Personal Storytelling: Craft a Moth/Story Slam-style delivery that’s authentic to you.
Workshop Length: A little over 2 Hours (three 45-minute sessions)
Who It’s For: Anyone who likes stories, wants to support others in doing the same and/or has ever watched from the crowd and thought, “Hey, I bet *I* could do that.”
Possible Side Effects: Feeling more interesting, being more comfortable presenting, gaining insight into personal experience, getting invited to parties more often (if that’s a desirable outcome).
The Idea: Too often, life feels like this unyielding torrent of random events. It’s rude. In response, we can choose to reserve a few moments to take inventory of what’s happening, or happened, around us, and to then build that understanding into a narrative to share with others.
Besides, the benefits multiply: With each story we gather the courage to construct and tell aloud, we get the chance to hear several more stories from others who just did the very same thing. It’s like that saying: “A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.” And we all get more warmth and light.
Not really a “razzle-dazzle” type of personality? Good! Folks who are already comfortable in the spotlight are… well, good for them, I’ll say. This workshop is for everyone, including those of us who prefer being asked for our contributions. Maybe even pleaded with, a little. (We’ll plead; we promise.)
And you’ll do great! Really. You’ve got a tale to tell, and by drawing on timeless lessons from really smart people, we’ll develop what it takes to craft and share it. Your audience will be captivated. You’ll see. It’ll feel terrific.
Key Takeaways You'll Get:
How to choose a strong story from your own personal experience.
How to structure your story to maximize its impact. (One note: It probably won’t use phrases like “maximize impact.”)
Simple tricks for classic techniques like “showing” instead of telling, and building to a conclusion that feels inevitable and satisfying (yet is still a bit of a surprise).
The experience and confidence you need to deliver your story engagingly and authentically.
Colin Dullaghan
Colin is an Indianapolis writer with 25 years of experience crafting and sharing stories with a variety of audiences.
Consistently drawing on a natural curiosity and compassion, he loves finding ways to link new ideas with the humans who can benefit from them.
His writing has earned accolades including Regional Emmy Awards, Addy Awards and Pinnacle Awards, though he’s 0 for 2 in his attempts to win a ribbon at the State Fair storytelling contest. He resolves to try again next year.