Craig Jenkins – The Storyteller at VKE
World-renowned storyteller, Craig Jenkins is an amazing, dynamic and charismatic storyteller and we have experienced it ourselves in Victorious Kidss Educares school on 21st and 22nd August 2019. International Guest speakers offer students real-world life experiences, which imbibes a global perspective amongst the children, which is imperative for an International School.
Craig Jenkins has over ten years’ experience of performing and running storytelling workshops across the world. He has shared his wonderful stories in 13 countries so far because he is so fresh, so energetic, so contemporary, full of life, emotions and fun. His style of performance is one of a kind and loved by all age groups equally. The group, comprising of parents and teachers, were spellbound and awed by the smoothness, with which he glided from techniques to contents to concepts and then back again to contents of the story. He explained the ‘magic’ of storytelling and the theory behind the magic.
Renowned storyteller Craig Jenkins wows Victorious Kidss Educares with his Indian folk tales. Every child was inquisitive to know what is coming next. Their wide eyes and smiles in the picture, say it all. Craig amazed us all, the students, teachers and parents with the stories of mouse and lion, little bird and mountain deer and many more. Each one in the audience felt connected and made the stories come alive with actions, songs, jingles and so much laughter!
He spent quality story time with every grade students and told us some hilarious stories that got registered in every young mind. Parents and Teachers got inspiration to use these techniques in their storytelling times. Stories have the power to inspire, influence and take you to a whole new world of imagination and untold experiences. He shared a few tips to make storytelling more impressive.
Tips to make storytelling impressive
Interactive –Children want to move all the time, but if their energies are used to repeat, rhyme or do certain actions, it can make a lot of difference.
Relating to the audience – Relate to things of the level and understanding of the audience. For example, saying crocodile was as strong as Chota Bheem.
Voice Modulation – Every character in the story should have a different voice, tone or style. Even changing the speed of speech, maybe faster or slower can change the tone.
Body Language – Movements and Gestures, making characters big and small, use of hands and fingers makes a lot of difference. Just introduce characters with confidence and belief. Use the right tone, like angry lion will be different from sleepy lion.
Add Emotions – Showing emotions of the character like happy, surprised, sad should be communicated with jumping, tears rolling out, showing different energy etc ways. But if there is a sad part of the story, don’t stop there for longer, move on, otherwise, it may stay in the minds of small children.
Music or Sounds – Use rhyming music, familiar sounds which can be repeated by the audience. Or you may think of a song that can associate with any emotion, the melody of songs works great.
Eye Contact – This is what makes a story experience different from any audio or video on any screen. It’s not just eye to eye, it’s also heart to heart. Every age group responds differently, you may ask children to end the story their own way, discuss with friends if it was right or not what happened in the story. You may play around with old stories to give a positive impact on a child’s mind.
Know your Story – Please know your story “by heart” and not by rote memorization. That way you will be comfortable and confident in your storytelling.
It was not just these pointers but an experience. Thank you, Craig. Should you wish to explore more, you may connect with him at www.craigjenkinsstoryteller.com
Our President Sir Robbin Ghosh appreciated his efforts and encouraged the idea of communicating through stories. VKE believes in giving that international exposure, creating a love for learning.
Questions to Readers:
Have you learnt some new tips from this article?
We asked him, how to tell a story when you are reading from a book, would you like to know?
How to inculcate such storytelling spirits in your child?
