© by Papa Joe Gaudet, 2018 STF Presenter

There are a lot of storytelling venues that follow the general format of the street performance. Examples include larger festivals like First Nights and Old Home Days, with or without a stage. Or more intimate settings like block parties and family reunions. Generally speaking though, those venues tend to be contractual and that grants you a bit of authority.  You are there because you were invited. And you are telling because someone of influence thought the others would enjoy you. Whether or not you are being paid or volunteering, you are provided with status.

If you are busking, that is not the case.

Because you are asking folks to pay money to hear you talk and they have no obligation to listen, most of them are not expecting you to exist. Their world is spinning in its own direction. If you want it to stop so they can look at you while you talk and then pay you for the privilege, you’d better be confident. Know what you have to say is something those folks are going to want to stop and listen to. Unless you’ve done this for awhile, no one is walking through your area to hear a story. In order to hook them in, you need to create a model for them to follow in, then make that model loud enough and visible enough to grow an audience. This is a place where  participatory stories excell. If you can get one other person to ‘wiggle and waggle’ or shout a recurring phrase, you double your visibility. And it grows exponentially. And that’ll give you…

More confidence.

Short is sweet.  Most of these folks are passing through.  So use stories that are sensitive to their needs.  Besides, the end of each tale is an opportunity to put coins in your hat.  Don’t forget that is part of what busking is about.  Have a way of signaling that it’s time to pay the piper (or teller in this case). And that hat or bucket or box as least as visible as you. Seeing all those Tips in your hat will give you much more confidence.

Finally, start your next piece before folks begin to walk away. If you’re quick enough, they might stay for more.  It’s not so hard to gather a new audience with veterans already in place. Which will give you more confidence. A couple of years of this and nothing will shake your confidence.

To be a storyteller,
You only need to tell stories.
To be a better teller, tell more stories.

Want to learn more about developing personal stories? Take Papa Joe Gaudet’s (co-presenter: Nicolette Nordin Heavey) workshop 

(Sunday, March 25  from 9:15 am – 10:45 am) – part of Sharing the Fire 2018.  Visit the STF Conference Details page to register for the conference.  Want to share your own experiences on this topic?  Leave a comment.

About Papa Joe: The itinerant storyteller, Papa Joe believes, when one understands how to balance the four elements of Storytelling, they can awaken the Elusive Dragon and suspend disbelief even in the most distracting environments.  Through interactive tellings, he demonstrates the power of Story every chance he gets. He just loves to share.