“The Art of Storytelling: Easy Steps to Presenting an Unforgettable Story” by John D. Walsh
For the last few months, I have been on the lookout for books that would help me broaden my understanding of storytelling. I’ve been doing storytelling for about 3- years or so. I’ve improved every year. While I know that many others can improve their storytelling in much the same way that I have, how do I explain to them the actual steps to take? In 153 pages, John D. Walsh does that with his book “The Art of Storytelling”
The book is a simple how-to guide for becoming a better storyteller; even if you don’t consider yourself a storyteller. Walsh covers 14 steps and accompanying exercises that help people of all levels. The book covers how to best tell an existing story, but the steps can be applied to a personal narrative story as well. I found the book easy to read. I also loved that the book itself can be used as a textbook for leading a storytelling class. Walsh’s book is very compatible with his website that is set up to reinforce what’s in the book. He even has videos on his YouTube channel.
Something to keep in mind; this book makes a lot of references to the Christian bible. All of the storytelling skills can be used wherever storytelling is done. It just happens that the author’s background is heavy in teaching Bible stories. Being a Christian myself, it didn’t bother me.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking to understand how to get started doing storytelling for fun, for teaching, or for performance. It also seems ideal to use for teaching classes to others. I got my copy on Google Play Books, but Kindle and paperback are also available. Go get a sample of the book and see if it helps you tell your story on purpose.
Story Telling On Purpose 