A useful skill in English is to be able to tell a story or an anecdote. Anecdotes are short stories about something that happened to you or to someone you know.
How to start
Traditional stories often start with the phrase "Once upon a time". However, if you are going to tell your story after someone else has already spoken, you can say something like:
That reminds me!
Funny you should say that. Did I ever tell you about…
Hearing your story reminds me of when…
Something similar happened to me….
How to tell your story
First of all, your story should be quite short. Try to keep it grammatically simple as well, so that it is easy to follow.
Make it easy for the listener to understand by using sequencing and linking words:
Sequencing words
These words show the chronological sequence of events.
First of all, I (packed my suitcase)
Secondly, I …. (made sure I had all my documents)
Previously (before that) ….. I changed some money.
Then… I (called a taxi for the airport)
Later (on)… (when we were stuck in traffic, I realised…)
But before al that… (I had double checked my reservation)
Finally… (I arrived at the wrong check-in desk at the wrong airport for a flight that didn't go until the next day)
Linking words
Use these words to link your ideas for the listener. Linking words can be used to show reason, result, contrasting information, additional information, and to summarise.
I booked a flight because….
As a result, I was late…
Although I had a reservation, I hadn't checked the airport name.
I made sure I had an up-to-date passport and I also took along my driving licence.
In short, I had made a complete mess of the holiday.
Tenses
We can use a variety of tenses to tell stories and anecdotes. Jokes are often in the present tense:
A man walks into a bar and orders a beer.
We also use the present tense to give a dramatic narrative effect:
The year is 1066. In medieval England people are worried that the king, Harold, is not strong enough to fight off a Norman invasion.
However, we generally use past forms to talk about past events. If you tell your story in chronological order, you can use the past simple:
I double checked my reservation. I packed my suitcase, and then I called a taxi.
Use the past continuous to describe activities in progress at the time of your story, or to describe the background.
The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. We were driving along the motorway quite steadily until we suddenly saw in front of us the warning lights to slow down. We were heading towards a huge tailback.
Sometimes, you might want to avoid telling your story as one chronological event after the other. You can use the past perfect (simple and continuous) to add more interest to your story by talking about events that happened before the events in your story:
I double checked my reservation, which I had made three days previously.
I wanted to visit some friends who had been living in France for the last five years.
Vocabulary
Try to use a wide range of words to make your story more interesting. Remember that you can "exaggerate" when you tell a story, so instead of using words like "nice" or "bad", experiment with more interesting words, such as "beautiful", "fabulous", "wonderful", "horrible", "awful" or "terrible".
Finally – remember that you are telling a story – not giving a lecture. Look at the people listening, and try to "involve" them in the story or anecdote. Keep eye contact, use the right intonation and try to make your face expressive. You might also want to try practising a few anecdotes in the mirror before "going live". Have fun!
37 comments on “Telling a story”
Just a note to thank you very much for your help in english. This article is very helpful to me and to everyone who need to improve her/his english like me.
Good bless you!
That's a great words, it's helpfully to me to learn.
I think trying to tell stories is really good idea to improve English. from that we can learn a lot of new words, ways of expressing ideas and to interest listenners. what about if we creat a competition or something like a forum so every member can write a story there and we can read it discuss together. what do you think?
First of all, thank you for such an helpful article. I am working on fixing my personal English learning plan by arranging the lessons' schedule and this article gives me an idea about one more way to learn English .I think 'telling story' is a good and considerable 'subject' to be added to the lessons' list especially, on behalf of improving my spoken – English. But for everyone who doesn't live in a English-speaking country, like me; it's not easy to put it into practice because it has to go interactively.We will need partners to whom we can tell the story and give respond to it,vice versa.And they must be someone with at least a basic English literacy, which is hard to be found .So, I guess I get a homework to do – to figure out how to make it works.But,anyway thank you – it's really useful!
- God Bless You -
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Thank you addmin , it's a very nice way to tell a story and bet site yo learn english / I hope everyon on the world will know your site .
This is great! A very big help to those who wants to learn more and sharpen English language.God Bless your website and to those people who are involve in this site.
For Claire may the Good Lord bless you,gives you wisdom and knowledge and good health all through your life.
A BIG thank you!
it is really great idea to tell a story with attractive way.many thanks
turki
Thank you so much for this helpful advice.It is very clear.I will try to tell my own stories basing on what you give!
its simply superb…. its quite interesting and also informative…
thanks a lot
CHENNAI
Thanks a lot for your helpful sections in general. I'm an English teacher and it has been really worth to adapt many of the devices provided.
Best regards,
keny
it is a good way to learn english by telling story or ancedote!
i like it!
i shall try to tell a story to my college and my family to improve my english power!
i often come here!
i hope that i can improve my english power here short time!
thank you!
good luky!
i am reading more article in english ,so improve my reading skill and writting skill!
i am going to write some stories or anecdotes and then tell my colleage and my family in english.
at the sam time ,i can post these stories and anecdote in my bolog or forums,then correct my failing please!
wish someone can help me!
This is nice! I will followup your advices.
Thanks,
I'm really happy to find this site. It's so helpfull especially for me who just feeling such as lost in translation :-)
Thank you so much for the writer, hope this site can help more and more people who keen on studying english.
cheers,
purba
it's my first time to come to this site. and i read this article and the comments above. i feel exciting about finding the site. i hope i could gain much more knowledge of learning English at here.
i'm very happy to find this side.i'm a hairdresser i work in a salon and i still feel i need to improve my english,to be able to expres my self with client about hair and telling them stories . i hope this side will help me more and all the people who want's to improve english.thank you to you all.leyla.
Your lessons are very helpful and I really appreciate your endevour in helping others improving their skills. Surfing your site brings me a lot of fun. To your success!
I THINK TO MAKE AND READ A TELLING STORY CAN IMPROVE OUR ENGLISH SKILLS LIKE SPEAKING FLUENTLY , FIND NEW WORDS, AND DEVELOP OUR VOCABULARY AND THEN SOMETIMES BRING ME A LOT OF FUN THAT WE HEARD FROM THE STORY AND ALSO IF WE OFTEN READ NOVEL OR COMIC ESPECIALLY IN ENGLISH THEN IF WE GET DIFFICULT WORDS I THINK TO LOOK UP DICTIONARY FOR GOOD TRANSLATION, BEST OF LUCK.
it's my first time to come to this site. and i read this articale and the comments
above. I'm very happy to find this side. i work in a fic bpo company. i still feel
i need to improve my english, to be able to express my self with others.
i shall try to tell a story to my collegs. i hope that i can improve my english
thank you!
good luck!
well I am an english teacher but i could say we all learn every day and this site help me even to improve my teaching lessons it is so great
thaks—
Tips mentioned above really work as a magic.I tried them and got splendid results.I suggest new users must follow the tips and soon they will feel a change.
thanks so much for this article it si very helpful,i agree with anna that we should create a story and others can correct it ,because most of english learner their main problem is telling story
thanks so much for this article
thank you so much that helps me
Amazing website it teaches you everything you will need to know about English and more
i hope i will get better in english and be succeseful in my future live thanks a lottt
I just wanna say… I really love It… and Thanks…
thank you ..!!
ALL THe BEST ..!!
K.S.A
Hi, I can't believe what i have read …I am happy ..i have a great information because of this site..it's really funny to learn English by telling a story…
( heartfelt,thanks)
Hi, thank you for your explanation to how can I tell a story to some body else , like my sons. really I wish you a good health and along life. thanks again.
tanks very much for this tips how can tell my story with some amazing words and let my story very intersting .thanks a lot
Use interesting vocabulary – be precise rather than general. Use the past perfect to give flashbacks, and use adverbs to say how people do things.
hi,thank's very much for these interesting information,this later will help me in my study,again thank's alot.i wich you the best.
Hi,
This is good for me to communicate my ideas and share it with other in english.
I Am From Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. Really this is a wonderful English learning site and am also improve my English grammar.
Thank you Very much.
Alemtsehai
Hi all.
I've just discovered this site, and to be frank
I've never seen such a beautiful,useful,WONDERFULL site. Thank you very much Claire.
Cheers..
i find that telling story is a good way to learn english.i have a probleme on english but i think that with "english at home" .i will be a good speaking .thank you ! i have a lot of story to telling about !so if i can do it with english i will be very happy .i'm from morocco, i get my baccalory in science maths ,this is no easy because this baccalory is the best ! i want to go in "classe préparatoire pour les écoles des ingénieurs" i want be a ingenieur , this is my dream ! i mess my friends in the high school ,i really think that i can't find the friends like them !i love you my freinds (Hakima,Brahim,Khalifa,Raida,soukaina) .okay this is all i want to say !thank you for you listen