First approach with storytelling
Create a sense of community
Create awareness of your mother language/culture and the others
Set the group in a circle, the facilitator is part of the group
Materials needed
✓ No materials needed
Proposed location
✓ Large location with as many chairs as the participants.
Steps
1.
The facilitator starts telling the first story (often a folk tale from his own personal background) (5 minutes)
2.
The facilitator asks the participants to tell themselves some stories and folktales they remember from their own background
3.
The participants tell their stories, they can tell in the language they prefer and feel more confortable with, if someone offers they can be translated (maximum 8 minutes for story)
4.
The storytelling circle can go on as long as the group likes
Closing up
- At the end of the exercise open a moment for discussion:
- How much were they able to understand without a translation?
- Do similar stories also exist in other countries/cultures?
- How did it feel to speak their mother language in front of the audience?
To go further
- this exercise can be connected to other exercises from the “triggering creativity” and “Technical Aspects of Storytelling” by being used even before (and help choose a story to work on the next exercise) or after (so that the previous exercise already build the foundations for a possible story to tell in the circle)
Tips
✓
When telling the first story, be sure to keep the body relaxed and open, look at the other members of the circle in the eyes to build connection, make sure everyone is enjoying the story
