I have heard from audience members and regular storytellers that one thing that keeps them coming back to our storytelling nights is that we are different.  Better Said Than Done storytelling shares a lot of traits with other local and national storytelling shows, but we also stand out.  I asked a few regular storytellers to explain why they think we are a little different from the rest.

Jeremy Strozer:
What makes BSTD different is a combination of venue, group, and audience. The venue is smaller than other story telling groups I’ve participated with, which makes it seem as if I’m telling my story to friends, rather than a crowd. The group meetings before the event also feed into that sense of friendship because we talk through our stories as a group of friends sitting around a table or in a living room. Finally, the audience is usually made up of friends of storytelling, so everyone came to hear how your experience with a certain topic became a part of your life. They are predisposed to enjoying what you have to say and usually can find a connection to you through your story with which they have an emotional reaction. Put together, the venue, the storytellers themselves, and the audience combine to create an encouraging and comfortable environment within which to share something usually very personal.

Jessica Piscitelli Robinson
I have been to many of the wonderful storytelling shows in the DC Metro area and have enjoyed the different formats, stories, and storytelling. What I think makes Better Said Than Done different is really the audience, and how the audience influences the storytelling. I believe that our audience, mostly comprised of Northern Virginia residents, though many come from DC and MD, is very diverse and, therefore, open to a lot of diverse types of stories. I have heard, time and again, from storytellers who say they feel comfortable telling more personal or more serious stories to our audience because they feel so welcome. We have a lot of funny storytellers, and many of our storytelling shows are filled with laughter, but when a storyteller does want to reach deep and share something that might be hard to open up about to just any crowd, they find a warm and welcome reception with our audience. Personally, that’s one of the things I love the most about being a storyteller with Better Said Than Done – the audience.
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