Mar 27
I was recently hired to present a storytelling workshop for an organization that assists hospitals in their fundraising campaigns. They were looking for fresh fundraising ideas and felt that my Story Theater approach would be a good fit.
The attendees at the workshop consisted of everyone from the CEO of the hospital to hospital administrators to the chair of the fundraising program. After I had shown everyone how to choose and craft their fundraising stories to increase giving, I asked for volunteers to tell their story after which I would coach them on how to improve it.
My first volunteer was the CEO of a hospital. In her initial telling of the story, we got the facts of what had happened. While it was interesting, it felt a bit hollow, devoid of emotion. It told the story of what happened, but wasn’t the kind of story that tugged at my heart strings and made a compelling case for me to donate to her hospitals fundraising campaign.
Here’s how I coached her to make her story compelling. Read the rest of this entry »
Mar 23
For 10 seconds I was blind. As my vision returned, I could barely see past the first row because of the stage lights. It was full of people staring at me. I grabbed hold of the microphone stand, took a deep breath and began to tell my story. After seven long minutes it was over. My Hollywood stand up comedy debut was history. It had passed without a hint of laughter.
As I walked towards the stage exit onto the parking lot, I passed autographed photos of David Letterman, Bill Cosby, Whoopie Goldberg, Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy and Ellen Degeneres. It was clear I was not going to join their ranks. Not unless I figured out what went wrong, or perhaps, didn’t go right. I knew I had a funny story, but that’s all I knew. Read the rest of this entry »
Mar 22
Once a year Deborah and I hop on a big plane and go international. This year we’re heading off to London for a week in late August to do a Story Theater Retreat in Hammersmith, see a few shows and visit friends.
That will be followed by a trip to Munich, Germany to give a keynote at the German Speakers Association Annual Conference.
The dates for the GSA convention are September 7 and 8. My keynote will be on Saturday September 8th. I’ll be also doing two Story Theater Retreats in Munich as well, one before and one after the convention. I am pleased to say that both are sold out.
On September 12th, I’ll be speaking at the Zukunft Personal - Human Resouces Conference in Cologne. After that we’ll be vacationing in beautuful Germany, cruising the autobahn in a rented car and visiting historic towns along the way.
If you’d like to contract with me to present a keynote, workshop or do some private coaching while I’m in England or Germany, please call our office as soon as possible.
Doug
1-800-573-6196
Story Theater Website
Mar 22
I was recently interviewed for a Podcast (downloadable audio) on businessweek.com. The subject was the use of stories in sales.
In this interview, I discuss how strategically chosen and crafted stories stimulate imagery and emotion to overcome objections and close more sales.
To listen to my interview, go to Businessweek.com and download it.
Doug
For more information on my training program and keynote on using stories to increase sales, visit Sell It With A Story.
Mar 21
In a recent leadership development training for high potential leaders for State Farm Insurance in California, I stated that “emotion is the fast lane to the brain.” My statement evoked a spirited conversation around the proper and appropriate use of emotion in a business presentation.
It seems that everyone is afraid to use emotion while at the same time acknowledging that what is missing from most business presentations is emotion. In many cases, my clients are stumped as to why everyone is so boring and yet, they keep developing presentations where content is king and personality and authenticity are shuffled aside as extraneous.
Consider this, you are an emotional being. There is no thought or action without an underlying emotion. Thoughts lead to emotions and emotions are followed by thoughts. They are married together and cannot be separated. Every speaker and every audience member thinks and feels simultaneously.
The unique way you think combined with how you feel is expressed as a one-of-a kind personality called YOU! Read the rest of this entry »
Mar 21
How to Write and Deliver a Dynamite Speech - Step One: Define Your Core Message
© by Doug Stevenson
A dynamite speech is built upon a strong foundation of form and structure. I call this the architecture of the speech. Without the proper form and structure – the right elements organized in the right
order – your speech may collapse in on you while you’re standing there in front of your audience.
Maybe that’s already happened to you and you don’t want it to happen again.
Step One of the 21 Steps of the Dynamite Speech System is Define Your Core Message. Before you start choosing stories and making PowerPoint slides, you have to have a clear purpose, a distinct point of focus that keeps you on track and makes it easy for your audience to follow you. I call this point of focus your core message. Just for clarification, the terms “core message” and “main point” are interchangeable. Your core message is your main point.
Here’s the first question you need to ask yourself when defining your core message: what’s the one thing I want my audience members to know or do? The most important thing. Not three or four or seven things. One thing. How do I want them to act differently or think differently? Core messages are designed to get people to act or think differently. They’re simple, clear and concise.
Consider the challenge that’s facing your listener. What’s their pain? Where are they hurting? Read the rest of this entry »
Mar 21
Welcome to my blog. I’m Doug Stevenson from StoryTheater.net.
We have just launched this blog, so please bear with us while we get it populated with our services and tips.
While you’re here, please subscribe (above right) and you’ll be notified when we have more news for you - it won’t be long!
Doug
