People working in communications, content, and marketing are thinking about their value. AI can produce copy quickly. Suggest your next strategic move or find holes in your comms plans. It is fast, reliable and never misses a deadline. Where does storytelling training fit into a world where everything that is known about the tricks of the trade of communication is still in an LLM? Why learn about or upskill in storytelling when it is all there for us to explore?
Category: Story
The Best Work Happens When Ideas Feel Safe Enough to Misbehave
I have facilitated numerous workshops, strategy days, narrative sessions, and conference experiences. Regardless of the setting or participants, a consistent pattern emerges. Typically, the most senior, outspoken, or confident individuals are the first to contribute, filling the room with their perspectives. However, as the session transitions to deeper reflection, it is often a quieter participant who introduces a profound idea, causing everyone to pause and absorb the insight.
Every Great Storyteller’s Practice Includes Boredom
What truly separates those who reach mastery from everyone else is not talent, but the ability to keep going when the work feels unremarkable. The consistent effort during ordinary moments is what drives mastery.
Beyond the Hero’s Journey: Why We Need Collective Storytelling Now
Recently, I wrote an article about why I don’t teach the Hero’s Journey; you can read it here. It got people talking. Not because people disagreed, but because people said they had a similar critique of the Hero’s Journey. In particular, as the default of what a story is in terms of point of view, form…
Emotions: The Feature That Powers Our Operating System
Friend and futurist Simon Waller invited me to explore the future of acting on his podcast, The Future with Friends. It led me to a surprising place. The conversation evolved into a discussion about the importance of emotion in navigating life as a human being. It led me to reflect on how emotion shapes communication. Not as something that drives us irrationally as a holdover from our distant past, but as the feature that has allowed humanity to outpace other species and thrive in increasingly complex societies.
Audience First: Where Acting, Storytelling, and Leadership Play Supporting Roles
I was sitting in a row of red theatre chairs at the Producers Club in Times Square. I had just finished two weeks of acting training in NYC, and we were reflecting on all we had been through as a class. The Miesner trainer leaned forward from his seat on the stage and asked, "Do…
Sticky Power: Become an Everyday Storyteller
In the world of storytelling, we glorify narratives of the extraordinary - epic adventures, heroic feats, and life-altering events that seem to lie outside our everyday existence. However, the true power of storytelling resides in the simplicity of the every day, in the stories of the relatable and familiar. These stories shape our perspectives, influence…
Stage Combat: The Best Professional Development. Ever.
Stage Combat in the form of sword fighting entered my life, unexpectedly merging two seemingly disparate worlds into one thrilling pursuit.
Story: A Tool For Design Led Innovation
Once upon a time there was a president who was known primarily by his initials, JFK. He and the nation he represented was upset that Russia was beating them in a competition called the space race. Every day the USA and Russia ran against each other to be the ‘first’ when it came to exploring…
