It can be a disaster. A storyteller must keep pace with the audience. Storytelling is a community event. It is always a growth experience. With each telling, I find out more about how the story I've chosen to tell affects people.
Stories have an organic nature.
They change in different settings, for different ages, with different introductions, at different times of the year. They are never the same. The silence between even set language can change. A slight change of facial expression can alter the meaning of the words. Storytelling is a living artform.