When we tell and listen to stories, we can almost feel our souls breathing fully and deeply. Our capacity to see options, to visualize possibilities, to imagine expands and we are somehow more alive."
Michael Parent
Michael Parent
They say storytelling is as old as humanity itself – and that telling tales and stories is one of the most basic human needs.
In traditional societies – up until relatively recently – storytelling was an intrinsic part of daily life. The members of a community while they worked or participated in other collective activities told each other stories: stories about the people around them, jokes, humorous tales, big magic tales – the telling of which could last several nights- , riddles or trickster stories.
The various stories had a variety of functions – among other things, they helped the members of a community to find their way amidst community rules and customs, they helped them to become acquainted with interpersonal relations, they provided entertainment and a little easing of the burdens of daily life, while at the same time raising deeper questions about who we are, what our fate and role is in life, what choices we can make, what paths we can take?
Today, in our urbanized „developed” societies the practice of telling folktales has disappeared from our daily lives – the old fairy tales can only be found in books, but we can hardly find time to read them, or talk about them face to face – not to mention, listening to them collectively as a community.
Another feature of our modern, industrialized societies is that people live in so called, generational ghettos. Children attend kindergarten and then elementary school; adults spend most of their time at their workplaces. Extended families rarely get together – usually only on holidays and special occasions. The elderly live among themselves or by themselves, or increasingly in nursery homes. The interchanging of stories between the generations has decreased radically.
While in general the oral recounting of stories and tales is disappearing from our lives, in certain cases attempts have been made to rediscover these traditions. This is due to the simple fact that we are beginning to realize how important and useful storytelling was, and could again be.
Bringing back storytelling into our communities can be very valuable in group situations, where we endeavor to transfer knowledge and teach others, where we strive to encourage attitudinal change.
This is exactly the aim of the ALADDIN groups for example, where we strive to enhance the development of basic language, communication and entrepreneurial skills of disadvantaged youngsters through intergenerational workshops provided by retired senior volunteers – with the use of storytelling techniques.
Without being exhaustive, let us mention just a few features as to why storytelling can be a very useful intergenerational learning tool.
What does storytelling do? What happens while listening to stories?
While telling or listening to a story, time slows down. This is brought about via various lingual and performative techniques, and has its own physiological signs, things we cannot go into here. Due to linguistic, structural and a variety of other features, the listeners become part of a living phenomenon. A type of dual-consciousness emerges, where we are simultaneously present at the scene of the storytelling in our daily physicality, while at the same time, we are also present “inside” the fabled space of the story. This dual consciousness brings about an emotional opening up. What is happening to the heroes/heroines of the story is also (or can be) happening to me. Through this the listener experiences the story in the here-and-now with a very strong sense of identification. Moving beyond the rational plane, the story affects subconscious layers, resulting in strong emotional involvement. An emotional state emerges, in which we can reflect on ourselves and raise deep existential questions about our lives.
Live storytelling always adapts to the specific setting, to the audience. It is a living reality in which the listeners – irrespective to whether they had met previously or not – share a common experience, which functions as a mutual point of reference.
If we share our personal life-stories, this can further ease and aid the deepening of interpersonal ties, facilitating trust and bonding among group members. Sharing a personal story usually inspires others to make connections with what is being heard and their own personal experiences, indeed to tell personal stories of their own. This leads to a further strengthening of trust as well as to an identification of the common challenges we have to face - irrespective of our age, or social situation. This in turn can become the medium for generating genuine change in the lives of young people.
by Maja Bumberák
Budapest, 27th December 2015
In traditional societies – up until relatively recently – storytelling was an intrinsic part of daily life. The members of a community while they worked or participated in other collective activities told each other stories: stories about the people around them, jokes, humorous tales, big magic tales – the telling of which could last several nights- , riddles or trickster stories.
The various stories had a variety of functions – among other things, they helped the members of a community to find their way amidst community rules and customs, they helped them to become acquainted with interpersonal relations, they provided entertainment and a little easing of the burdens of daily life, while at the same time raising deeper questions about who we are, what our fate and role is in life, what choices we can make, what paths we can take?
Today, in our urbanized „developed” societies the practice of telling folktales has disappeared from our daily lives – the old fairy tales can only be found in books, but we can hardly find time to read them, or talk about them face to face – not to mention, listening to them collectively as a community.
Another feature of our modern, industrialized societies is that people live in so called, generational ghettos. Children attend kindergarten and then elementary school; adults spend most of their time at their workplaces. Extended families rarely get together – usually only on holidays and special occasions. The elderly live among themselves or by themselves, or increasingly in nursery homes. The interchanging of stories between the generations has decreased radically.
While in general the oral recounting of stories and tales is disappearing from our lives, in certain cases attempts have been made to rediscover these traditions. This is due to the simple fact that we are beginning to realize how important and useful storytelling was, and could again be.
Bringing back storytelling into our communities can be very valuable in group situations, where we endeavor to transfer knowledge and teach others, where we strive to encourage attitudinal change.
This is exactly the aim of the ALADDIN groups for example, where we strive to enhance the development of basic language, communication and entrepreneurial skills of disadvantaged youngsters through intergenerational workshops provided by retired senior volunteers – with the use of storytelling techniques.
Without being exhaustive, let us mention just a few features as to why storytelling can be a very useful intergenerational learning tool.
What does storytelling do? What happens while listening to stories?
While telling or listening to a story, time slows down. This is brought about via various lingual and performative techniques, and has its own physiological signs, things we cannot go into here. Due to linguistic, structural and a variety of other features, the listeners become part of a living phenomenon. A type of dual-consciousness emerges, where we are simultaneously present at the scene of the storytelling in our daily physicality, while at the same time, we are also present “inside” the fabled space of the story. This dual consciousness brings about an emotional opening up. What is happening to the heroes/heroines of the story is also (or can be) happening to me. Through this the listener experiences the story in the here-and-now with a very strong sense of identification. Moving beyond the rational plane, the story affects subconscious layers, resulting in strong emotional involvement. An emotional state emerges, in which we can reflect on ourselves and raise deep existential questions about our lives.
Live storytelling always adapts to the specific setting, to the audience. It is a living reality in which the listeners – irrespective to whether they had met previously or not – share a common experience, which functions as a mutual point of reference.
If we share our personal life-stories, this can further ease and aid the deepening of interpersonal ties, facilitating trust and bonding among group members. Sharing a personal story usually inspires others to make connections with what is being heard and their own personal experiences, indeed to tell personal stories of their own. This leads to a further strengthening of trust as well as to an identification of the common challenges we have to face - irrespective of our age, or social situation. This in turn can become the medium for generating genuine change in the lives of young people.
by Maja Bumberák
Budapest, 27th December 2015