A caution which directly concerns the art of story-telling itself, must be added here. There is a definite distinction between the arts of narration and dramatization which must never be overlooked. Do not, yourself, half tell and half act the story; and do not let the children do it.
It is done in very good schools, sometimes, because an enthusiasm for realistic and lively presentation momentarily obscures the faculty of discrimination. A much loved and respected teacher whom I recently listened to, and who will laugh if she recognizes herself here, offers a good "bad example" in this particular. She said to an attentive audience of students that she had at last, with much difficulty, brought herself to the point where she could forget herself in her story: where she could, for instance, hop, like the fox, when she told the story of the "sour grapes."
She said, "It was hard at first, but now it is a matter of course; and the children do it too, when they tell the story." That was the pity! I saw it happen myself a little later.
The child who played fox began with a story: he said, "Once there was an old fox, and he saw some grapes"; then walked to the other side of the room, and looked at an imaginary vine, and said, "He wanted some; he thought they would taste good, so he jumped for them." At this point he did jump, like the fox; then he continued with his story, "but he couldn't get them." So he carried on, constantly switching between narrative and dramatization. This was enough to make you dizzy and totally distracted from his story.
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You also need to be aware of the voice you are using. Beware of both the repressed and the forced voice. The best way to avoid either extreme, is to keep in mind that the ideal is development of one's own natural voice, along its own natural lines. A "quiet, gentle voice" is conscientiously aimed at by many young teachers, with so great zeal that the tone becomes painfully repressed, "breathy," and timid. This is quite as unpleasant as a loud voice, which is, in turn, a frequent result of early admonitions to "speak up." Neither is natural.
It is wise to determine the natural volume and pitch of one's speaking voice by a number of tests, made when one is thoroughly rested, at ease, and alone. Find out where your voice lies when you are by yourself, under favourable conditions, by reading something aloud or by listening to yourself on tape. Then practise keeping it in that general range, unless you have a distinct fault, such as a nervous sharpness, or hoarseness. A quiet voice is good; a hushed voice is abnormal. A clear tone is restful, but a loud one is wearying.
Perhaps the common-sense way of setting a standard for one's own voice is to remember that the purpose of a speaking voice is to communicate with others. For this purpose, a voice should be, first of all, easy to hear; next, pleasant to hear; next, vary enough to express a wide range of meaning; and finally, indicative of personality.
And now we come to the stories!
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