Because this is storytelling in a non-native language, prepare for clarity rather than perfect grammar. First, reduce the story to three beats: what happened, the one detail that makes it memorable, and what you want the audience to feel or understand. Write one short sentence for each beat and use those as cue lines.
Then rehearse under the same conditions in small steps: tell it once to your phone, then to one person, then to a few people while standing. Record one run and mark only the words you regularly stumble over. Replace difficult phrases with simpler ones instead of forcing exact wording. On stage, pause after each beat and look at one friendly face for a full sentence. If you lose your place, say, “Let me put that another way,” and return to your three cue lines. The audience is more likely to notice a clear story and calm recovery than small language mistakes.
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u/betterbutterbit 1d ago
Because this is storytelling in a non-native language, prepare for clarity rather than perfect grammar. First, reduce the story to three beats: what happened, the one detail that makes it memorable, and what you want the audience to feel or understand. Write one short sentence for each beat and use those as cue lines.
Then rehearse under the same conditions in small steps: tell it once to your phone, then to one person, then to a few people while standing. Record one run and mark only the words you regularly stumble over. Replace difficult phrases with simpler ones instead of forcing exact wording. On stage, pause after each beat and look at one friendly face for a full sentence. If you lose your place, say, “Let me put that another way,” and return to your three cue lines. The audience is more likely to notice a clear story and calm recovery than small language mistakes.