The participants in Study Abroad Ireland had the pleasure and privilege of hearing Liz Weir in class on Monday, June 27th. Liz stayed with us for the whole morning, and during that time she told us 18 stories, provided us with her wisdom on the art and practice of storytelling, responded to questions, and gave us invaluable words to live by. At the end of our time together, Elizabeth Tejeda Payan first noted that she was a very accomplished woman and then asked her what life advice she would offer. Liz’s response was, “Value every day.” Later she added, “Keep yourself challenged.”
Here are the participants reflections on what they observed, appreciated, and learned:
Nicolette Beaulieu: I appreciated that she expressed that you can be an excellent storyteller with a shy personality. That was very encouraging. I learned that everyone has a story and sometimes when someone thinks they don’t, those are the most impactful ones.
Jules Corridan: I observed that Liz really embraces herself and her own way of storytelling. She is very enthusiastic when she tells. She also gets straight to the point when she tells her stories. I learned that you do not have to have any specific style of storytelling but just be yourself.
Ray Dutton: I noticed Liz’s restraint when telling, or not restraint but gentleness? She didn’t over emote where most would. It really helped build a calm atmosphere. It drew the listener in more. I learned about the importance of creating a community like space for storytelling, being on the same level as the audience and having everyone looking at each other.
Axel Bejarano Fahl: One thing that I noticed about Liz was that she didn’t need to use excessive body movements. With her voice, she led the story and it served as a tool for humor to amuse. A key takeaway from Liz was that if we as audience want to become storytellers, listening is going to be as essential as talking. Knowing who our audience is will also help us in what kind of language to use as well as time and place.
Adamari Giachetti: I liked how she admitted she was shy and had to learn to do this. I also liked how she said that it wasn’t necessary to shout or boom your voice. I learned that to be a good storyteller, you have to listen. Listen, listen, listen. Yes, talking is important, but the key is to listen.
Noel Martinez: I observed that Liz’s stores were short, but fast paced with lots of detail. I enjoyed it very much. I learned that storytellers are still very valued across the globe and that the good ones, such as Liz, get to travel a lot.
Sarai Lopez: Something I observed about her style of telling was the way she told in detail – it was very fun when she made us repeat after her like we were in control of the story. Something important I learned from storyteller Liz Weir was that “Stories make us who we are.” I believe that this statement is very powerful and ultimately true.
Elizabeth Tejeda Payan: I really like Liz’s works/service, especially when she spoke of trauma and mental illness and providing a safe space with storytelling and actual therapists. I thought was amazing. Every time she spoke, I was impressed. What a good human.
Anna Thornton: I really enjoyed Liz’s storytelling style. It felt very personal. I think that’s partly to do with her personality, but I also think she just really knows what she’s doing. I learned that really anyone can be a storyteller. Liz said that she’s shy and it really didn’t seem that way to me, but she’s also had years of experience. It showed me that with practice, we can be good storytellers too.
Vaughn Yerkes: I enjoyed how Liz’s stories were seamless between her speech. She was very good/specific about location. I learned that there are story parallels between Irish telling and Native American telling, and the word moccasin has Gaelic roots.
Malcolm Young: I appreciated Liz Weir’s very natural storytelling style and how she’d flow from story to conversation. I also liked how Liz learned all our names at the beginning and seemed to make a genuine effort to maintain eye contact and form a connection with us as an audience. I also really enjoyed how Liz provided very interesting history for her stories without it feeling too expository. It was mostly just background context for the Troubles, or the people involved.
From left to right: Nicolette Beaulieu, Adamari Giachetti, Jorge Leon, Elizabeth Tejeda Payan, Axel Bejarano Fahl, Noel Martinez, Ray Dutton, Jenny Tripp, Vaughn Yerkes, Saria Lopez, Anna Thornton, Malcolm Young, Isabel Abadia, and Jules Corridan. Liz Weir seated in the front.