The most important skill in speaking is storytelling. Unfortunately, many speakers make storytelling mistakes that kill their speeches. Below are 12 of the costly storytelling mistakes I see on a regular basis. Avoiding these mistakes will automatically give you a significant edge and empower you to make a much deeper impact than most speakers ever […]
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One of the most difficult challenges for many speakers is to master character interactions inside of their stories. This is because they haven’t quite figured out the proper and natural mix of narration and dialogue. In my experience, too many speakers use way too much narration. As a result, they end up retelling the story […]
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One of the questions presenters ask me the most is, “Craig, where do you come up with your stories?” I generally look in the following 10 places for clues as to which stories I should develop and share. 1: Go to that part of your life where you don’t want to go. These are often […]
Continue readingUsing two stories back to back is often a very effective way to influence your audience, especially if one story represents a “don’t” and the other story represents a “do.” Why? It’s because the contrast in the stories helps to make the “right way” decision clear. In this video (from all the way back in […]
Continue readingMany speakers tell stories that have some ups and downs and maybe even good emotional twists and turns, but they don’t often reach a crescendo. Crescendos are so important because they are the defining moments that bring the audience’s energy to its highest point. Without them, your audience can easily be deflated. What’s a Crescendo? […]
Continue readingIn our new Teleseminar entitled Storytelling: From Lackluster to Blockbuster (available on August 18th), Michael Hauge and I discussed 4 types of characters that can save your stories and make them MUCH more interesting. In the following excerpt, you’ll hear about two of these characters and get a quick idea of the ways they can […]
Continue readingA couple of weeks ago I recorded a storytelling Teleseminar with Michael Hauge, a highly-successful Hollywood Script Consultant and Story Expert. I expected to learn a few good tips but ended up being blown away by his content. My stories (and your stories when you heed his advice) will never be the same again. They’ll […]
Continue readingYou saw the title so let’s jump right in with 17 storytelling ideas that will breathe life into your speeches and keep your audiences engaged. Idea Number One: Start your stories in different places. You don’t have to start a story at the beginning. You can start it in the middle or even at the […]
Continue readingWhat are Speakers Neglecting to do? So often I’ll coach a speaker who does everything right with his story until the end of it. He establishes the conflict, escalates it, and gets the cure or revelation. But guess what happens then? He ends the story! Hello, do you mean to tell me you’re going to […]
Continue readingThe Table or the Trophy? If I put a trophy on top of a table, what do you think I want you to see, the trophy or the table? Of course it’s the trophy. We can look at narration and dialogue the same way. Narration is the table and dialogue is the trophy. The narration […]
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