introvert and anxious about public speaking, was knowing his audience and being a good and practiced storyteller.
Chapter 7 has been the most interesting read for me thus far. The concept of sharing a good narrative appeals to me. I've never felt particularly accomplished at this, but always appreciate hearing a well-told story and strive to be better in my own tellings. This class is providing me with an opportunity to do so.
P.S. I highly recommend listening to Toni Morrison's nobel lecture at www.nobelprize.org.
It is a half an hour well spent. Her mastery of voice, inflection, subject matter, time are amazing!
Hi Gigi:-) I don't doubt that you will be better in your own telling because your example about your friend it's a great supporting material of your speech which bolstered your position. Your introduction captivated my attention and wanted to read more and more about the secret of attraction a lot of people to your personality.
ReplyDeleteI think we can be better in our telling if we will have a good supportive materials such as narrative, examples, definitions, testimony, facts and statistics. Your friend traveled a lot and he knew many examples and facts what are interesting for people. People want to hear more personal testimony because behind the testimony we can find a useful advice for our life, it is the experience in shape of story. Everybody wants to hear a good story with a good examples. The narratives describe events in a dramatic way, appealing to audience member's emotions. Compelling stories have coherence-audience members can follow the plot. Stories also have a ring of truth. In the book and in the videos are good material for our practices and I wish you good luck in implementing in your speech.
HI Sierra-
ReplyDeleteI liked the beginning of your post. I enjoyed your story of your friend who spoke about plants, botany and herbal medicines. I kind of would like to hear more about his travels. He sounds rather interesting. You inspired me to review chapter 7 since you headlined your post "Review of Concept in Chapter 7". At first I was looking for the actual element titled "Concept", then I realized that hidden in your post you were focusing on the concept of "Narrative". Then I got it. You explained your friends adventure well enough for me to get a mental picture of a possible event that may have taken place. The place in my imagination where your friend would speak was one in the woods or a jungle-like environment, surrounded by lush, green plants and people sitting on the ground as he spoke. Sounds silly, but your short story put that image in my head. I think that makes you a good "narrator".
FD
He sounds like a very passionate and powerful speaker. It is no wonder that he drew such large crowds. I think that when you care a great deal for your topic it shows and that sort of passion can be infectious. You also seem passionate about his topics and seem to have become a powerful conduit for his message. I look forward to your opportunity to include good narrative in your next speech. It seems that you are really interested in the reading, which I would think makes it more likely that you will take all of the helpful information to heart. I am sure that your speech will be very interesting.
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