Lost In The Telling

“Australian researchers have found people aged over 65 seem to lack the ability of their younger counterparts to tell stories efficiently and clearly. The study of 30 healthy people aged over 65 and 30 aged between 18 and 49 found the older group used about 100 words to tell a simple story about a cowboy and this did not change after four tellings. The younger group used about 80 words, falling to about 70 by the fourth telling.”

So what does this study imply – that older people are really, really boring giving Gen X, Y, Z or whatever letter of the alphabet is the labelling, another reason to dismiss the older generation and plonking them even further into the invisible basket.  Younger people are extremely good at talking, thinking and writing as if everything is a headline and sadly modern technology and the immediacy of short, sharp, information exchange has corrupted the English language to an agonizing degree.  But it’s also fair to say that many older people have become switched on and technically savvy and can almost hold their own in the communications dimension, although I’m not sure how they’d rate against a five year old.  But what have we lost in the process.  Is there a danger that by being too succinct, the story becomes lost in the telling, or rather, in the not telling.

I have fond memories of listening to wonderful stories told by very interesting older people – people who had lived lives that the younger generations find difficult to comprehend.  My mother in particular was a great storyteller – being an older parent I was privileged to hear first hand recollections of the depression, living through the second world war, coping with rationing – even reminiscences of sweet, sometimes illicit romances.  These stories enhanced my understanding of our family and the world in which they lived. There is no doubt that many of these tales had their share of embellishments with facts and dates being fudged or romanticized, only to be revealed when a few, rather colourful skeletons emerged after my mother died. Nevertheless, the tales of life as it was, often helped by a beverage or two, were fascinating.

Older people may take longer to tell a story, but it would be a great shame if these “potted histories” were  lost because younger people didn’t have the time or patience to sit and listen.

Do you have “hand me down” tales you’d like to tell us about?  We may feature a select few in the print magazine or here online. Just send them to secrets@knowersark.com.au