When I say or write the word “story,” most people probably think of a written story. The thought isn’t wrong, but it isn’t necessarily full-bodied, either. A story can take a variety of forms. It can be told visually. It even can be an oral story.
I wouldn’t have thought much of oral storytelling until recently. I “tell” stories when I create a new video. I see that now, but that wasn’t the reasoning behind the videos when I first started. I started recording videos because I wanted to get comfortable with speaking publicly. It worked, too. I’m still an introvert, but I am not the introvert I once was. My friends who know the before and after Erin often remark on it and wonder what I did with the introverted girl. I don’t know where she went. I’m still quiet in some situations, but I’m much more comfortable with inserting myself into a conversation.
Since my videos accomplished their original goal – to help me overcome what could be called “stage fright” – I can think about them in a different way. I can think about how they contribute to the story I’m telling at Write Right. I think I’ve begun to do that in some ways; my videos tend to complement a specific post. The tricky part is making the video into something that enhances the post. A video does no good if it only rehashes what I’ve already written. It has to add something else to the conversation. It has to add another layer to the story.
What do you think about telling your story in different ways? Are you doing that? If so, how?
Photo: uniondocs (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
A video does no good if it only rehashes what I’ve already written. It has to add something else to the conversation. It has to add another layer to the story.Sometimes I think they complement each other because we get a chance to hear the inflection of your voice and that is different from reading.
TheJackB That is true. The only time I’ve read something I wrote was when I read “The Rules of Writingland.” It was a poor choice. I was still getting over a cold, and you can hear the “getting over a cold” in my voice. 😀 Videos and podcasts do allow the audience to learn your tone and sense of humor, though.I do view videos and illustrations as complementary to one another and to the writing. They all work together toward whatever the common goal may be.
Hi Erin,I think you are imposing a great point about videos embedded in posts. Same written and visual story in a post can be boring as I guess. So making use of video to enhance the post while having written materials could be better. Instead of videos, we can use art, animations or series of images to tell a story in a creative way, no? :)Well I’m not much fond of creating videos and still have fear of public speaking myself. I may give it a try as I wanna conquer my fears on it too dear :)Cheers…
Mayura Many ways exist for you to tell your story. You just have to find the ones that work for you and that meet your audience’s needs. I find that using different storytelling methods tends to improve all the methods and to challenge the ones where I’m doing status quo work.