How to Handle and Face Common Storytelling Challenges

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Nov 20, 2001

As you become known as a storyteller in your area, you will start to get phone calls asking you to tell at various events, gatherings, schools, and libraries. Of course, you are eager to tell the stories you have been working on and delighted to get the phone calls. But, before you say yes, there are questions you should ask about the venues and once you are telling, there are other challenges that pop up that can destroy your performance. In this article, I discuss some of these common challenges and how other storytellers and I handle them.

Be sure to establish where you will be telling. You will get many calls where the group calling wants you to tell stories outside or in a large open space - possibly at a fair or festival, at a busy shopping mall, a museum, or often around a campfire. All of these spaces can spell disaster for a storyteller if they are not set up properly with a sufficient sound system and a proper stage or platform. First of all, find out what else will be happening during your storytelling. If there is music nearby, or a baton twirling contest, or a clown or magician acting out, I would suggest turning down the opportunity. Trying to compete with all of these is impossible, no matter how wonderful your stories are. A storytelling friend of mine told ghost stories at a campfire while the adult group who had been drinking alcoholic beverages was busy making s'mores and paying no attention to him. If there is any way to get a separate space set up for the telling, try to. Otherwise, reconsider before agreeing to tell. A bad session won't help your storytelling reputation and/or career.

Don't undervalue your work by agreeing to tell for "free" unless it is for an excellent reason. When we are just beginning to tell stories publicly, we need the experience, so giving free programs makes sense. They help us with our marketing, by getting glowing testimonials, and also provide the opportunities to test our stories and our telling ability. Once, however, we start to feel comfortable charging for our services, we must be firm about what we charge. I feel very strongly that if you have set a fair and comfortable price that you shouldn't negotiate down, unless you feel there is a legitimate reason. There will always be another storyteller who will charge less, and if the group calling is choosing a teller by price alone, let them call the other teller. Groups who hire tellers talk to each other about everything. How would you feel if they found out that Group A got you for one price, while they paid you more for the same program? I also have noticed that the majority of storytellers undercharge. I also do professional speaking and easily receive double the amount for speaking than for storytelling without any questions asked. As long as the perception that storytelling is less valuable than speaking, we, as storytellers, will never be able to charge what we are worth (pardon the rant). An exception to this rule is if you are asked to take part in a special benefit program, like the yearly TELLABRATION! sponsored by storytelling groups all over the world under the auspices of the National Storytelling Network (see my previous article). I also have special non-profit associations and organizations that I support, so will agree to tell in return for a testimonial letter.

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