Telling a Story
Aims
Goal: tell a story with the Story Spine — setup, conflict, resolution — instead of a flat list of events.
The lesson, stage by stage
- Warm up5 min
Warm-up: Stories, not lists
2 warm-up questions
- Reading10 min
Reading: Why Stories Beat Statistics
Read a 212-word text about Why Stories Beat Statistics
- Framework6 min
Framework: The Story Spine
Story Spine, 3 steps
- Practice7 min
Practice: Narrative Vocabulary Practice
Gap-fill exercise, 5 items
- Dialogue10 min
Dialogue: Telling a Personal Story Using the Story Spine
Role-play: You're in a job interview and the interviewer asks you to describe a challenge you've faced. Use the Story Spine to tell a compelling personal story with a clear beginning, conflict, and resolution. (4 lines)
- Discussion10 min
Discussion: Your mission: give it a spine
5 discussion questions
Open the full lesson
The remaining 5 stages of this lesson, with the procedure, the examples and the exercises, are included with Starter, along with the interactive version you can teach from. Lesson 1 of this course is free: the full plan is on this site, and a free account opens it in the interactive player.
This plan comes from the Presenting & Public Speaking course in the Tuton library. Browse all free lesson plans.