raconteur

A raconteur is a person who tells anecdotes in a lively, skillful, and entertaining way. The term signals more than merely a good storyteller; a raconteur can weave personal or observed episodes into a cohesive narrative with careful pacing, vivid detail, and well-timed humor. The word comes from the French raconteur, from raconter meaning to tell or relate.

In English usage, the label is often applied to social salons and literary circles, and to writers who employ narrative techniques to present facts with character and color. A raconteur in journalism or memoir is someone whose reporting or autobiography reads like a story, relying on scene-setting, dialogue, and memorable turns of phrase while maintaining verisimilitude.

The feminine form, raconteuse, is used for women who tell anecdotes with similar flair. The term is somewhat literary and historical in tone, and can carry a note of admiration about the craft of storytelling or storytelling-as-journalistic craft depending on context.