The Significance of Slowing Down in Storytelling
We were sitting around the fire, finally able to take a moment and relax after a morning of packing. Our check-out was at 2pm, and my phone had died and my watch was packed away. I was enjoying my time, but something inside of me was pushing me to start leaving.
I turned to my friends and said, “We should probably start going right? What time is it?”. They told me it was only 11am and we had plenty of time.
The week before we went camping was incredibly busy. I was driving 30–45 minutes everywhere, having to go to multiple places for work-related visits or to prepare for camping. It was the most stressed I had been, and time was clearly not on my side. By the time I had arrived home from running all my work and home-related errands, the day was over.
So that moment when I realized we had plenty of time, I also realized how valuable and how precious it felt to slow down.
It’s really to find ourselves completely caught up in the things we’re doing to the point where life almost feels like it passes us by. That’s how it’s felt like for me for the past few weeks.
But as a storyteller, I’ve realized how important it is to find moments to slow down.
What makes a story for me is the details — the little descriptions, the little moments and those things that really stand out to us and are vividly recalled when we recant that particular story. It could be the way the sky looked during a sunset, a particular item that just stuck out to you, the cost of the subway you took for that adventure — these little details make a story come alive.
Those small details, those little specifics that stood out to you help bring your audience into the world that you’re unveiling.
And when we’re rushing around, we don’t find those moments. We’re too pre-occupied to focus on the little things because the big things take a ton of time.
And when we go back to tell those stories, they’re very general. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but they don’t bring us into the moment. The story doesn’t have as much impact as it could have.
Rushing around and living a fast-paced life forces us to miss the little things — and, whether you’re a storyteller or not, I find those same little details are the ones we savour when we try to relive those experiences.
So when you find yourself in a situation where you’re thinking “I got to tell this to someone”, take a step back. Look around you and see what really is happening.
Because those small little details have a lot of life in them.