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What were some of the specific things you noticed that these tellers did to try to engage their audiences? Were there moments where the language they used drew you in?
Modern Storytellers
24 responses to “Modern Storytellers”
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I noticed that everyone in the videos were pausing in every couple of words. I took it as a way to let the audience actually hear what you are saying. I enjoyed Donald Davis telling the most. He was making funny faces and changing his tone of voice to express the characters emotions in the story.
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The storytellers, like Donald Davis, used several ways to connect with their audiences. One thing Davis did was pay attention to how the audience reacted to his words. He would mention how people were looking or responding, which made the audience feel more involved in the story.
He also used humor and clear pictures in his words to make the stories feel real and fun. This helped people enjoy the story and made them want to listen more closely.
This made certain parts of the story feel more exciting or important. It kept the audience interested and focused on what was happening next. These techniques helped make the storytelling engaging.
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Something I noticed that they did to engage the audience was use gestures, they also used pauses. They used different tones and facial expressions to help the reader understand the tone of the story. The use of different voices depending on the characters in the story also helped keep you engaged and understand which character of the story they were speaking about. In the first video, when the storyteller used humor, it drew me in and kept me engaged. The use of music to help move the story along was also important to understand the tone, it was so entertaining that I did not want the story to end.
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To engage her audience, Diane Ferlatte told her story using a poetic tone and told her story as though she was “singing”. Ferlatte utilized background sound effects, voice variations (change in tone), and hand gesticulation to convey her story, while standing, which is another way to connect personally with her audience. Peninnah Schram also used voice variation and hand gesticulation while telling her story. She looked directly at the screen to maintain a connection with the audience. Donald Davis, like Ferlatte, stood while telling his story. He too used voice variations and changed his tone to match his verbal message, and hand gesticulation.
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The storytellers used pauses, gestures, and changes in tone to keep the audience engaged. Donald Davis made funny faces and used different voices to bring his characters to life. Diane Ferlatte told her story in a rhythmic way and used sound effects and hand movements. Humor and vivid descriptions also made the stories more fun and easy to connect with.
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I notice the storytellers have their unique ways of telling information. They have somewhat different paces, and styles. Donald Davis, for example, has a faster pace at telling stories. Diane Ferlatte chooses to storytell with music. Peninnah storytells at a slower pace.
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In Peninnah Schram’s storytelling, she uses many facial expressions and hand movements and also changes the pitch of her voice, which really stuck out to me. Additionally, she used small pauses and allowed the audience to fully hear her before continuing. All of these tactics kept me engaged throughout the entirety of the story but the facial expressions and hand movements kept life in her voice and thus my focus on her and the story. These tactics are very crucial to include, as without them the audience would be left bored and losing interest in the story due to the storyteller having a lack of energy. Monotone voices and a lack of enthusiasm are, to me, the biggest cause of a dying interest and by using these tactics, Schram avoided just that.
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One thing I noticed that was consistent throughout was that all of them used pauses and many sorts of gestures to keep the audience engaged and to let them fully grasp what was going on. One thing that stood out to me in Davis’s videos was that he paid very close attention to how the audience reacted to his storytelling, I think that’s very important. Lastly, Diane uses music to bring her stories to life, it was very engaging.
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Audience reaction is super important. Storytelling is not a solo adventure – the audience is as much a part of it as the teller. Reading aloud is like this too.
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I noticed these story tellers oftentimes changing their voices to fit the voices of the characters in the story. This brings the story to life and makes the audience understand the intonation of the characters and reveals more of their emotions. Another way these storytellers engage with their audience is by bringing their whole body into their performance. They will point, act out actions, and change their facial expressions based on dialogue and emotions. Another interesting method of engaging the audience in storytelling is through music. This acts as a kind of back drop to the story itself, making the audience feel even more of the emotions they are meant to experience.
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I noticed the storytellers used pauses to give you a chance to grasp what they were saying.
They also used different paces and even used music to tell their story. -
While watching Donald Davis, Diane Ferlatte, and Penninah Schram perform, I noticed several techniques they used to engage their audiences. Donald Davis, for example, used a conversational tone and vivid descriptions to captivate the audience, making them feel like they were a part of the story. His pauses and pacing allowed the audience to anticipate the punchline, which created tension before the humor was delivered. Diane Ferlatte’s mix of singing and storytelling emphasized emotions through rhythm and a powerful vocal range, drawing listeners into the heartbeat of her stories. Her performance included call-and-response moments with the audience, which made everyone feel like they were participating. Penninah Schram’s storytelling was especially engaging because she used dramatic pauses and careful intonation, as well as language that evoked vivid imagery and emotion, making the audience feel as if they were living through the scenes alongside her. Each storyteller drew the audience in with their voice, pacing, and physical gestures, while their language, whether humor, emotion, or rhythm, created an intimate, immersive experience that kept the listeners’ attention.
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Your point about the way that pauses can create opportunities for audiences to anticipate a punch line is a good one. Timing is everything!
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Some specific things that the first video (of the Jewish storyteller did were when she paused and ask the audience what they would do in the situation, and language draw me in with her multiple gestures and how she chanted the word pomegranate for you to entice and give a clue or hint (foreshadowing) of what would become of this fruit. In the second video (African tale), the storyteller was very engaging and she hooked the audience with sounds effects which is what captured my attention, along with music, full body motions, language, humor and being a part of the audience reactions. In the third video, the expressive voice drew me in, along with the story=teller changing his voice to pretend he was himself at nine years old.
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These are really good specifics that you’ve pointed out here, particularly in noting how Schram foreshadows.
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From the first reading I observed that Diane Ferlatte frequently engaged the audience by prompting them to respond or repeat phrases, fostering participation and connection.Her language was playful, rhythmic, and empowering, often drawing on strong metaphors that emphasized the resilience and determination of women.
From the second video, Peninnah Schram used changes in tone and pitch to emphasize different characters and emotional shifts in the narrative. She allowed silence to punctuate key moments, building tension and anticipation.
Lastly, from the last video Donald Davis used a relaxed, friendly tone that made his stories relatable, like talking with a close friend. His body language and facial expressions added depth and energy to the storytelling, making it visually captivating.
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The readers would take the time to pause to both ensure they and their audience were internalizing what was being read. They also used a lot of body language, such as hand gestures or facial expressions to interact with their crowd and also add more emotion to the story itself.
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I noticed that all the storytellers used pauses, gestures, and different voice tones. Each storyteller also told the story at different paces, each of the things the storyteller did were all great ways to keep us their audience attention. Talking straight through, without stopping to get a reaction or letting the words sink in would have made a lot of people lose interest very quickly. Of all three storytellers, I liked Diane’s technique the most from the musician playing a soft Melody that’s not taking away from the speaker, the body movements to act out the words she’s describing and the multiple facial expressions really just brought the story to life.
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Specific things I noticed is that the storytellers are using a lot of facial expressions and pauses to increase intensity. The sound effects and noises are helpful as well and changing of pitch to show the mood of the characters in the story or when there is a shift in the mood. I love how they use the space to act out and really put themselves in the character’s shoes. What I noticed Dianne Ferlatte doing is that she used repetition in like a certain phrase or song of the story so the audience can either sing with her or keep the flow going and when she pauses they are expected to say the last part. I love the humor included and leaving the audience to connect and giving them time to make connections or interact and be involved.
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One thing that the reader does is include music. Diane Ferlatte used sounds to create a background for her story and create suspense. She also used vocal sounds and changed her voice depending on who spoke. This change in tone had listeners engaged. Similarly, Peninnah Schram used different tones to tell her story. She took small pauses that allowed the reader time for comprehension. She also used hand gestures to help the reader create an image in their imagination. Donald Davis also changed voices depending on who was speaking in his story. He created a deeper voice for Santa Claus and used hand gestures to show what was happening in the story.
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In the first video, Diane Ferlatte used music and poetry to make her story engaging. Her body language made me engaged and interested in the story. In the second video, Penninah was engaging using her voice. She changed it to match the intensity throughout the story. In the last video, Donald Davis tells his story like he is doing a comedy set which was very engaging and funny.
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One thing I noticed was how each storyteller used their voice in really dynamic ways, changing the tone, getting louder or softer to match the story’s mood. Diane Ferlatte mixed storytelling with rhythm and music, which made it super engaging. Donald Davis, on the other hand, used humor and really personal details to pull the audience in. There were definitely moments where the way they told the story made me feel like I was right there with them, especially when they used everyday language that felt real and relatable.
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Its important to tell stories and listen to your audience and keep them engaged,some of these readers used rhythm,comedy and changed their tone as they told their story to the audience and would get feedback from the audience and see how they react.A method that is often used is pausing as you read which really allows the audience to
better understanding and take everything in. -
Some methods the story tellers used was incorporating music and comedy. They also played with their voices and pitched it up at specific points to emphasize certain parts of the story.
It was really great watching them!
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