Common storytelling pitfalls

Common storytelling pitfalls

What do you do when you’re struggling to tell your story?  I genuinely believe that just about anything can be a story. Even something as mundane as a trip to the grocery store can have story elements. The store is out of the essential ingredient you need. You run...
Less is more

Less is more

It’s interesting that, for all of the angst that comes with the task of writing, so many of us struggle to achieve a characteristic that is widely recognized as an indicator of good writing: brevity. See, I did it right there—that first sentence is over 30 words long!...
Know your audience

Know your audience

People who tell good stories tend to be great at knowing their audience. Because stories, by their nature, are meant to be shared with others, it’s essential for storytellers to constantly sharpen their empathy skills. Empathy, in a nutshell, is simply the ability to...
How to spot a story

How to spot a story

“We need help telling our story.”   I love hearing this from clients, because helping clients unlock their stories is one of my favorite parts of my job. Who doesn’t love a good story? Storytelling is a fundamental part of how we live and relate to each...
Why tell stories?

Why tell stories?

Joan Didion said, “We tell ourselves stories in order to live.” Indeed, there may be nothing more fundamental to the human experience than our attraction to stories, to hearing and telling them. The live story program, The Moth, is aptly named: when we hear stories,...