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Browse every published article connected to Doug Stevenson, with exact attribution and full-archive search.
Articles
Browse every published article connected to Doug Stevenson, or search within this exact expert archive.
What’s the point? I ask that question of every private coaching client. The response is usually three or four sentences long. The answer to the question, “What’s the point?” needs to be concise and simple, not a lengthy explanation. Can you state the point of your story in five or six words? Sharpen the Point and Make it Stick
I recently gave the luncheon keynote speech for a state association. In the program that I presented, Emotional Eloquence, I usually tell three stories, which I call: The Oscar Story, The Chicago CEO Story and the Dagger Lady Story. Because I was speaking after lunch, I knew I needed to keep the energy high and work in a little more interaction. I decided to take out the Dagger Lady Story and replace it with my Airport Story, because the Airport Story is funnier.
You can give a presentation that’s a dazzling display of information and your vast intellectual knowledge, but when all is said and done, people remember the stories. Why do people remember stories but no other information? Studies about how adults learn show that memory is formed when a ...You can give a presentation that’s a dazzling display of information and your vast intellectual knowledge, but when all is said and done, people remember the stories. Why do people remember stories but no other information?
I grew up with a father who was in love with words. His reverence for language, pronunciation and proper diction was an annoyance to me as a child, but a gift to me as an adult. I remember the way he would read aloud a passage from a book or a poem. He had a natural gift for rhythm and tempo. ...I grew up with a father who was in love with words. His reverence for language, pronunciation and proper diction was an annoyance to me as a child, but a gift to me as an adult.
My wife Deborah and I just returned from a month long trip to London and Germany. For the first 18 days we worked: a Story Theater Retreat in London, 2 Retreats in Munich, a keynote at the German Speakers Association annual conference and finally, a speech at a human resources convention in Cologne. It was a very busy, intense and absolutely wonderful time.
Why do you think Malcolm Gladwell is so successful? All three of his books, The Tipping Point, Blink and most recently Outliers – The Story of Success, are best sellers. The answer lies in the subtitle of his most recent book, The Story of Success. Malcolm is a synthesizer, a pattern recognizer. After he’s done his research and compiled lots of examples to illustrate the points he wants to make, he writes his books by telling stories. He’s a good storyteller.
As the waiters cleared the dessert plates from the banquet tables, Joanne, the VP of Sales, stepped to the podium and began the annual meeting. The CEO, Jeff Carlson, could feel the heat building under his collar. He wiped his sweaty palms on the linen napkin and took another sip of water to wet ...As the waiters cleared the dessert plates from the banquet tables, Joanne, the VP of Sales, stepped to the podium and began the annual meeting. The CEO, Jeff Carlson, could feel the heat building under his collar.
How to Make a Third Person Story Personal I always advise my coaching clients to use personal stories whenever possible. Personal stories establish credibility by letting your listener know that your wisdom comes from your life experience, rather than from reading the latest book.
At a recent corporate storytelling workshop for Microsoft, I was asked a question that I hear frequently: “How do I open my speech?” Several others in the room agreed that the first two or three minutes of a speech are often the most awkward. Is it that way for you, as well? Do you have a hard time getting started, but once you get going, you’re all right? If so – welcome to the club.
Recently, while providing a corporate training for the top sales agents in a large pharmaceutical company, I asked the following question: “Have you ever been speaking, and you look out into your audience and see ‘screen saver eyes’? You know – that glassy-eyed look that let's you know you’ve lost their attention?” They all laughed and nodded in agreement! If you’ve ever seen “screen saver eyes,” the two most important questions to ask yourself are: • What did you do to lose them? • How do you get them back?
I once had a cat named Hermione. She got sick. So I went to the vet and he gave me some pills and told me to give them to her. That sounded pretty simple until I tried to do it. Hermione did not want to take her pills. She gagged and wiggled and scratched my hand, but she would not take her pill. I didn’t know what to do. A neighbor of mine also had a cat, so I asked her what to do. “Stick it in a piece of cheese,” she said. So I did. I got some soft cheese, wrapped it around the pill, and low and behold, Hermione took her medicine.
I can remember growing up in Chicago when the year 2000 was a long way into the future. And now, in 2010, as we enter the second decade of the 21st century, I’m taking stock of how far I’ve come and what it took to get me here. As a child watching movies, I dreamed of being an actor in Hollywood. And then one day…I found myself acting on a movie set at Paramount Studios.
One of the most common mistakes speakers make is to plaster a smile on their face and keep it there, regardless of what they’re saying. This is as true for my public speaking students as it is for my corporate storytelling students. I encountered this situation twice in the last month.
Do you want to inspire people? Do you have a burning desire to share your life experiences and tell your stories so that other people can benefit? If so, there are a number of things to consider when writing an inspiring speech. This last summer I was inspired by what I witnessed at the Beijing ...Do you want to inspire people? Do you have a burning desire to share your life experiences and tell your stories so that other people can benefit? If so, there are a number of things to consider when writing an inspiring speech.
You are huge. You are enormous. You are magnificent! I’m not talking about your girth; I’m talking about your talent. I’m talking about your passion and depth of feeling. I’m talking about your potential to be an amazing speaker, communicator or leader. Have you given yourself permission to ...
I created my Emotional Eloquence program to encourage people to think of their presentations as opportunities to engage, influence and inspire, while simultaneously conveying important information. My research shows that speakers, leaders and audiences are hungry for a return to eloquence.
Last month, I gave a keynote speech in Chicago for a Fortune 500 Company. The theme of the conference was engagement. Over 200 human resource professionals from all over the world gathered to learn how to increase the level of engagement among their 80,000 employees in 23 countries. Their ...Last month, I gave a keynote speech in Chicago for a Fortune 500 Company. The theme of the conference was engagement. Over 200 human resource professionals from all over the world gathered to learn how to increase the level of engagement among their 80,000 employees in 23 countries.
Where did we learn that we have to be serious all the time to be taken seriously? In my experience, it’s just not true. As a speaker and trainer, I know that when people laugh, they learn. After coaching over 500 students on their stories and presentations in my two and a half-day Story ...
There were three men and three women at the Story Theater Retreat in Colorado Springs last weekend – a nice balance of energies. Each of the six participants came to develop their stories for presentation to a business audience. Interestingly enough, two of the female participants shared a ...There were three men and three women at the Story Theater Retreat in Colorado Springs last weekend – a nice balance of energies. Each of the six participants came to develop their stories for presentation to a business audience. Interestingly enough, two of the female participants shared a common malady.
People remember the stories! You can give a presentation that’s a dazzling display of your vast intellectual knowledge, but when all is said and done, people remember the stories. Studies about how adults learn show that memory is formed when a person’s attention is engaged over a sustained ...
Moby Dick When I was in high school, in the sixties, a company called Cliffs Notes (aka Cliff Notes) published book summaries. (Remember the yellow and black striped covers?) These little books enabled you to read passages from the book in a summarized form so you wouldn’t have to read the whole book. We used them as study guides for books like Moby Dick.