I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou Stories, whether fact or fiction play a significant role in the lives of humans from the very start. We find ourselves reading, watching, hearing and looking for stories of success, woe, love and triumph and find ourselves connecting with them. Creating such a space in the Middle East is True Story Tent — an initiative started right here in the Sultanate. “True Story Tent is a moving space for people in the Middle East to share their stories. In other words, we put together a series of Story Nights at different locations where people can join to share and listen to true personal stories from their lives.” Says Abdullah al Maawali, the face and brain behind True Story Tent.
Born and raised in Oman, Abdullah currently works in Oman TV as a Technical Director on live shows. He also directed a couple of documentary TV series for Oman TV, one of which was aired last Ramadhan.
In conversation with Observer, this is what he had to share.
Why did you start ‘True Story Tent’?
It all began because of podcasts.
I remember listening and wishing that I could someday attend a storytelling event, I was very curious about the kinds of stories that would be shared where I am from. You know, like, what kind of stories would people from the Middle East share at a public setting? After all, we are a culture of “3aib”. A lot of things are generally considered taboo to talk about. Would people be willing to overcome that and actually genuinely open up at a public setting? And if so, what stories would they choose to share?
I came back to Oman to continue working but this idea persisted in my mind, I wanted it to exist so badly. So in January of 2018, I decided to do something about it.
They were on board! And so, True Story Tent was born. The first one was just with friends and it went very well so I continued hosting more since we’ve even had one in Dubai and another in Jeddah in the last 2 months.
What is special about this platform, what do you think draws people to True Story Tent events?
The reason I started this initiative at the very beginning was, honestly, for me. I just really wanted something like this to exist so that I myself may attend and listen to cool stories in this kind of a setting. From people who attended and especially those who shared their stories, I realized that this thing had larger implications than I initially thought. What I hadn’t considered was the impact it had on the storytellers themselves.
I had a storyteller who said that they never sat down and deliberately thought about the timeline and all the details of an experience they had in the past — that in the preparation process of sharing their story at TST, they were able to reflect deeply on their past experiences and stumble upon realizations that they hadn’t considered before. Another told me that they came to one of our story nights alone to unload a story that has been weighing on them. Doing so, they felt that they could finally claim ownership over their story.
How do you choose your speakers for the event, what are the qualities you’re aiming for?
True Story Tent is an open platform for all. There are a couple of rules that the storytellers should follow through. You are given 9 minutes to share your story. The stories must be true and must be yours to share — it can’t be someone else’s and storytellers should know their stories by heart. We also ask the storytellers to avoid giving a motivational speech and to avoid summarizing the journey of their entire life. We instead, ask them to focus on something specific that they have experienced.
Talking in front of a group of people can be extremely daunting, what can they do to make it easier?
Oh, practice! That’s the key, the prospect of sharing a personal story in front of a group of strangers is a daunting one. Even those with experience in public speaking find it a little difficult sometimes, But that’s part of the whole experience —embracing that fear and overcoming it to own your story.
Finally, if people are interested in sharing their story, what is the process and how can they get involved?
Simple, follow True Story Tent on Instagram (@truestorytent). We post all of our event announcements there. When you RSVP to attend one of our Story Nights, you can let us know that you are interested in sharing a story and we will contact you back with all of the details.
TITASH CHAKRABORTY
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