- Make the Story Fit
As I mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, there are three basic elements to storytelling: the
storyteller, the listener or listeners, and the processes of communication. The story is going to be most
effective if it fits or matches all three of these variables.
First, it facilitates identification with the story if there is a match between the character of the story
and the character of the client. A colleague, clinical psychologist Elaine Atkinson, who helped con-
tribute with several conversations during the planning of this book, works with different metaphor ma-
terial at different age levels for the children she sees. She commented that preschool children tend to
communicate metaphorically in play with toys. In early primary-school years, animal stories tend to be
more popular, whereas after that age group, children get into hero stories whose protagonists may vary
from cartoon characters to movie characters like Harry Potter or Frodo Baggins. Based on your knowl-
edge of these characters and their significance in the life of your child or teenage client, it is possible to
construct a hero story that quickly and effectively facilitates identification with the story. Further dis-
cussion of this can be found in the section entitled “Metaphors Built on Heroes” in Chapter 15.
To give some ideas of how to adapt a story to fit children of different developmental stages, gen-
ders, and interests, I have based the first two stories in each chapter from 4 through 12 on a similar
theme, with the first of each pair directed toward kids and the second to teens. Stories 2 and 3 both
speak about how children can make a difference, with the first being a fantasy that has similarities to
the familiar story of Goldilocks and the second being the true tale of a teenage boy. Stories 11 and 12
have the common problem of being in an unfamiliar, fearful situation, with the character of the kid
story being a young octopus out of its depth and the character of the teen story an adolescent who’s
gone too far from shore on his new surfboard. While the therapeutic characteristics of the stories re-
main much the same, the characters and context change to match the listener.
Second, in addition to the story’s fitting the client, it helps if the story fits for the teller. Only by
telling a story that you enjoy, one that presents you with a challenge or that involves your enthusi-
asm, can you tell it effectively for your listener. I invite you to see the stories I have provided in Part
Two as “story ideas” rather than immutable tales. They just happen to be stories that I have used with
one child at one point in time. They are stories I liketelling, and are comfortable or enjoyable for me
to tell. If you find an idea that you consider worth adopting please feel free to develop it into your
own story. The child listener is more likely to enjoy and be absorbed in the story if the storyteller is
also absorbed and interested in the tale.
EFFECTIVE STORYTELLINGGuidelines for Effective Storytelling 19
EXERCISE 2.4
■ Practice adapting a story to fit your young listener. One way of doing this is to take
an ordinary storybook tale and read it to a child. Observe the verbal and nonverbal
cues of how well the story matches the listener.
■ Retell the story to the child, this time adapting the main character to match the lis-
tener’s age, gender, or interests. For example, if telling the Three Little Pigs story to
a child who enjoys riding a bike, the pigs could bicycle from house to house rather
than run. Observe what differences this may make to your listener.