Everyone’s got a story to tell

Neighbourhood Story Slam is a community event where storytellers share a true, personal, lived five-minute story based on the night’s theme. It’s a safe space with a supportive audience where you can face your fears, free your inhibitions, have a laugh (or shed a tear), and connect with the community.

Since starting the events earlier this year, Amanda Hayes and Claire Murphy Barnhart, the event organisers, have been blown away with the support from the community, describing it as a testament to people’s desire for connection.

Chris Barnhart is one of the storytellers, and met his wife and event organiser Claire at one of the story slam events she had organised a few years ago. While jumping up and getting on stage is a daunting thought, he joke that there’s a 100% success rate of people being happy that they shared.

“It almost feels like a summer camp-type atmosphere mixed with stand-up comedy. That’s how I describe it,” Barnhart says. “Then afterwards, there’s just such a relief and a sense of accomplishment. No one’s ever regretted telling at the event. That’s pretty incredible.”

In the lead up to the day, the storytellers have the option to discuss their story with the organisers and feel things out, to get some of the nerves out of the way, too.

“Julian runs one of the workshops and he says that statistically, most people would rather die than get in front of that microphone, so in a way it’s kind of a near death experience.”

Barnhart explains that once he gets up on stage and over the initial nerves, he gets into a flow state and goes into automatic mode. He’s run many events and says the story slam crowd is “consistently the most receptive and exciting crowd to speak in front of. They’re just incredibly interactive and supportive. People won’t regret when they tell a story.”

If you’re at a loss of where to start then one of the writing workshops is a great option. If you can’t wait for the next one, Barnhart’s number one tip is always to start with writing it down – over and over again. Then move onto reading it aloud and then saying it out loud while doing something. No worries if you can’t remember it all, you can bring notes up with you.

“Step three would be to record it, as cringy as it is to hear my own voice, which I think everyone hates, I like to record it and listen while I’m driving, because then I can use those listening skills to critique myself. Number four would be a glass of wine and number five would be taking pause. One of my friends has a good quote, he says a good drummer it’s knowing what drums not to hit. Storytelling is knowing what parts to omit and what parts to edit out – that’s almost more important than anything else.”

Julian Noel has a background in theatre and performing. He’s helped people write TED talks, developed his own plays and loves finding creative and new ways to tell stories. He’s shared some of his at the slams in the past, and also has spearheaded the writing workshops. He echoes Barnhart’s sentiments with how supportive the audience is.

“They’re the best audience I’ve ever spoken in front of,” Noel says. “The warmth and the sense of community that’s generated in the room, and the incredible level of safety for people who are speaking, it’s really good.”

He’s had around 60 people come through the workshops that they’ve been putting on. They’re only $10 and Noel will help you to craft your story. He’ll share his 50 years of experience and go over how to create the story, what makes someone interesting and engaging and what parts to focus on.

“Don’t expect it not to be terrifying – one of the most confronting things is speaking in public. How would I encourage people to speak? Just find something that’s really important to you to talk about – that’s more important than your fear.”

Noel explains that the time restriction of five to eight minutes means the stories are never boring – they don’t have enough time to be. If you’re wanting to tell a story, his advice is to talk about something that was life changing or important and to focus on detail.

“There is no relief like the relief you’ve experienced after you’ve shared your story. Once you’ve done it, it’s such a buzz, and it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve done it, when you’ve told a really important and true story, you’re just high for days,” Noel says.

The next Story Slam will revolve around food, glorious food! Meals, memories, and everything in between. Taking place on Thursday, 20 November, the event has sold out, but those who jump up and tell a story will get a couple of tickets – all the more reason to face your fears!

There’s also a special slam on at Wellspace on 21 November, where you can bring a blanket and a snack as stories are told under the summer sunset – you can join an optional sauna session, too! The theme for this one will be occasional magic – those rare unforgettable moments. While the next workshop isn’t locked in just yet, there’ll be more coming up.

For more information on the slams, full theme descriptions, and to find out when the next workshop is, follow @neighbourhood.storyslam on Instagram. Tickets are needed for each event (they do sell out) and are available through Humanitix. If you’d like to tell a story, have any questions about getting involved or would like to recommend a storyteller, email neighbourhood.storyslam@gmail.com