10 tips to improve your storytelling

Editor's Notes

1. 10 Tips to improve your storytelling Louis Richardson, IBM Storyteller & Enthusiast Mark Twain (1835-1910)
2. We can’t all be great storytellers, but we can all be better storytellers.Look for improvements not perfections Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980)
3. 2. Look each day for a story worth telling.Stories from personal observation are often most powerful Charles Dickens (1812-1870)
4. 3. Develop a method for capturing ideas, antidotes and stories.A voice message, a notebook, etc. Great stories start with a spark, don’t let it die out. Ludwig & Wilhelm Grimm (1785-1863 & 1786-1859 respectively)
5. 4. When someone else is telling a story. See if you can picture what they are recounting. Successful stories are enchanting Steven Spielberg (1946- )
6. 5. Schedule time to write or record and share. Without purposeful effort, the great stories you can tell, will go untold. Walt Disney (1901-1966)
7. 6. Develop and tell provocative stories Imagine lofty ideas & paint emotional pictures to impact your audience’s dreams. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)
8. 7. When someone upsets you, take a moment & think of how, if asked, they would tell the same story. Perspective is paramount. Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875)
9. 8. When someone comes to you with an idea or a need, ask them to relate it in a story. Transformation into a story often brings the key point into focus. Theodor Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss (1904-1991)
10. 9. Seek out and spend time listening to and studying great storytellers.TED.com offers some of today’s best storytellers. Sir Ken Robinson (1950- )
11. 10 Develop and refine YOUR personal story. We each have stories worth telling. It’s all about the dash (between the dates) You ( ? - ? )
12. Note: Although the tips in this presentation are presented with a picture of a great storyteller, they are not quotes from these individuals. These storytellers are some of my favorites and serve only to represent the respective tip. Mark Twain – The Diaries of Adam and Eve Alfred Hitchcock – Rear Window Charles Dickens – A Christmas Carol The Brothers Grimm – The Bremen Town Musicians Steven Spielberg – Schindler’s List Walt Disney – Dumbo Martin Luther King Jr. – I Have a Dream Hans Christian Andersen – The Emperor’s New Suit Dr. Seuss – Oh, the Places You’ll Go Sir Ken Robinson – Why Schools Kill Creativity You – I’d love to hear it Louis Richardson @inter_vivos