which are obviously there to try and impress

Not at all. I was posting in fun - it's Xmas - lighten up & enjoy it. People can (& will) do what they like regardless - there's no right way, no wrong way, only your way and my way

As a ballad singer, you are also a story teller

As both a ballad singer and a storyteller I see no relationship between ballad singing and storytelling - certainly there's no relationship between the two traditionally, even with traditional storytellers who were ballad singers many of whom I've been fortunate to work with. A ballad is a set text sung to an essentially passive (though hopefully attentive) audience whereas a story is an unset text which lives and breathes between the teller and their audience - it is a reactive social event. As I said earlier, in recent years we've seen more histrionics creeping into ballad singing which you don't find in traditional singing - even one as expressively strident as Davie Stewart. Keep it simple & pay attention to the old singers and you won't go far wrong.

Just my opinion though, for what it's worth.