Some writers tell their stories with mostly narrative. Others tell their stories with mostly dialogue. Neither approach is sufficient to show the picture and give readers the experience of being there.
To engage readers, describe the scene with setting, actions, expressions, and dialogue. Seeing is believing, so your words should give only the details that are important to who your characters are and what they want. Make the mistake of telling how they feel, and you’ve deprived your readers of feeling for themselves, making them less engaged.
Movies have no captions at the bottom explaining what characters’ actions and reactions mean. You figure it out by the important signs you see. Try turning off the sound. Watch only the actions and expressions, and you’ll grow your understanding of what details are significant.
Watch this short video and make note of the signs that tell you what is going on. Those are the kinds of details you want to include in your stories, both with narrative and dialogue.
Great stuff, Frank! Thanks for your efforts to put these things together!