The shape of a conversational story

The narrated events in any told story are the same as those we recognize from movie plots. In the orientation, the setting and characters are described. In the complication, the story's protagonists face challenges and respond to them. The resolution completes the story.

Simple, right? But there is more to conversational storytelling than what you see above the surface. In a conversational story, three categories of narrative events negotiate permission to tell and willingness to listen.

The abstract: How about a story?

The storytelling ritual starts with an abstract, a negotiated offering to tell a story. People might say "One day..." or "My aunt Jessie used to..." and then pause to see if people are listening. If people stop talking and pay attention, the storyteller goes on.

During story abstracts, people usually do some quick alteration of the story to fit the conversation. They might:

• hesitate ("I-I had this dog")
• use well-known, formulaic phrases ("I'll never forget the time")
• reframe the story ("I was walking my dog - he was a big dog - we were walking")
• repeat important words ("Did you ever hear about - did you ever hear")
• refer to an authority ("My dad thought this was funny")

These alterations are carried out to introduce the story and to make it work for the current social context. During such adjustments, the audience may actively attempt to channel the proposed story into a presentation they prefer over what has been offered at the start. Perhaps they want the story to be more exciting than has been presented, or more on topic, or less revealing. Negotiations may encompass tone of voice, body language, and facial expression as well as words.

Narratopia's connection cards become story abstracts when players fill in the blank spaces in them (thus fitting them to the conversation). The texts on the connection cards are based on some of the reasons people respond to stories with stories, such as:

• simple reminding ("That reminds me of the time when...")
• making connections in space and time ("Not far away from there...")
• providing lessons and giving advice ("You might want to try ___, because one time...")
• giving an account of one's actions or beliefs ("___ did something like that once, when...")
• being heard ("I was there too, and what I saw was...")
• comparing experiences ("I’ve seen worse. One time...")
• building analogies ("The way ___ needed ___ reminds me of the time when...")
• reinforcing or countering experiences ("On the other hand, one time...")
• making sense of the topic being discussed ("___ made the same mistake once, when...")

The evaluation statement: This story is worth listening to.

Once a group member's story abstract has been accepted, the person tells their story.

During the telling of a conversational story, its teller usually peppers it with evaluation statements. These are "extra" comments that aren't necessary to move the plot of the story forward. Evaluation statements are direct lines of communication from storyteller to audience, and they all contain one message: this story is worth hearing. And it is still worth hearing, and it is still worth hearing.

Say I am telling you a story about my dog being old and tired. When I get to the part where he was too old to walk up the driveway, I say, “I never saw a dog so exhausted in my life.” Why did I say that when simply saying “he was very tired” would have sufficed to recount the event? The real meaning of that sentence was, “This story stands out from my entire experience as significant, thus it will be significant for you too — so I recommend you keep listening.”

When people make evaluation statements, they often:

• exaggerate ("I never saw anyone that upset, before or since!")
• use "reported speech" (do voices) ("And she said, 'No, sir, you can't have it back.' Can you believe that?")
• use formulaic phrases ("It was the experience of a lifetime.")
• ask for confirmation ("Did you ever hear of anything like that?")
• repeat words ("and he never came back, never")

Narratopia doesn't explicitly support evaluation statements because they take place within the telling of the story. Interrupting the conversation when a story is being told would not be helpful. However, as people listen to stories and look over the question cards in their hands, they connect questions to evaluation statements in order to choose appropriate questions to ask.

The coda: I'm done, let's talk.

The ending point of a conversational story, called its coda, is yet another piece of ritualistic negotiation. In a story’s coda, the storyteller closes the circle of narrated events and ends the narrative event, returning the time frame to the present and the control of the floor to the group.

Usually during the coda people offer up additional proof that the story was worth listening to by:

• providing a formulaic conclusion ("And I lived to tell the tale")
• summarizing the story ("And that's how I learned never to trust bus drivers")
• referencing authority ("My dad said he'd never heard anything like that")
• seeking confirmation ("What do you think of that?")

Narratopia's question cards support story codas by giving people interesting questions to ask and answer. This helps the group negotiate the close of the story in a way that is satisifying to everyone. The texts on the question cards are based on typical audience responses during narrative events, including:

• working out the facts of the story ("Who was it that ___?")
• considering the perspectives of the story's characters ("What do you think ___ thought about ___?")
• understanding the forces at work in the story ("Who helped ___ to ___?")
• considering issues of responsibility, blame, help, and hindrance ("Who took responsibility for ___?")
• understanding the storyteller's perspective ("How do you feel about ___?")
• assessing truth through examining story consistency, completeness, and veracity ("Can you tell us more about ___?")
• thinking about connections between the story and the community ("How do you think ___ would feel about ___?")
• playing with what-if scenarios ("What do you wish had happened when ___?")