My reflective thoughts

The story telling exercise about the mouse was very powerful in demonstrating the importance of visual texts.
As the initial story teller, I concentrated on giving lots of detail regarding the mouse, where he was on the page and what he looked like. As I had no idea of the story I found myself trying to describe in detail the picture in front of me trying to convey exactly where the mouse was on the page and what he appreared to be doing. I was not storytelling but merely descriptive in my narrative and trying to establish the story as I went along. It was very frustrating not knowing what the next slide would be and how they were all related. As I switched roles and became the listener it was easier to visualise the slides. Both Amanda and Kay told the story with a lot more energy giving the mouse characteristics and describing his feelings. I was more engaged with the story/ Listening to other groups I agree that giving the mouse a name would instantly made him more personal and it would of been easier to tell the story.
Whilst a 'picture can tell a thousand words' the reverse is not always possible. I found trying to draw the same picture as Amanda and Kay extremely difficult and despite asking lots of questions it was not possible to replicate their work exactly. This highlights the importance of imagination and how subjective our interpretations are. Visual texts guide the reader and are often able to convey emotions which are implied in a subtle context.
When I was describing the text I tried to add lots of details about the mouse, it's long curly tail and furry features. I found that I concentrated so much on trying to aid Amanda and Kay with visualising the slides, that there was very little storytelling. When I then became the listener I as I had already seen the slides, I concentrated more on the story and it's plot.
Overall the exercises highlighted the importance of visual images in storytelling. By providing the images, both the reader and listener share the same context and then can use the images to guage the emotions which the narrative is trying to convey.