Baker and Greene (1977) describe storytelling not as a memorized performance but instead an interaction that exists between the teller and the listeners. They claim that storytelling at its best is a mutual creation.

Those who regularly hear stories subconsciously acquire familiarity with narrative patterns and begin to predict upcoming events.

Storytelling is relating a tale to one or more listeners through voice and gesture. It is not the same as reading a story aloud or reciting a piece from memory or acting out a drama—though it shares common characteristics with these arts. The storyteller looks into the eyes of the audience and together they co-create the experience of the tale. The storyteller begins to see and recreate, through voice and gesture, a series of mental images; the audience, from the first moment of listening, squints, stares, smiles, leans forward, or falls asleep, letting the teller know whether to slow down, speed up, elaborate, or just finish. Each listener, as well as each teller, actually composes a unique set of story images derived from meanings associated with words, gestures, and sounds. The experience can be profound, exercising the thinking and touching the emotions of both teller and listener.

Storytelling is relating a tale to one or more listeners through voice and gesture. It is not the same as reading a story aloud or reciting a piece from memory or acting out a drama—though it shares common characteristics with these arts. The storyteller looks into the eyes of the audience and together they co-create the experience of the tale. The storyteller begins to see and recreate, through voice and gesture, a series of mental images; the audience, from the first moment of listening, squints, stares, smiles, leans forward, or falls asleep, letting the teller know whether to slow down, speed up, elaborate, or just finish. Each listener, as well as each teller, actually composes a unique set of story images derived from meanings associated with words, gestures, and sounds. The experience can be profound, exercising the thinking and touching the emotions of both teller and listener.