Before you learn the story, you’ll need to decide what words to learn! There are many good, contemporary translations of the Bible, and you will need to choose the particular translation that works best for your performance setting. If you will be sharing in a church setting, for example, consider which translation your faith community typically uses in corporate worship. Some translations aim for maximum fidelity to the Hebrew or Greek (e.g., ESV, NASB), and that can sometimes detract from their readability (and learnability) in English. Other translations strive for readability (e.g., NIV, CEB), making them more natural to internalize and tell. Whichever translation you choose, make sure that you consult other translations throughout the process. You might discover a word or phrase in another translation that better expresses your growing understanding of the passage. There’s nothing wrong with combining translations and replacing the occasional word or phrase.

You can use Biblegateway.com to explore multiple translations and even set them side-by-side. 

As you move through this process, you will need to get comfortable with hearing your own voice. Read the passage aloud a couple of times to start exploring the sound of the story. (This is the point that friends and family might start looking at you funny if you haven’t found a somewhat private place to learn your passage. It will get worse.)

Don’t wait until the end to experiment with gestures, tone of voice, facial expressions, pacing, pauses, etc. Sometimes, we think these “performance” choices are the icing on the cake: after doing the hard work of learning the words, then we can add these elements as a last step. Nothing could be further from the truth! Experimenting with these things as you learn the passage will help you internalize it and explore possible meanings. Start working on these elements early in the process. (This is the point when friends and family will definitely start looking at you funny.)

I’m sorry; there are no shortcuts here. Internalizing a passage requires much more repetition than memorizing one. We barely need to remember the words in order to “recite” a passage; “telling” a passage, on the other hand, depends on a deep understanding of and comfort with the story. Once you memorize the words, you’re well on your way; but you still need to spend more time with the story. And “cramming” is neither efficient nor effective. Reciting a story ten times in a row does far less to ingrain it on your heart than telling it once a day for ten days in a row.

Biblical storytelling is a communal way of exploring Scripture (it requires a teller and hearer), and there is no better way to take the final steps toward internalization than telling the passage to another person. It’s an entirely different experience that reciting it to yourself, and you want to get comfortable with the vulnerability it requires. Also, don’t be surprised if you discover new insights into the passage that result from the audience’s reaction to your performance. For example, your friend might laugh when they hear a certain line, highlighting a moment of levity in the story that you had previously missed.