You are the main character in most of your stories. That’s because they’re stories about something that happened to you and you’re telling the story from your perspective.
The other characters in your stories, however, are equally important to making your story work. Think of them as your supporting cast. Read the rest of this entry »
I can remember growing up in Chicago when the year 2000 was a long way into the future. And now, in 2010, as we enter the second decade of the 21st century, I’m taking stock of how far I’ve come and what it took to get me here.
As a child watching movies, I dreamed of being an actor in Hollywood. And then one day…I found myself acting on a movie set at Paramount Studios. Read the rest of this entry »
Before you start telling a story and using it in your presentations, it is valuable to write the script out according to the Nine Steps of Story Structure. Here is an example of a story scripted with the Nine Steps.
Step 1 - Set The Scene:
A good deal of my work involves giving storytelling workshops for large corporations. They’re usually one-day workshops at some remote location like a conference resort or a fancy hotel. When you combine the natural stress that accompanies airports, shuttle busses and hotels with the physical work of being on your feet for 8 hours, it’s pretty exhausting. Read the rest of this entry »
©Doug Stevenson 2009 - All Rights Reserved
I recently gave the luncheon keynote speech for a state association. In the program that I presented, Emotional Eloquence, I usually tell three stories, which I call: The Oscar Story, The Chicago CEO Story and the Dagger Lady Story. Read the rest of this entry »
Recently, while providing a corporate training for the top sales agents in a large pharmaceutical company, I asked the following question:
“Have you ever been speaking, and you look out into your audience and see ’screen saver eyes’? You know - that glassy-eyed look that let’s you know you’ve lost their attention?”
They all laughed and nodded in agreement! Read the rest of this entry »
