Storytelling for Business: Three Quick Fixes

Three Quick Fixes to Your Storytelling for Business.

Having done executive coaching and corporate storytelling training over the last 23 years, I have seen many common mistakes from folks wishing to use storytelling for business presentations. Here are three of my quick fixes for public speaking issues.

Fix Number One: Take your story seriously.
World stories, myths and legends have endured for many centuries because of their ability to carry powerful messages in the small space of well-selected words. Use this power carefully. When I work with clients, they will often have spent many hours on their appearance, their eye contact and the slides they will project. However, they only spend minutes on story selection and presentation. This is a big mistake. There is no such thing as a simple story. Stories are powerful tools and, used incorrectly, they will explode back at you. Stories selected with care, crafted with good storytelling techniques and told with an intentional purpose will create a long-lasting impact on your audience. Your listeners will remember your stories long after the memory of your nice tie, fancy dress or overhead slides quickly fades away.

Fix Number Two: Plan the gestures you will use.
Your hands do not always need to be in motion nor held clasped in front of you as if you were carrying a bouquet of flowers. Avoid making choppy hand movements with eve-ry syl-la-ble you speak. Plan your gestures to match your story and move effortlessly and smoothly from one gesture to another. Let you hands rest naturally at your sides in between gestures. Try to avoid the finger pyramids or hand clasping between gestures.

Fix Number Three: Speak in your natural voice.
One of the best time investments you can make as a public speaker is to watch a professional storyteller speak to your target demographic of adults. You will see and hear the differences between how one tells stories to adults and how one practices storytelling for children. You must avoid the "sing song" voice of the unpracticed storyteller, who, like revered hosts of children's television programming, makes a lilting vocal pattern that sends adult audiences screaming out of the room.

Also, be aware that when you speak personal or "real" stories about your company you do not imitate or mimic the voices of others. Speak in your own voice. In most cases, do not change your voice to reflect your perceptions of the gender, race, regional origin or social status of those of which you are speaking. Mimicking another can quickly backfire on you, causing you to lose goodwill and trust with your audience.

Applying these quick fixes for public speaking will help your audience to be fully immersed in your presentation. Your storytelling, well prepared and well coached, can lower your public speaking anxiety and make you one of the best business speakers your audience has ever heard.

**
Sean Buvala ( Twitter him @storyteller) is an award-winning storyteller, experienced business speaker and executive speaking coach who helps businesses grow their bottom line and create employee satisfaction through the power of storytelling. His website is http://www.seantells.com. He offers private training and coaching.




The official blog for K. Sean Buvala, storyteller and storytelling coach.

Video: How to Use Gestures in Storytelling and Public Speaking

Here's a brand new, eight-minute video on using gestures in storytelling and public speaking skills. We are thinking about making a series of storytelling techniques videos. Storytelling for teens? Storytelling for business? This is a prototype we assembled here in the office. (I said "we" like I have a monkey in shirt pocket.)YouTube of course botches the quality of these things but you can see a High-Quality version at YouTube or I can get you the 1.7 Gig version if you want it. Don't watch it in full-screen. Eww.

Have fun watching. It was fun to make. Any of you video production people want to joint venture with me on a project? Ahem.




The official blog for K. Sean Buvala, storyteller and storytelling coach.

Storytelling in Business Podcast: Storytelling is Not a Soft Skill.

The next episode of our "Storytelling and Narrative for Business Podcast" is ready for you!

Episode Four: "Storytelling is Not a 'Soft Skill': Sure Looked Easy"
Sean brings you some tough-love this week to help you understand that storytelling is a "hard skill" for your business. Fail that understanding and things can go bad. Get real coaching and training to sharpen your skills.

Listen in: Episode Four

Find all the podcasts in this series on this page here.

Sponsored by: Executive Speaker Training Workshops.

The official blog for K. Sean Buvala, storyteller and storytelling coach.

New "Storytelling in Business" Podcast!

Sponsored by our Ancient Secret of Public Speaking Workshop, I've kicked off the new "Storytelling in Business" podcast. I'm aiming to release a new edition at least every two weeks for this fast-paced, quick listen podcast. Come enjoy it.

And, send me your questions about storytelling in/for: business, coaching, corporate training and public speaking. I'll work them into the line up.

First Edition (mp3) is here:

Episode One: The Guy in the Bathroom

BTW, if you take yourself too seriously, this is not the podcast for you.


The official blog for K. Sean Buvala, storyteller and storytelling coach.

Expert Hails Disney’s New Movie "Bedtime Stories" for featuring the Number One Success Skill for Parents to Presidents.

For Immediate Release

Avondale, AZ- "Telling stories, that is using imagination and seeing situations from new perspectives, is the number one success skill for anyone, from parents to presidents," says K. Sean Buvala, the executive director of Storyteller.net and a national speaking coach for companies and their employees.

"Disney’s new movie ’Bedtime Stories’ of course illustrates the power of storytelling to and with children, but many folks also can learn to use storytelling as their primary tool for expressing the dreams, goals and successes of their business life. The essential concepts used for sharing storytelling with children come into play in any business situation. In the end, the only thing that causes one business to stand out over their competitors is their company story."

Buvala, a veteran of 23 years of professional storytelling, offers five quick tips for any parent who wants to tell stories for and with their child:

1. Learn to accept and use your skills as they are.

In the minds of your children, every story you tell is perfect. So, relax, slow down and think about what happens. Every story needs a beginning, a middle and an end. Once you think of those parts, just let the picture unfold in your mind and speak it to your child. Put down the "professional" story books and tell stories from your own experiences and memories.

2. Let your children add to the story as you go along.

Just like in the movie, if your child wants to add raining gumdrops, space creatures or fire balls, take those items and let them grow in your story. That way, you teach your child to use their imagination and that their contributions to a conversation are valuable. Don’t be too quick to correct for the "right" way to have a story progress.

3. Look your children in the eye.

Buvala says, "I’ve trained parents to tell stories to their children and CEO’s to tell the narrative of their company to board members. In all cases, looking sincerely at your audience expresses interest, increases bonding and grows credibility. Give your children a gift and look at them when you tell stories."

4. Use a variety in your words, not just baby-talk.

Children, from tots to teens, best learn language by hearing it used in conversation. Avoid the temptation to use baby talk with your children. Children grow to be adults so speak like an adult, varying words as you speak. For example, instead of "fast" you might say "quickly" or "rapidly," pausing to briefly define words as you go, if needed. In many cases, children get the meaning of words from the context of your story.

5. Start communicating with your teens before they are teens.

One of the most powerful ways to communicate with teens is by laying the groundwork for conversation while they are young. Storytelling by parents teaches young children that they are important enough to be the center of attention for a few moments during each story. Storytelling also teaches children the power of words, the ebb and flow of conversation and sequencing their thoughts, tools any teenager should have.

Buvala also states these same rules apply to storytelling in business. "Everyone starts where they are with their skills. In today’s market, customers respond better to genuine sharing instead of polished advertising. Also, our business stories are ongoing and when customers can add to the story via social networking, focus groups, feedback forms and so on, they take greater ownership. Being genuinely interested in our customers’ experiences and communicating face-to-face whenever possible is always a chance for growth. Finally, it’s important from the beginning that our corporate approach be one that treats our customers with respect, never talking down to them, explaining things as needed, making a focus on customer needs."

Buvala teaches a multi-day workshop for anyone who wants to learn to use storytelling for business, sales, non-profit or family use. For more information, please visit the website of "Ancient Secret of Public Speaking Workshop" at executivespeakertraining.com.

Contact:
K. Sean Buvala
PO Box 392
Tolleson, AZ 85353
http://www.executivespeakertraining.com
623.298.4548


Keywords:
parenting , business coaching , storytelling , movie , disney , bedtime stories , family , public speaking

###

***View this press release here:
http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200812/1229643560.html

The Price

One of the guru guys I have followed says, "The Price of Clarity is the Risk of Offense."

Lovers of our art, we can't keep talking without saying anything. It's okay if you don't do what I do. Do what you do. That's what I want for us to do. But, gosh, say *something* about what you do. Pablum is for infants, not storytellers. Take a risk. Sign your name. Have an opinion. Or wave to the folks as they watch you in the rear-view mirror.

I care about you and yours. Really.

The official blog for K. Sean Buvala, storyteller and storytelling coach.

RoadBlock #10: Too Many Personal Stories

In a previous posting, I made a list of ten “Roadblocks to Your Success” for the professional storyteller. With this article, I am starting to explore those statements more in depth.

I wrote that number ten was: “Especially for U.S. and Canadian tellers, you are telling too many disconnected and without-context personal stories.”

I believe that when we say “storyteller,” the general public usually thinks of either a children’s entertainer or a stand-up comedian.

So, what does the average stand-up comedian do? They tell stories about the people they know, the situations they have been in. Most of them are funny, some of them a little touching. A comedian interacts with the audience, without the fourth wall, talking right to them and sometimes using what the audience says as part of the things the comedian says on stage. Sometimes they use “naughty words” that offend anyone over 21 but those words are part of the culture the comedian comes from and it is to that culture they want to speak. Maybe when the comedian uses those words, someone from outside that culture will gain knowledge about another way of thinking.

Storytellers are quick to point out that we’re not stand-up comedians.

So, what does the average storyteller do? They tell stories about the people they know, the situations they have been in. Most of them are funny, some of them a little touching. A storyteller interacts with the audience, without the fourth wall, talking right to them and sometimes using what the audience says as part of the things the storyteller says on stage. Sometimes they make cultural references that are lost on anyone under 21 but those references are part of the culture the teller comes from and it is to that culture they want to speak. Maybe when the storyteller uses those references, someone from outside that culture will gain knowledge about another way of thinking.

Oops. Perhaps those two careers are not so different. When I speak in some “Storytelling 101" classes at community colleges, every student in those rooms want to be a comedian, so they take the storyteller class. They hope I can teach them how to “make it” as a comedian. Why? For them, the choice between storyteller and comedian is this: one pays better than the other and will get you famous while the other will give you warm fuzzy feelings and get you booked at birthday parties for children. We have so much work to do in educating people about our craft. To do so, we must be categorically different than other performing arts. At the moment, we are not.

What’s wrong with telling personal tales?

In the U.S. in particular, too many professional storytellers are telling too many personal tales and further blurring the line between our art form and the work of comedians. If storytelling continues on this path of telling personal tales over the classic tales of myth, legend, tall tale and fairy tales (aka world tales), we are going to see our art form continue to slide off the radar. If storytelling and comedy were to arm wrestle right now, they would appear evenly matched to the storytelling community. But, an audience-centered art form is not about what we want or what we see. Due to the way the world moves, comedy is going to win that arm-wrestling match and be the most-listened to voice while deep, rich world-tale storytelling will go and join the broom makers at the “Old Tyme Country Renaissance Faire.”

Why the over abundance of personal tales? From my couple of decades experience, I see several reasons:

First, some storytellers are fearful or just don’t want to work hard on their stories. Perhaps they are simply uneducated in how to adapt a world tale. So, they are abandoning classic world tales because they are afraid of violating someone else’s copyright. And so they should be wary. But, if you are doing the work of storytelling and building your own versions of world tales, then you have nothing be worried about. Are you doing the work of storytelling or are you echoing the style and choices of storytellers you have seen?

Second, personal tales do take some work to dredge up but overall are easy to tell. I know this will cause some to sputter, but personal stories are easier to tell as the audience has no benchmark against your experiences. If you tell “Beauty and the Beast,” that will elicit comparisons to other versions. That is scary for some tellers. However, who can benchmark your story of “Uncle Ted and the Big Green Snake?” I think the proliferation of storytellers who have invented family members and stories who then use them as the basis for their presentations speaks to the general ease of developing personal tales and the ease of telling them to modern audiences.

Third, some storytellers are seeking therapy in telling personal tales. I’ve been in discussions where storytellers talk about “clearing out their emotions” through personal tales. Sounds great for therapy or for support groups and visits to your shrink, but it’s wrong to do that to your general audiences or otherwise force support-group status on the unsuspecting.

Should we tell personal tales?

Yes, we should. There is a place for personal tales. An occasional tale in the midst of other world tales is a good break and can create an affinity between audience and teller. It is also possible to interweave personal and world tales in the same telling. This creates the same stand-up sense that audiences flock to but also gives the audience an exposure to the greater gifts of the story and storyteller. Some personal tales are for used for historical purposes and education. Again another valid use in the correct setting. What better way is there to teach the culture of the “old southwest” than a family story passed down from storyteller to audience?

So, I suggest the following for the working storyteller:

Research, learn to tell and use at least one world tale for every personal tale you develop.

Tell your world tales to an audience that is not composed of children locked into a school classroom, a public library or to an audience of just your storytelling groupies. So, find some 19-30 year olds and start telling.

Develop one interlocking world tale and personal story and tell those stories as a singular experience. I am not talking here about framing: “My Uncle Ted once was bitten by a snake so that is why I am telling you now about the story of the Snake Leaves.” Go beyond framing and interweave the stories. You’ll learn more about both stories in the process.

The official blog for K. Sean Buvala, storyteller and storytelling coach.

The "Outside In Storytelling" Model

The "Outside In Storytelling" model and approach, developed by K. Sean Buvala, is based upon one of the unique qualities of storytelling, that is, storytelling is an audience-centered art form unlike any other. To use storytelling in any modern public presentation, the needs of the audience must be the primary focus for the storyteller. For the publically presenting storyteller, there are three areas of focus that must be balanced around this outside reality of the needs of the audience. These three areas are: artistic excellence, technical (stage/performing) excellence, and business excellence. Business excellence does not always mean a direct money-paid environment. One can be a teller in a library, for example, who has storytelling as an adjunct to their primary occupation and still require the business excellence subskill of ethical behavior.

When any single portion of the model is removed, the entire storytelling experience collapses on itself. When any two areas receive more focus than the third area, shadow corners develop in the work and mind of the storyteller. These shadow areas are opportunism, narcissism and irrelevance.

For example, a storyteller who may be deeply moved by their own story and presents themselves as a purveyor of that story to an audience yet does not master a strong, understandable technique of telling the story is engaging in the shadow corner of narcissism. In this corner, artistic integrity overrides the need of the audience to see an effectively presented story. "You must pay me (listen to me) for my story because I am an 'artiste' who understands things you can not."

We have so much more coming in this discussion. We hope you come along for the ride and maybe even take the wheel for a bit.

The "Outside In Storytelling" process, presentations, development and visual model are copyright 2007, 2008 by K. Sean Buvala. All Rights Reserved. Do not duplicate this work without permission.

On The Storytelling Journey. Happy 2008!

“On the journey to Truth,
Stories are the bridges between
there and here,
far and near,
no and yes,
fear and understanding.”
-Sean Buvala

Adore My Work

Last night, at one of the family Christmas gatherings, the brother of my brother-in-law was telling us how he “adores” his work. My in-law was astounded that anyone could “adore” the work they do.

His brother works for a company that is, essentially, a playground supply shop for the recreation needs of adults for such pastimes as skiing, beaching, outsdoorsing and so on. He said that people come to his store ready to spend money, eager to buy new toys and for the fun and excitement that the items in his store will bring to their lives. Hence, his customers are always happy and they see him as someone who can help them meet their needs.

I chimed in with the fact that I also adore my work. I don’t like the traveling, it’s not romantic. To survive, I have learned to think of the traveling as part of the workday and not simply a conduit between A and B. By that I mean I’ve learned to think, “Today my job is: travel.” That helps.

But once I arrive where I am to be, I adore my work. I love the audiences. I love the sounds an audience makes when they “get it.” I adore the moments when one of my corporate storytelling clients says, “That was the lightbulb for me!” In those same corporate settings, I am excited about how those clients start to apply the integration of story with their mission statements.

I adore this job when the scruffy teenage boys, at the end of a story, say out loud to each other “Damn, that was a pretty good story.” I adore those moments when the teenage girls stop (unconsciously) in the middle of their “texting” to watch my story finish.

I adore my work when school administrators say, “We’ve never seen anything get the attention of our (parents) (students) like your storytelling.” I adore it when little kids see me in the library or store and say, “Hey, you came to our school and you told us the story about the moose and the loud cricket and all those animals and the moose got bit on the butt and he jumped in the air and the fish had no water and then he fell on the ground and the water came back up and then the fly......”

I adore my work of promoting other storytellers when a sponsor writes to me to tell me how through Storyteller.net they found the perfect teller.

I adore my coaching work when my coaching clients call me and tell me they had a “nirvana” moment during our coaching session.

I love my role as "community service" work when someone at Storyteller.net sees their new page unfold with pictures and audio and they are so excited by that. I am crazy wild about storytelling when a Storyteller.net directory member sends an Email expressing shock that they got booked via their listing with us. As my kids say, “no duh!” If you are a working storyteller and you are not listed at Storyteller.net, you are missing jobs. Period.

I adore my work as a storyteller. Thanks for letting me be a part of your life in some way.

Happy Holidays

Three Rules of Work:
Out of clutter, find Simplicity.
From discord, find Harmony.
In the middle of difficulty lies Opportunity.

-ALBERT EINSTEIN

October 2007 PodCast from Storyteller.net Is Here!

It's time for those late October seasonal storycasts and you're in for a treat. You can listen now when you click here!

This Storyteller.net Amphitheater Podcast features storyteller Jeff Gere telling "Daddy One Shark" from his CD "Haunted Hawaii, Volume 1."

You'll hear from Storyteller.net director Sean Buvala as he retells the Grimm tale of the "Willful Child" recorded live at one of our "www.storytellingatborders.com" events. Sean also shares a coaching moment about asking your clients for their stories.

Kevin Cordi lends his theatrical flair to the multi-voiced version of "The BabySitter" from his CD "The Road to Urban Legends." All CD's are available in the store at Storytellingproducts.com .

Also featured in this podcast is a recording of "Into the Hall of the Mountain King" by the "string metal" band of "Judgement Day." Their website is at www.stringmetal.com. Permission sought. Permission given. Way cool.

You can find us at Itunes as well! Find our previous podcasts all listed here

Why the Outside In? A Story.

Storytelling is a positive, life-giving and exciting art form. In its purest sense, it can bring people together, build communities and help people find meaning from chaos. In addition, in the body of a focused storyteller and artist, storytelling is tremendously entertaining, matching and rivaling all other performing arts. In may ways, storytelling is the mother of all other performing arts.

Mishandled and misused, the art of storytelling has shadow sides of narcissism, intimidation and irrelevance.

We're ready to start talking about our "Outside In Storytelling"(tm) project. I've had a number of chances to present the "Outside In Storytelling (OIS)" concepts to others in classes and coaching sessions and the response has been very good.

For some time, I've been developing the process of OIS focusing on three circles or areas of excellence. The OIS processes (both training and coaching) allow for anyone of any skill level to enter storytelling as the audience-centered art form it is. Two of the three circles apply to anyone wanting to use storytelling for any aspect of their lives and vocations. By that I mean that OIS is for all people from those who are storytellers as an adjunct to their jobs in such fields as education or ministry, to corporate storytelling, to those seeking to make their primary livelihood as a working artist.

The third circle of "business excellence" is the essential (and most poorly understood) circle for anyone who wants to move into the full- or part-time world of the professional storyteller. With more than 10 years of Storyteller.net (and twice that much time personally) watching storytellers come and go, we know how much this particular circle is a source of tension and controversy for individual tellers and the storytelling community. It's for this reason we've launched the first of many OIS projects: "The Outside In Storytelling Boot Camp".

It would be easy to think this is all about money and not about art. That's not it at all. Let me tell you a story.

One of our tellers on our site is a talented artist who has practiced a variety of art forms for many years. We are going to call this teller "Chris" which is not their real name. Chris has mastered the concept of the "niche" and presents some things that other storytellers have never presented. Chris has the skills to both develop programs and to present those programs professionally. However, Chris is slowly dying in the "business circle" of storytelling. Chris is working multiple shows in their home city. When you calculate the time they spend in travel, prep and presentation, Chris is making less than minimum wage, putting huge mileage and wear and tear on Chris' vehicle and body. When I've spoken to Chris about this, the answer is, "Well, it sure beats flipping hamburgers and besides, I'm not about 'the money.'"

No, Chris, you are wrong. When you don't have enough to live on, when you finally succumb to the breakdown of your body and vehicle that you are headed for, who will take care of you? The answer is "no one." Chris has the skills to survive and thrive as an artist, being able to rely on their own work to support themselves, not having to rely on the income of a significant other to help them along. Chris doesn't have the business skills and somewhere along the way decided that being good at business means being less of a true artist. Chris has decided that being a starving artist is somehow a moral victory. It's not. It's a loss.

I'd like to see less artists suffering like "Chris" out there. I do want to see more artists having the money they need to excel in their chosen art forms.

Although there are three areas of the OIS experience, we've chosen to start with the business and marketing side as our first major endeavor. Our "Boot Camp" is the artist's-eye-view marketing training experience for working artists and those who want to be. If you'd like to know more, I invite you to come read and browse the new website at http://www.outsideinstorytelling.com .

Come to Arizona for February. It's warm. There's no snow. However, there will be a blizzard of learning and growth for you and your art form.

There were still early-bird prices when I wrote this.

One Solution to Your Marketing Questions.

I've been telling you of the new and exciting things we've been
doing and have planned for this our 10th anniversary year at
Storyteller.net.

I'm happy to (finally) be able to tell you about our newest project,
the "Outside In Storytelling Boot Camp."

The OISBCamp is "The Artist-View Marketing Training Event for All Working Artists and Those Who Want to Be."

http://www.outsideinstorytelling.com

In addition to my presentations, we'll be joined for the February
2008 event by our invited associate presenter, Priscilla Howe. Many
of you on this list know of her and her success as an independent,
self-sustaining artist.

I've spent scads of time and a whole bunch of money researching and
preparing this event. I've distilled down many years of marketing and business research and decades of experience to make this new process laser-focused on what working artists need to know. I hope you can join us.

"Outside In Storytelling" is a new way to look what excellence as an artist consists of, focusing on three circles of excellence as our base. Through the "Outside In" process you'll explore excellence, mind-shifting and marketing in an audience-centered and "no shiny-poofy language" environment. I am excited to finally be launching this.

Visit the website for details and possibly get one of the limited Early Bird registrations.

http://www.outsideinstorytelling.com

There will only be 20 -- Just 20! -- registrations accepted in total for the three-day session.

"The Outside in Storytelling Boot Camp:"
The Artist-View Marketing Training Event for All Working Artists and
Those Who Want to Be.

Limited to just 20 students! There's a limit on Early Bird registrations so go look now at what we're offering. Thanks.

Digital Storytelling vs the Oralists?

Interesting blog read.

Just adding to this: However, in my opinion, digital storytelling in the classroom is an easy sell. Speaking in broad generalities: Traditional, spoken-style storytelling is a much harder sell. Read books to kids? Teachers do that. Use PowerPoint and Video in their classrooms? Teachers do that. Use storytelling which are person to person narrative processes between students and the rest of the world? Not yet and there is very little understanding of why we "oralists" would want to be or even have a place in the classroom.

Digital storytelling is an easy sell. We've been doing it since filmstrips and slide projectors. I took classes on it back in the 80's. Two of our schools in our school district just got new "smart" classroom buildings. By reading the news, you would think that communication has just now been invented since kids can "participate" in their classes.

Yep, give me an artist-in-residence week with your kids, allowing me to teach and coach storytelling. Your writing scores will go up, your reading levels will go up and your kids will participate in ways you never thought possible. And you won't once have to plug anything in. And, what I teach them will be used across the curriculum. It's completely portable and can be duplicated by all students regardless of a student's economic situation.

Try that with digital storytelling. You can't.

I Had Forgotten How Good You Are.

"I had forgotten how good you are," they both said.

And it was my fault that they forgot.

Okay, let me see if I can put in writing what I learned this weekend.

Over the weekend, I had a chance to do multiple presentations for an organization. Back in the day, about 10 years ago, I used to work as a storyteller with this group every week, sometimes multiple times per week. For many reasons such as their staff (read that: decision makers) and location change for their group, I had lost touch with many of the members of that organization. I had gotten lazy with my mailing list and dropped people off the list under the assumption that they would not be interested.

Ah, did you see that word in there....assumption....assume "means that you make..." Oh, you know the rest of that one.

Now, this weekend, after many years of not working with this group, I now had a major event with them, primarily because one of my regular sponsors (who is now based at this location) called me and said, "why aren't you coming up to this place anymore?" That put things in motion, contracts were signed and there I was again.

Afterwards, two different people who had seen me work with them "way back when" came up to me separately and said, "I had forgotten how good you are." Although flattered by the evaluations, I asked how come they hadn't been in contact with me for their needs. The both replied that they had lost track of me and that "i stopped getting your mailings so I assumed you weren't doing this anymore."

EEEK!

Yes, I know. They might have used the Internet to find me. A reality check here calls us to remember that not everyone (yet) thinks about the Internet when searching for people they know. And 8-10 years ago folks were barely using Email to communicate let alone Googling storytellers.

Postal mailing still work. These two people judged my availability based on my mailings. How many bookings and good events had I missed because I stopped sending monthly mailings to these two people?

Let's do the math. Let's average a post card, mailed out, to 50 cents each. That's probably too high. Ten years of mailings, 12 months per year gets us 120 mailings. That's $60 each or $120 to both folks over the last 10 years.

How many bookings had I missed in ten years with these potential sponsors because I took them off my mailing list? $120 is a fraction of a single booking. I saved myself $1 per month not mailing to these folks who knew "how good you are" but probably lost several thousand dollars in bookings, coaching and performances. There are also lost relationships and lost chances to promote the Art of Storytelling.

Sigh.

Remember, they did not ask to be removed. I will always remove someone who asks. Rather, I assumed they wouldn't want to hear from me based on the actions of their leadership.

Am I making sense here? Some marketing gurus say that you need at least 50 contacts a year with customers to keep yourself at the top of their minds. I urge my clients to do at least monthly mailings.

And now, I'll urge them to never take a potential sponsor off a list unless asked.

"I had forgotten how good you are," they said.

It was my fault that they forgot.

New Project: Storytelling and Gaming

3 Brothers and 1 Golden Axe:
Real Storytelling in Virtual Worlds

Welcome to our newest interactive workshop from Master Storyteller K. Sean Buvala

Increase the immersive feel of your gaming world and tap into essential human needs and desires with the power of real storytelling!

Learn what real (not the ethereal read a book to kiddies!) storytelling can teach you about virtual worlds.Learn more at: www.seantells.com/gaming.shtml

Learn: What is the basic structure of storytelling? It's got nothing to do with reading books.

Experience: What are the dark sides of fairy tales? Why are stories so cleaned up from the original versions? Sean will take you through the "unvarnished versions" of some popular tales.

Learn: What are "tale types" and what do they teach about human nature? Tap into these cross-cultural realities and bring new breath to your gaming world!

Explore: What is the "Geometry of Storytelling?" Why good storytelling allows every audience to have a unique experience every time.

Learn: What is the role of numbers in storytelling? 3 brothers, 7 Ravens, 12 tasks? Learn which numbers have significance and what they can tell you about the story and storyline.

Explore: How can the concept of "many voices/one story" help designers? Immerse yourself in quests and game experiences by playing a game of "shifting looks."

Ready to get started? Assemble your designer team and contact Sean for more information. Workshop can be presented in one (good!) or two (best!) workday format

About Your Presenter:
K. Sean Buvala, a 21 year veteran and master storyteller, is the director of storyteller.net, now celebrating their 10th anniversary online! Working throughout the U.S., he is storytelling, training and presenting to and for corporations, schools, churches and private coaching clients. Sean recently received a 2007 Oracle Award from the National Storytelling Network. He is an approved Roster Artist with the Arizona Commission on the Arts. Sean specializes in the folktales of Ireland and the Brothers Grimm, working with adults and teens. He has a variety of CD's released, ranging from stories for children to a specialty product for teenage guys to unvarnished world folktales.

Sean is an "avid casual" gamer with a long history back to the Compuserve days of "Islands of Kesmai." (Here is a picture of his original character: "A"). He currently plays in a variety of gaming world as his travel schedule allows. He's worked as an independent-contractor GM and customer service rep for an old-school gaming company, consulted and taught IT with the

New Workshop: Storytelling and Gaming

3 Brothers and 1 Golden Axe: Real Storytelling in Virtual Worlds

Welcome to our newest interactive workshop from Master Storyteller K. Sean Buvala

Increase the immersive feel of your gaming world and tap into essential human needs and desires with the power of real storytelling!

Learn what real (not the ethereal read a book to kiddies!) storytelling can teach you about virtual worlds.Learn more at: www.seantells.com/gaming.shtml

Learn: What is the basic structure of storytelling? It's got nothing to do with reading books.

Experience: What are the dark sides of fairy tales? Why are stories so cleaned up from the original versions? Sean will take you through the "unvarnished versions" of some popular tales.

Learn: What are "tale types" and what do they teach about human nature? Tap into these cross-cultural realities and bring new breath to your gaming world!

Explore: What is the "Geometry of Storytelling?" Why good storytelling allows every audience to have a unique experience every time.

Learn: What is the role of numbers in storytelling? 3 brothers, 7 Ravens, 12 tasks? Learn which numbers have significance and what they can tell you about the story and storyline.

Explore: How can the concept of "many voices/one story" help designers? Immerse yourself in quests and game experiences by playing a game of "shifting looks."

Ready to get started? Assemble your designer team and contact Sean for more information. Workshop can be presented in one (good!) or two (best!) workday format

About Your Presenter:
K. Sean Buvala, a 21 year veteran and master storyteller, is the director of storyteller.net, now celebrating their 10th anniversary online! Working throughout the U.S., he is storytelling, training and presenting to and for corporations, schools, churches and private coaching clients. Sean recently received a 2007 Oracle Award from the National Storytelling Network. He is an approved Roster Artist with the Arizona Commission on the Arts. Sean specializes in the folktales of Ireland and the Brothers Grimm, working with adults and teens. He has a variety of CD's released, ranging from stories for children to a specialty product for teenage guys to unvarnished world folktales.

Sean is an "avid casual" gamer with a long history back to the Compuserve days of "Islands of Kesmai." (Here is a picture of his original character: "A"). He currently plays in a variety of gaming world as his travel schedule allows. He's worked as an independent-contractor GM and customer service rep for an old-school gaming company, consulted and taught IT with the

Listen to the Luckiest PodCast Ever: 07/07/07

It’s time for the luckiest podcast of the year! The 07/07/07 podcast is here. Included are two "luck" stories recorded just for this podcast by Sean Buvala, a piece of a wonderful story by Dolores Hydock, and a coaching moment about voice control for stage and recording booth. Listen in (it’s an mp3) and let the luck spread! You can find the CD’s mentioned in the podcast at our podcast sponsor of storytellingproducts.com: "Calling Out a Rising Sun" by Sean Buvala and "Silence" by Dolores Hydock. Visit Storyteller.net for more Podcasts or you’ll find us as well at Itunes. You can learn more about Sean at seantells.com.

Lucky, lucky you! Click Here Now to Listen or Download.

Red Pen Storytelling Tool

Crafting a story is an essential skill for both beginning and experienced tellers. Crafting, much like sculpting, involves knowing what to trim away and what to keep. 

For storytellers, our sculpting tools should include the red “cross it out” pen. In my youth, I once heard an old comedy album where the comedian said, “When you are trying to tell a story, try having a point. It makes it so much more interesting for an audience.” I’ve attended several storytelling events of late that bring that old comedy routine to mind. 

I’ve wanted to hand the tellers a giant red pen, hoping they’d cut out, cross out and eliminate the bloatedness of their tales. Although it’s not always possible to have a clear-cut point in telling folktales or world myths, storytellers need to know “why” they are telling any particular story. If not, stories end up as rambling and meandering exercises in hearing ourselves talk. When that happens, the stories lose interest, and our audiences just lose interest. 

Doing the red pen routine with personal tales is easier, so let’s begin there. 

First, understand that storytelling is an audience-centered art form. It’s not a form of therapy for the storyteller. 

 Grab yourself a piece of paper and do this exercise with me. 

First, choose a personal tale from your repertoire. 

Then imagine the type of audience you’ll be telling to and with. 

With those thoughts in mind, ask yourself, "why am I telling the story?" What is my point? Identify this first thought, this singular crystal-clear point, and write it across the top of the paper. Use large, bold letters. 

 Underneath those big bold letters, write an outline your story. What’s first, second, third.....sixth, etc? Try to include all the elements of your typical telling of that story, including those tangential side trips you might be normally inclined to make. 

Now comes the step so many tellers are unwilling to make. Grab your red pen. Re-read your main point. Go down your outline and ask yourself for each numbered item, “Does this item illustrate or lead to my main point?” If it does not, cross it out. 

 This is where some storytellers start reaching for the oxygen mask. “But, what you want me to cut out is (funny, cute, touching, meaningful, pretty, insightful, witty, makes my grandma laugh, tells people I love dogs, will save the world, etc). I couldn’t cut out that part.” 

Yes, you could. 

Yes, you should. 

If it does not move your story towards your main point for the audience you are addressing, draw a line and drop it from your story. Most likely, the parts you’ve redlined are or could become stories in their own way. 

 The process I have just described is a good exercise to do with your storytelling coach. Ask that person to help you identify and redline the excessive parts of your story that drag down your work. One of the challenges with storytelling as an art form is our excessive focus on internal (“How does your storytelling make you feel?”) coaching, so it may be hard to find a mentor that will be honest with you. 

You should assure your coach that having an opinion is okay. 

 This ability to redline one’s work to focus on the audience's needs is essential for good storytelling. Tellers unwilling to redline their stories just leave me wishing for the door. 

A storyteller who tells a story that has been redlined and crafted leaves me wishing for more of their craft. Isn’t that the goal- building a love for stories and storytelling in our audiences