Storytelling Coaching

Would you like to:

• Create a more powerful impact when you speak?
   
• Have audiences invite you back and tell their friends about you?
   
• Share memorable lessons that come from your own life experiences?
   

Stories can help you do all that - and much more. If you're not a natural-born storyteller, there is good news! While storytelling is an art, it's also a learned skill. This means that speakers, trainers, consultants and business professionals can learn how to find, develop and deliver powerful stories.

Why do stories work so well? In today's highly stressed world, most people are on "information overload." They already know enough "stuff." Many of them, however, are searching for context, for meaning, for validation that they are important - that they matter. They want to feel better about who they are and what they do, while gaining perspective on how they can do it better.

Your skills as a storyteller can help your audience take what they know, and then use the wisdom from your story to apply their knowledge more effectively in their personal and professional lives. Whether you're presenting to a small group, an audience of thousands, or a number somewhere in between, stories can create tremendous impact.

The right story, well positioned and well told, can help you:

• Form a bond with your audience, based on what you have in common.
   
• Influence an audience to buy into your concepts and ideas.
   
• Help your audience recall and reflect on their own life experiences.
   
• Connect and relate as your audience sees how you're alike, not different.
   

HERE'S WHAT WE CAN DO:

Just like any other skill, learning to tell powerful stories involves a multi-faceted process. As your storytelling coach, I can work with you in person, by phone or by email, individually, or as part of a small group. Based on your needs, we'll concentrate on the specific areas most important to you. These may include, but not be limited to, helping you:

FIND YOUR STORIES: Significant moments in your life hold lessons you have learned and can share with others.

• We will use a process to tap into your own past experiences, both pleasant and painful, from which to create your stories.
   
• Determine which stories best fit your message and have the greatest significance for your audience.
   
• Decide which stories have more than one application, and use them to make a multitude of learning points in a variety of presentations.
   
• Learn how to find new stories in everyday events and translate them into compelling stories to add to your repertoire.

CRAFT YOUR STORIES: Once you've discovered - or uncovered - a relevant and meaningful story, the next step is to organize it so it makes sense to you and your audience.

• We will develop a structure and format you can apply to every story.
   
• Organize it so it makes sense to you and your audience.
   
• Make sure it flows logically and is easy to follow.
   
• Find the universal theme or truth in each story to connect with every audience.

DELIVER YOUR STORY WITH CONFIDENCE AND STYLE: To be effective you must set the scene, create a picture your audience can visualize, and then draw them into that picture with you.

• Learn the process to help your audience create their own picture in their imagination, based on the picture you create for them with your words.
   
• Choose, improve and polish the words, phrases, gestures, facial expressions and body language that add power to your story. I don't believe in a "one-size-fits-all" approach. We'll fine-tune the appropriate non-verbals that fit your style and personality.
   
• Use a method to intentionally divert your audience from the straight path of your story and take them in a new direction. Then bring them back, tie it all together, and deliver your message in the most powerful way.
   
• Work on a range of techniques to make your story come alive, to transport your listeners from where they are to being present in the story with you. Strengthen your overall presentation and delivery skills.
   

AVOID COMMON MISTAKES: Some speakers continue to use a story or a style that is comfortable for them but doesn't work for the audience. They let ego get in the way of their own success. Learn how to avoid common mistakes such as:

• Adding too many details that lessen the impact of your stories as the audience gets bored - or confused - and tunes you out.
   
• Telling a story that never evokes laughter from an audience, even if you think it's funny. Perhaps it's not really funny, more humor is needed, or the story needs to be modified to make it work.
   
• Using a story that doesn't fit the audience or add value to the message.
   
• Telling a story without using silence and pauses to give the audience a chance to catch up with you and let your message sink in.

CREATE "AHA" MOMENTS FOR EVERY AUDIENCE: Use specific techniques to help the audience apply the lessons and insights from your stories to their own lives. When they remember the story, they remember YOU!

• Learn several ways to connect the message in your story with the everyday challenges of your audience members.
   
• Make sure your presentation is about the audience, and not about you.
   
• Help your audiences connect their "picture" with yours (even though the pictures aren't identical) so they can begin to apply the universal wisdom from your stories.
   
• Show them how to incorporate these insights into their careers, their relationships, and their lives.

HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER:

If you want to develop or improve your storytelling skills, there are several options available for our working together. As your storytelling coach, I'll take you through the learning process in a no-stress, supportive and comfortable way.

I can coach you by phone or by email, in a one-on-one situation or as part of a small group. First we'll talk about what you want to accomplish. Then I'll listen to your material over the phone, watch your videos or listen to your audio recordings. I can also edit your written stories through email. Or I can watch you perform and coach you "in person." You can travel to Baton Rouge or I can travel to your location.

As another option, we can work together with a group of 4 to 6 people for a one-day or two-day workshop. This format gives you the experience of being individually coached and then learning more by watching others in the group as they are coached.

You will deliver a story and be critiqued on video. Then you can replay the video whenever you need to reinforce the coaching tips and techniques you learned during our time together.

Each person receives one to two hours of coaching time, depending on the number of participants and the length of the workshop you choose. We can work here in Baton Rouge or I can travel to your location.

If you're ready to become a better storyteller, let's talk! You can reach me at 800-489-8033 or through email, jean@jeangatz.com. I look forward to working with you!

Click here to read Jean's latest article, Tell Me a Story, in the July 2005 issue of Professional Speaker magazine.

Click here to see how Jean uses the power of stories to personally connect with every audience.

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