Family History and Oral History Additional Thoughts Telling Your Stories There is some information that is better transmitted orally than through any other means (i.e.: Values, Heritage, Life Paradigms, Personal Feelings). Our personal stories are important sources of values teaching for our children. When we were young and in love with someone, we often wrote our feelings in letter form because the spoken word was too potent and too powerful, and hence perhaps too risky. Perhaps even now, it is easier to write a letter of apology than to say “I’m sorry” to someone’s face. When it comes to heritage and values, we desire that potency. Tell your stories! Finding Your Stories Ever heard of keeping a journal? Look around at old photographs, knick knacks, and other memorabilia. Many of these items have stories attached. Do you have scars? What adventures have you had in cars? At school? Any dealings with the police? Camping experiences?Try and base a story around something like this: “My most (embarrasing, romantic, frightening, fun, etc.) moment was . . .” You might want to ask your children if they remember any stories you’ve already told them. These are the ones they may want to hear again. Making Your Life Story Effective First, SEE THINGS! Review the stories in your mind and make sure you see every detail. The sky, your clothes, who was there, what was the weather like, etc. 2nd: BE EXCITED about telling your story! This is more precious than gold! Be confident and trust yourself. You’ve been telling stories all your life, use the skills you already know and be enthusiastic. 3rd: TELL YOUR STORY OVER AND OVER AGAIN. The more you tell it, the better it will become. 4th: Make sure your story has a begining, middle, and end. WHAT IS NORMAL: Set the stage with background information. WHAT CHANGED THE ROUTINE? Find the incident that triggered the story or event. WHAT WERE THE CHALLENGES? Treat each problem presented separately within the story as scenes. Finally, end the story after the most exciting part—WHAT IS THE “NEW” NORMAL? Try and remember that the best stories are EXPLORATORY not explanatory. Try to avoid tacking a moral on the end of a story. This turns a wonderful and entertaining treat into a lesson and demeans storytelling. Collecting the life stories of others: Sometimes, we would like to collect the stories of loved ones. How can we help them tell their stories well without “coaching” them? Here are some “invisible coaching” techniques. Though any kind of information is valuable when interviewing someone, remember that you are trying to get stories. Prepare your storytelling loved one by mentioning some of the stories you would like to hear. For example, you may have heard several stories about when your parents met, courted and married. Tell them you’d like to hear these stories and that you’d like to record them in a couple of weeks. Set a date and give them time to think about the stories. Don’t hide your excitement about the event during that couple of weeks to help them keep their mind on the stories. Invite a small audience with which the storytelling is comfortable. Older grandkids and others make good audiences.