Jun 08
At the recent ASTD International Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, I had the privilege of presenting two workshops on Story Theater - Using Emotional Triggers to Compel Attention and Enhance Retention. Over 400 people from all over the world attended my sessions.
In my sessions, as in all of my train-the-trainer and leadership development seminars, I had people on their feet doing basic acting exercises to experience the power of acting out actions, reactions and interactions instead of narrating them. You should have seen the room. It was a wonderful explosion of creativity and enthusiasm. People were stepping out of their comfort zones and trying things that they’d never even considered before.
To all of the wonderful people, from Canada, Asia, Europe, South America, South Africa, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the United States that I met and had conversations with, thank you for being so generous with your praise and enthusiasm for Story Theater.
I look forward to a trip to Asia in 2008, including Hong Kong, the Philippines. Malaysia, India and Dubai. If you are interested in having me speak to your organization during my trip, please give us a call. 1-800-573-6196.
Apr 26
In a recent 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 you see “screen saver eyes?” It’s that glassy eyed look that let’s you know that you have lost their attention.
The two most important questions to ask yourself are:
- what did you do to lose them and…
- how do you get them back?
This is an age old problem. It was brought on by the need to teach vast volumes of information in short periods of time and totally compounded by one of the worst technological breakthroughs in history - the advent of PowerPoint.
Read the rest of this entry »
Apr 06
“I just had to share this with you. I spoke last Wednesday to 1200 people. I nailed it. It was the storytelling, humor and staging that you’ve taught me. The content was the same except for this. I had people lined up and the meeting planner said I was the best speaker they’d ever had. Thanks for your coaching and ongoing support. You’ve got a gift.”
Elaine Allison, Retreat graduate and coaching client, Vancouver, BC
“Today, I experienced a career highlight thanks to you. I delivered my new keynote that you helped me with and the feedback and response was miraculous! The West ballroom at the Broadmoor Hotel was filled to capacity, standing room only! I experienced a connection with the audience that I have literally never felt before. The overwhelming feedback from people was how “heartfelt” my message was. I certainly have had many positive comments following presentations before but never has ANYONE ever used the word “heartfelt!”
I also sold more books that I have ever sold BOR. I actually sold out which has literally never happened before. People laughed & cried and the energy in the room was amazing. People were totally glued and completely connected to every word I said. Several other advanced speakers were in my audience and they were blown away too.
Thank you so much for all your help. The Story Theater Retreat and the private coaching that I did with you over the past two months is totally responsible for this transformation. You helped me realize my dream and I will be forever grateful to both of you.”
Your friend, Sarah Michel, CSP Read the rest of this entry »
Apr 06
Early on in my sales career, perhaps in my first year in real estate, I learned about the concept of KISS – Keep it Simple Stupid. At least that’s the way it was taught to me. The context of this lesson was for writing contracts. The more simple and concise the language in a contract, the better it is.
As a speaking coach, I am reminded of the need for the KISS concept time and again. We speakers are a wordy bunch. If we can use 40 words to say something that could be said in 10, we ramble on for 40. While we may like the sound of our own voices, the audience has to wade through our excessive verbiage to find the nuggets of wisdom hidden inside.
As a professional speaker, I have come to learn that it’s not what I say that’s important, it’s what my audience member remembers. And beyond that, it’s not just what they remember, but what they implement. It all comes down to memorability and action. If they remember what we say, the odds are they’ll think or act differently. Read the rest of this entry »
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 »
