Business Presentations and Public Speaking
Whether you're pitching a proposal, dreading the wedding or - horror! - put on the spot to speak to an audience, tricks of the storyteller's trade will help you.
Chloë's longest running course is also one of her most innovative and enjoyable.
To discover the secrets of great public speaking, click on Creative Speaker
Leisure and Lifelong Learning
► Telling Tales - 1 day workshop For beginners
Key skills eg voice power, verbal fluency and how to remember a story.
Tricks of the trade + shedloads of laughter. Inspiring your imagination and confidence. Go home with a story ready to send out into the world!
- Usually 9.30am - 4.30pm with breaks and closing Tea 'n Tales session
► Once Upon A Time: Storytelling Skills for All
2 Days (weekend) For Beginners and Novice
In a safe and stimulating environment you'll explore
- Voice skills and stagecraft - storytelling is not acting, even so you need to be heard and you need to hold the audience's attention
- Structure and fail-safe memory technique
- Creativity in retelling traditional stories
- Choosing and preparing tales for telling
Creative games and exercises involve talking and listening as a whole group, in pairs or mini groups and individually.
Sessions lead up to a final Story Round. You can choose to tell your story by yourself or with others. You're encouraged to take part in this final session - however it is not compulsory.
As an introductory course, this is pretty thorough - packed with activity - and we laugh a lot!
Nerves about speaking usually dissolve in the supportive atmosphere, in the delight of the stories themselves - and in the sheer fun of it all.
(This course was originally developed for an Adult Learning Centre)
In Your Own Words
Serious fun with creative inspiration. The challenge is to lift your favourite story off the page and transfer it to the oral tradition. Many narratives came from traditional themes in the first place...
- Discover how to put the book down - and tell the scene like a storyteller of old!
- Learn how to remember the plot
- Find the right style for your listeners: d'you need epic hero or quiet fireside?
You'll need to have in mind your favourite short story or episode from a novel, film etc.
This workshop will inspire anyone who loves playing with the English language.
Notes:
1. This a class in oral storytelling; no writing required
2. We should be mindful that published authors aren't keen on having their ideas pinched! You wouldn't like it! If you use a story by another writer, it can only be for the purpose of this workshop and cannot later be presented as an original work. Traditional stories, however, are generally unencumbered by copyright.
The Storymakers
2 Days (Weekend)
For habitual Storytellers, Writers and all who love words
Share what you know, gain insights and new ideas. Spontaneous storytelling is a great cure for writer's block!
Together we explore how different stimuli influence creativity.
What fires up your imagination?
In addition to classic training exercises for storytellers, Chloë facilitates creative games and introduces you to sense stimuli ranging from incense to (possibly) chocolate; plus new ways to look at the landscape, assorted sounds and purposeful frivolity...
Participants will work as a group, in small groups, pairs and individually.
Whatever our usual craft or art, it takes us through a creative process; in this shared experience we can learn from each other. You might find a new world of thought; you might figure out why something isn't working for you right now...
At the end of the course you have an opportunity to tell (or somehow perform!) your piece - either by yourself or with others - incorporating your creative experiments.
* We might try recording sounds and spoken word.
You will take away new approaches and new techniques to apply to your own work, and with a little luck you'll feel creatively refreshed!
Preparation
You are invited to work on a story or segment thereof. This can be a traditional tale, a short story or your own.
Stuck on your plot or script?
Bring it, let it run in a different mode, see what happens...
Worldwide training experience
Before Chloë became a full time spoken word performer, she presented seminars and taught courses throughout the UK and abroad for 9 years. Her passion for the English language won her top ratings around the world - sometimes from very reluctant students!
Chloë will inspire your confidence and imagination. You'll go home with new insight and new or improved skills.