About Jenifer

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My name is Jenifer Strauss and I am a teaching artist who uses story, or a Story Artist. But what does that mean? Well, I can tell you that I use the ancient oral art form of story telling to help people of all ages listen, learn, communicate and connect with each other…but I think I can best explain how my business, Story Be Told Productions began, by telling you a story.
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You see, over 16 years ago, before I started this business, I was a sixth grade teacher. During my last year of teaching, I had a wonderful group of students, but many of them were struggling with reading and writing. I knew that somehow I had to help them fall in love with language and so…one day I started to tell them stories. At first they thought this was wonderful, because as long as I was telling them a story, they thought they didn’t have to do any “school work”!

It didn’t take them long to realize that every story I told them had something to do with what we would be studying or learning later in the day. My students started to make some powerful connections between the stories I shared, and the material we were studying, across the curriculum.

I didn’t know this at the time, but current brain research explains that humans think, learn and retain information in narrative or story. The stories I told in my classroom helped my students retain the information that they were required to learn, and when it came to the writing process, it was natural to use story telling to lead to story writing.

I continued to use stories, each day, that were related to the curriculum but I also changed how I taught writing.

When I gave my students a writing assignment I would not allow them to start writing a rough draft until they had told their story at least four times. They would gather story ideas, then, using notes and a map or model, they organized their stories and worked on developing them orally. With feedback, questions and deep listening from their classmates and from me, I realized that if they could “tell” their stories, it was much easier for them to write them. If they could tell their stories many times, they could use their language experience to orally organize, develop and edit their stories.

By the time they wrote a rough draft, they knew their story so well, it was not as hard to write and later, not such a struggle to edit their work. Our classroom motto became “If you can tell it…you can write it”.

My students went on to become wonderful Storytellers. Not only did they learn and tell their favorite children’s’ stories, but they eventually told the original stories they had written. They were able to experience the language process full circle, from telling to writing, back to telling again. That year, when any one got up to share a story, the class would say, “Let a story be told, Let a story be heard, let a story be told again.” Together, we learned that storytelling and story writing were innately connected.

I quit my teaching job that year to start this business. My students had inspired me to use story as a teaching tool in a much bigger way…to use Story to enrich people’s lives.

Where Did Storytelling Take Me?

Since 1993, I have been traveling nationally, offering storytelling performances, workshops, longer Artist-in-Residence programs focused on writing, and motivational keynotes for conferences and other events, delivering my message through the power of story in over 300 presentations a year for schools, libraries, museums, businesses, not-for-profit organizations, camps, religious and community organizations, conferences, festivals, and many more venues. People ask me all the time, “So…what do you do?” When I say that I am a storyteller, there is often a confused look in their eyes, or they ask me if I “read” for a living. I say, “No, I don’t read, I tell”, and then I explain “the rest of the story!” like this…

What Is Storytelling?

Storytelling is the art of live narrative performance, dynamically shaped by audience response. Storytelling is the first language that we use to explain our world. From the time we begin using language, we describe events, explain feelings, and attach meaning to our lives with stories. Storytelling is also an enjoyable and effective tool for communication and language development. Storytelling is not the same as recounting a piece from memory, acting in a play or reading aloud, although it shares some common characteristics with those art forms. A storyteller looks into the eyes of her listeners, describes the story pictures in her imagination and shares them with the audience. As a listener, our imagination transports us into the story, and we see our own versions of story pictures in our minds.

Why Storytelling is Important

Hearing and learning stories not only patterns language and builds vocabulary, it also builds self-esteem and confidence. Stories give us a sense of who we are, where we came from, and what we value. Sharing stories with others creates joy, laughter, and connections, and opens doors for better communication. When we tell and listen to each other’s stories, we learn tolerance, compassion and acceptance, and we develop an appreciation and respect for diversity. It is hard to judge a person when you have listened to their story.

What Storytelling Can Do….

Telling and listening to stories enhances our sense of wonder and curiosity, promoting the use of imagination and creative thinking.
Storytelling improves communication and promotes understanding across generations. This art form is easy to incorporate into daily life.
Storytelling provides opportunities to share values in a non-threatening and engaging way. Stories allow us to make healthy choices about who we are as individuals.
Storytelling is an interactive alternative to the passive entertainment found in today’s electronic media (television, video games and computers).