Storytelling is an Art

In the Fall of 2022 I had the opportunity to work as a translator on a bus tour for German tourists coming to Canada. Guests would arrive in Calgary and take the scenic route through the Canadian Rockies with stops in Banff, Golden and Abbotsford before boarding a cruise ship in Vancouver. Cheryl, the tour guide had over 20 years of experience and is a fountain of knowledge when it comes to history, facts, and pioneer stories. While we were driving through Jasper National Park, she would explain the Flora and Fauna of the area and point out specific trees or plants. And she telling us the story of the “Indian Paintbrush”, a flower, we could see growing along the highway. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castilleja

The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush

Quickly summarized in the version Cheryl told us, the Indian Paintbrush is a story of two indigenous people from opposing tribes falling in love. Of course, it’s the tribal chief’s daughter and another tribal chief’s son. The one tribe captured the injured man and the daughter helped nurse him back to health. Only to find out they intended to torture him later. She helped him escape and went with him, fearing punishment for this deed. She grew homesick and while trying to return to her camp, knew she wasn’t ever allowed to return. So, in Cheryl’s version the tribal son knew how homesick she was, but unable to return because of helping him, he drew a picture of her camp on bark, with a stick and her blood, from a gash on her leg. Once he finished, he threw the stick stained with her blood away and where the stick landed, “a little plant grew with a bush-like end, dyed with the blood of this girl, which became the first Indian Paintbrush.” https://owlcation.com/stem/The-Indian-Paintbrush And gifted her the painting as a thank you for choosing him over her camp.

What went wrong?

While Cheryl usually gets an “oohh” as a response when finishing the story, on this bus tour, there was no reaction. And I take the full blame. Because I didn’t know how the story ended or what to focus on while translating then pure facts, it took the emotional connection away.

It made me realize, storytelling is an art. Those extra sentences or descriptive vocabulary are important to convey a feeling, give a connection or help envision the story. Passangers on this bust tour won’t remember everything we told them. They will remember how we made them feel. If they felt relaxed and happy or stressed and angry. They won’t remember the height above sea level– which Germans seem to ask all the time – but the general feelings we shared. Did we laugh together and enjoy ourselves? We remember the emotions. That’s what another tour director, Mitch, owner of Trip School told us at his “WOW” Seminar I was able to attend after completing the tour. https://thetripschool.com/

While the example of the story I chose is a failed one, it was one I will remember. And it was a valuable lesson to slow down and take time. A good story takes time and shouldn’t be rushed. It’s good when you know where you want to end up with the story. What’s the goal? And then make sure to have all those elements within the story, to end up where you want to.