Storytelling School (Kymberlee Weil)
Explorez tous les épisodes de Storytelling School
| Date | Titre | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Sep 2023 | When Comedy Meets Choreography in Storytelling | 00:28:02 | |
I’m preparing for my 5th-level Black Belt test. As part of the test, we have to create and perform a series of movements - with or without weapons - to show the Grandmaster and test board that we’re capable at this level. Oh, and it has to be 100% unique and created from scratch. So this is high-stakes stuff. I know I need to come up with something that I’ve never done before. Ideas start coming to me and I dismiss them one by one, like train cars passing by. Then, it hits me! I’m a storyteller and an Improv performer. Even though this is a Martial Arts test, I need to tell a story that’s never been told before. Now, this is already an unusual approach since most martial artists aren’t thinking about going to the mat to tell a story. Yet in my case, it needs to happen because this is how I think and who I am. I come up with a fantastic narrative. I’m in Tokyo enjoying my tea when I go over to the window. Suddenly, intruder after intruder comes through it and attacks me! I started doing all types of maneuvers, using household items around me as weapons to disarm and dispose of the invaders. In the end, it’s just me sipping on my glass of tea with all this carnage on the floor around me. And while I can’t prove it, I swear I see a little moisture in the Grandmaster’s eyes… and he normally doesn’t show his emotions. And that’s the power of a great story. You know you’ve done good when your audience can feel what you (or the characters in your story) feel. And that brings me to my special guest today, Sarah Jenkins, who is a master at bringing comedic stories to life without saying a word. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn how she does it through choreography and imagery and get answers to questions like: What makes comedic short-form storytelling so special? Why does harder not equate to being better in story form? How can you know why an organic joke (not written on the page) lands for an audience or not? And what kind of mistake should you avoid that a lot of storytellers and speakers make? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Sarah? Sarah Marie Jenkins is a California native residing in NYC. She has been dance captain and associate choreographer for numerous shows, as well as the choreographer for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt on Netflix, Mr. Mayor on NBC, and Girls 5 Eva on Peacock. Recently, she starred as Peter Pan in the first ever remounting of Jerome Robbins Broadway at the MUNY, as well as in the Cathy Rigby version of the show (as her successor). Before that, Sarah was seen as Jennyanydots in the revival of CATS on Broadway. She has also been on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Law & Order: SVU, and performed on the Today Show and Bonnie Hunt Show. Her national tours and musical work include Legally Blonde, Peter Pan with Cathy Rigby, Guys & Dolls, Swing!, Can-Can, Honeymoon in Vegas, and The Nutty Professor (directed by Jerry Lewis). When she’s not working on the stage or screen, Sarah has a successful photography business specializing in headshots for actors of all ages. Links and Resources: | |||
| 22 May 2024 | Why You Need to Tell Stories to Build Your Brand | 00:25:49 | |
“What’s the difference between the brands everyone talks about and the ones we can’t remember?” That’s the question that me and my colleague Glenn are pondering over coffee this week. He expresses surprise at the over $1 billion valuation of the brand Liquid Death. “They sell water in a can. It’s just water,” he tells me. Yet their success doesn’t surprise me because they sell it in a cool can (with a cool slogan) and have a unique, edgy, unforgettable story their fans love to tell and show off. It’s not just about what you sell; it’s also about the stories you tell regarding your products, services, and brand. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn how some of the world’s most iconic and successful brands use storytelling to captivate, engage, and build connections with their audience. In the process, you’ll discover why you need to tell stories to build your brand, too, and get answers to questions like: What are the keys to using stories for captivating, engaging, and building relationships with your brand’s customers or clients? What are some practical strategies you can use for brand building with storytelling? How can you measure the impact of your storytelling on your audience? What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teach my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 18 Jan 2023 | How Living in the Moment Impacts Your Storytelling | 00:30:46 | |
It’s showtime. I’m wickedly nervous as I prepare to deliver my monologue in my very first acting class. I’ve been rehearsing relentlessly and memorizing my script so that I don’t forget any of my character’s dialogue. I begin. And not two minutes into it, my teacher Peter stops me. What he says next changes me--not just as an actor, but as a speaker, storyteller, and communicator. He tells me, “Kymberlee, I want you to live in the line you are in. Don’t worry about what’s going to happen. Good acting is when you risk losing the next line.” Whoa. What if we all lived in the line we’re in during conversations with loved ones at home or associates in everyday life? As a voiceover artist and actress, my special guest this week, Kate Marley, does this in spades. And in this episode, she’s here to talk all about it and answer questions like: What can anyone bring into a story character to give it life? How powerfully do shared stories affect you emotionally, both inside and outside of a community? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Kate? Kate Marley is a full-time artist in visual art, acting, and photography in Los Angeles, California. She graduated and obtained her degree from Ithaca College’s Musical Theatre program and is a proud member of the Actors Equity and SAG-AFTRA. Despite her musical days feeling far away, she still has a lifelong goal of telling stories and communicating with various audiences in her current fields of work. Currently, Kate spends most of her time acting and directing in voiceover and selling her artwork locally, always meeting new people and sharing new stories in the process. You can connect with her and find her work through her websites, Kate Marley and Jungmisul. Links and Resources: | |||
| 04 Jan 2023 | So You Think You Want to Become a Storyteller… Why You Need a Story Arsenal | 00:17:02 | |
I’m about to deliver a Talk, and I want to open it with a really good story I remembered from a couple of months ago. The problem is I can’t find it anywhere! I look at my whiteboard, thinking, “Surely, I scribbled a little message about it somewhere there.” Nope. I search my notebooks. Zip. I sort through my stacks of sticky notes, and still nothing. After spending over two hours hunting for this story, I decide, “That’s it! From now on, I’m putting all my stories in one spot, once and for all!” So I create a story arsenal where I can find all of my stories and never run out of ideas. Today, that arsenal is one of my most valuable business assets. How did I do it? Find out in this episode of the “So You Think You Want To Become a Storyteller” master series as I also answer questions such as: Why do you need a story arsenal? How do you use it? When do you add to it? And how do you keep it organized? What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teaching my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 20 Jul 2022 | Using the “Special Sauce” of Storytelling to Build Your Brand | 00:30:08 | |
It’s 2003. I’m sitting in the audience of my first TED event. TED, which stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, is a once-a-year, invite-only private event in Monterey, CA. As I look at the speaker list, I recognize… no one on it. Then I gaze through the descriptions of the talks scheduled--one on nanotech, another on robotics, another on anthropology… I find myself thinking, “Is this event really for me?” These topics have nothing to do with my business, so I’m not sure I even belong here. As the speakers begin, one after another, I find myself captivated. Not just with one Talk - with all the Talks. So much so, that the TED experience changes the way I think. Listening to those Talks (eighteen a day for five days straight!) exposes me to a cross-pollination of ideas that not only influences how I run my software company, it cements lateral thinking, something critical in both business and storytelling. Today, I’ve invited a special guest who uses his own special sauce of lateral thinking each day. In this episode, Mike Wald and I talk about the power of stories when it comes to making your business and brand stand out, especially in a crowded market. He provides so many wonderful tips for storytellers and business owners while answering questions like: Where does the danger lie in researching the market for stories that’ll land with your potential audience? Where do people often have to be corrected in telling the story of their brand? What investment can you make that’ll have people loving your brand? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Mike? For over 20 years, Oniracom’s Chief Marketing Officer Mike Wald has developed campaigns and launched products for a wide-breadth of verticals. He considers himself a technologist and a futurist with expertise and affection in ecological anthropology which brings a thoughtful, innovative blend of science, tech, and sociology to the company’s work. Since 2018, he has worked on over 50 projects studying hospitality mobility, gentrification patterns, sustainability goal measurement, social listening indicators, and the effect of sharing economies on urban and suburban landscapes. International governments, mass-focused businesses, and first-mover firms enjoy effective solutions through a wide array of industries and platforms thanks to Mike’s background in driving successful conversions across mixed media. You can see his work everywhere, from Disney movie campaigns to government infrastructure dashboards in Australia. Links and Resources: | |||
| 09 Nov 2022 | How to Make Your Audience Sit Forward in Storytelling | 00:28:02 | |
My grandfather Joe is serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He isn’t married... yet. But he is head over heels for someone who’s there waiting for him in Seattle every single time his ship comes into port. That someone is my grandmother Beverly, who’s just as in love with him too. She moves from Hollywood to the Pacific Northwest to be there as he comes back from his deployments. Whenever he’s away, they write letters back and forth to each other constantly. Over 100 letters (and a marriage and a family) later, I inherit these letters and start reading them. Going through them, I discover incredible accounts of events happening in the war and feelings between my grandparents. I’m getting to know them better than when they were still alive. As I begin reading this one letter from my grandfather, I’m captivated by the details of being aboard the ship, his concern for the war, and his love for Beverly. However, there’s something unusual about this letter. Someone has, quite literally, cut out a paragraph! This paper has a hole in it. Sure, censorship during wartime happens, but my mind can’t help but race with curiosity. Why was it cut? What was in that missing paragraph? And did he ever tell my grandmother what it was? You know you have good writing when you want to know what’s missing, and you start imagining things and filling in the blanks for yourself. And that’s why I’m so excited for this week’s special guest! Ross Brown is an award-winning writer, producer, and professor. In this episode, he talks about comedic writing, shares stories from his sitcom writing days (including the writing process), and answers questions such as: How can you turn a dark situation into a comedic writing opportunity? What two things make a story a story, regardless of its format? And where can unpredictability cross the line and cause a negative reaction in your audience? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Ross? Ross Brown has created and produced comedies for The WB, CBS, and ABC. After beginning his career on The Cosby Show, he went on to work on the feature film National Lampoon’s Vacation as an assistant director. Next, he served as a tenured Assistant Professor of TV Writing & Production at Chapman University. Then from 2016 until June 2022, he was the founding director of the MFA in Writing & Contemporary Media at Santa Barbara’s Antioch University. In addition to his television and film work, Ross has had his short plays performed in theaters in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Minnesota, as well as readings of his full-length plays staged at The Pasadena Playhouse in California and The Barter Theater in Virginia. He’s also authored the book Create Your Own TV Series for the Internet which is an all-in-one guide to creating short-form TV series online. Links and Resources: | |||
| 10 May 2023 | Exploring the Science of Story: Part One | 00:20:07 | |
I’m working with a client in one of my Mastermind programs. She asks, “Kymberlee, what’s the difference between a story that we will remember versus one we will forget?” At that moment, I can choose to hit the surface level and talk about story elements… or I can go deeper and talk about the science. I choose to get all science-y. And once I’m done going in-depth with my answer, she says it’s given her a completely new understanding of the power of storytelling (woohoo)! Today on the Storytelling School podcast, join me as we dive headfirst into exploring the scientific principles that give storytelling the mesmerizing power to captivate us all. I reveal some mind-blowing facts about storytelling and answer questions such as: What exactly makes stories so irresistible? How is storytelling like a high-stakes poker game? How does the power of storytelling go beyond entertainment, and what intellectual benefits does it provide? Why have stories been used throughout history to inspire change? And how has technology shaped the landscape of storytelling? What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teach my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 17 Jul 2024 | How Sharing Raw Stories Can Provide Healing and Hope | 00:21:36 | |
I’m working with a new client, Leonard, who is completely new to first-person true storytelling. He has lived through several unbelievable situations, and I know others need to hear his stories. So I challenge him to tell a story to open his next podcast. He responds: “I can’t do that. My listenership will drop if I do.” When I ask him why, he says, “No one’s going to care about my story.” Yet, what if only one person needs to hear your story to change their life? After I pose that question to Leonard, he reluctantly agrees and shares one of his craziest stories on his next episode. The response? Several listeners emailed him saying things like: “Your story was exactly what I needed to hear today.” “Your story reminded me of a similar situation I went through.” “Your story has given me the courage to tell my story.” We tell our stories in service to others, and it takes bravery to be vulnerable with your story. Leonard did it, as did my guest today, Krishnni Khanna. She has told her real raw story on both the TEDx stage and in her newly released book, simply because she wants to help others. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn about the importance of sharing difficult stories as a way to process experiences and help others feel less alone. Krishnni will share her story of ostracization as a young girl who migrated to the U.S., as well as answer questions such as: What can happen as a result of sharing your vulnerable story? Why are the words you use in your Talk or story so important? And what’s a really powerful way to end a speech or story? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Krishnni? Krishnni Khanna was born in India in 2007 and moved to the United States with her parents in 2017. She’s a high schooler, author, and TEDx speaker who advocates for the inner well-being of youth. In 2022, she created Detoximind (www.detoximind.com), a student-led movement through which Krishnni and her team bring peer-based support to teens and youth grappling with stress, shame, exclusion and isolation. She currently resides in Austin, Texas with her parents and their puppy Yuki. Krishnni’s first novel I AM NOT WHO YOU SEE launched in June 2024. Many of the protagonist’s experiences in the book are inspired by Krishnni’s highs and lows as a 10-year-old immigrant in America, and how she rebuilt her sense of self and regained her identity in her new surroundings. Links and Resources | |||
| 27 Sep 2023 | How Connections and Community Change Your Story | 00:33:25 | |
It’s 2012. My software company is working with one of the largest advertising agencies in the world. They have tremendous expertise they can share with their clients. They’re so large, though, that they’re completely siloed and can’t easily share this organizational knowledge quickly. The agency’s chief strategic and chief technology officers have a vision to unite their worldwide employees so they can do this at the drop of a hat. And that’s where my company comes in. We’re hired to work with their CTO to provide instant access to all talent across their organization. We build data bridges to different technologies on different platforms located at different places around the world. It’s some pretty fancy stuff, and we really have to roll up our sleeves on this huge undertaking. Nothing like this has been done before. Once our software is in place, the agency can access the intelligence of everyone in their entire global organizational community for the good of their clients in just a couple of clicks. For them, we created a new story where connecting to talent can be quick, efficient, and a game changer in their business. My special guest today, Etienne de Bruin, has spent a career in software development and inside the C-suite. In this episode of The Storytelling School podcast, you’ll learn how he drives the vision and execution of multiple stories for various organizations around the world and get answers to questions such as: What role does a chief technology officer (CTO) play in the story of a company? And how does Etienne’s company help support the story of CTOs everywhere? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Etienne? Etienne de Bruin began his career as a software developer in his native South Africa before moving to Germany, where he joined a startup building innovative products in the data encryption space. Then he moved to San Diego, where he managed the supply chain and business intelligence of a biotech startup. From 2005 to 2015, Etienne co-founded a company, where he served as CTO, navigating SaaS product development in a rapidly scaling environment and establishing himself as a highly effective C-level executive. After serving many organizations as advisory board member or CTO, Etienne founded 7CTOs, a peer group and coaching organization supporting CTOs, technical founders, and other executive leaders. Links and Resources: | |||
| 05 Jul 2023 | How to Subvert Expectations in Comedic Storytelling | 00:32:07 | |
I’m at a TED event when Sarah Silverman takes the stage. She launches into her comedy set and as she gets going, I notice something interesting. A couple of jokes in, some people in the audience are already laughing hysterically. But others are fidgeting and looking uncomfortable with some of her content. My husband Mark turns to me and says, “Stand-up comedy is hard.” I agree and whisper back, “Yeah - that’s why they invented Dad jokes. That’s much easier - they’re like training wheels for laughter.” Stand-up on the other hand is another league and I’d rather leave to the professionals - like my special guest today. Emily Walsh is a stand-up comedian who performs all over the world. And today on the Storytelling School Podcast, she shares how the worlds of comedy and story intertwine from her perspective. In this episode, you’ll hear about approaches to comedy shows and being a different version of yourself on stage (even if just slightly), as well as hear answers to questions such as: How do you navigate the challenging waters of potentially offensive jokes to your audience? What role does story play in comedic content creation? How can you ease people into your jokes and get them comfortable with you as you tell your story? And what’s the one thing you don’t want to leave your audience with? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Emily? Emily Walsh is a comedian who performs nightly in bars and comedy clubs across New York City. Originally from Boston, Emily moved to New York City after college to pursue her dream of painting scenery for theatre, film and television. She still paints sometimes because comedy doesn’t provide health insurance. Emily was recently featured on Kevin Hart’s Lyft Comics on Peacock. Her festival credits include HBO’s Women in Comedy Festival, SF Sketchfest, West End Festival in Atlanta, Boston Comedy Festival, the Out of Bounds Festival in Austin, and the Rogue Island Comedy Festival in Newport, Rhode Island. She also co-hosts the podcast Alone at Lunch, part of the Morbid podcast network on Wondery, and hosts and co-produces a monthly show at Pete’s Candy Store in Brooklyn called Golden Ticket. Links and Resources: | |||
| 17 Aug 2022 | How Lenses, Lashes and Storytelling Intertwine | 00:27:34 | |
I’m in a hotel room in San Francisco trying to perfect my geisha makeup for Halloween 2006. I’ve already made many DIY attempts, and it’s just not working out. I resemble Batman more than a geisha, so I decide to let a professional makeup artist do it instead. Off to the mall department store I go and my husband Mark comes along to see me undergo this transformation. And I swear, once the pro is done with me I look like I could’ve stepped out of 1800s Japan. We have an epic time that night and arrive back to our hotel room around 2 am. I’m looking at my phone when I come across something surprising. Unbeknownst to me, Mark posted a behind-the-scenes picture of me in the makeup chair on Twitter. And I don’t look good at all! In fact, I look like a frightening zombie. So I ask him to take the photo down immediately. But remember: this is back in 2006 when Twitter is still new. You can’t delete photos off it yet. Mark is trying to tell me this as I’m panicking. There has to be a way to remove this picture. Three hours later, after countless phone calls, desperate google searches, and email threads everywhere, the offending zombie photo is gone. (And the marriage is saved!) Now, my guest today may or may not have a few dramatic stories of her own. Violeta Meyners does impressively create real-life modern-day beauty through both the lens and lashes and helps women feel and look beautiful at the same time. In this episode, she answers questions like: How does she do it differently than other entrepreneurs? What was the narrative that she, as a woman in her industry, wanted to change? And how can you establish a connection with clients? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Violeta? The beauty business and dreamy ocean living wasn’t always the case for Violeta Meyners. She came from next to nothing, arriving in the U.S. from Romania with no friends or family and less than $500 in her pocket. All she had was big dreams, a burning desire to turn them into reality, and a will to do whatever it took. While going to school, she worked four jobs, transmuted back-on-forth from jobs to school by foot, and ate for nearly $1.25 a day. Violeta freelanced as a makeup artist for a decade until six years ago when she considered how her approach to makeup artistry made women feel. She wanted to capture their beauty, freshness, and empowerment in a permanent way, using the lens. That’s when she took her passion for photography and turned it into a full-fledged career where she now helps women own and celebrate their beauty and worthiness. You can learn more about Violeta at her website. Links and Resources: | |||
| 09 Mar 2024 | Storytelling Seven: Why Mastering Eye Contact is Crucial for Storytellers | 00:10:13 | |
I’m on a Zoom call rehearsing with a group of speakers who are getting ready for an upcoming TEDx event. Yet something’s off. After finishing her run, one speaker admits, “I don’t really feel like I’m connected.” And that’s when I realize something. She’s scanning the room and not really seeing anyone. It’s like she’s talking into the void. So I say, “Try focusing on one person at a time, like you’re talking directly to that particular person. Then focus on the next person, and then the next.” I have everybody take a turn at this. They’re hesitant at first. Yet over the next few weeks, they start making genuine connections with their audience even though it’s through the screen. It’s incredible to see and just another powerful reminder of the magic of eye contact. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, we continue our Storytelling Seven series where you’ll learn why mastering eye contact is such a crucial element in storytelling and public speaking. In the process, you’ll also find out: Why can eye contact make or break your presentation? What specific considerations should you keep in mind for eye contact in virtual presentations? And how can you practice making eye contact in your speech or story? What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teach my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 01 Feb 2023 | How to Be the Champion of Your Own Story | 00:31:43 | |
I’m in high demand as a high school softball pitcher. Colleges want to recruit me like crazy to come play for their school. The all-expense-paid recruiting trips begin. There’s one to a college with snow on the ground which appeals to me because I’m a snow skier, too. There’s another college where the coaches are amazing, and another one with an unstoppable team. Then I get an invitation from a college coach I’m not familiar with. I’m a Southern California girl thinking of sticking close to home on the West Coast, and this school is a little far away. Yet since these recruiting trips consist of people wining and dining you - so to speak - for a couple of days, I figured there’s no harm in at least going out there for a visit. I’m thinking, “I’ve never been to the islands, so it’s fine. It’ll be a fun weekend.” When the plane lands and I get off, though, my body is tingling. I love the smell of the air, the flowers, the palm trees and the ocean, and right then and there, I decide, “Yes, I’m ready to sign and I’m going to the University of Hawaii.” Plot twist! I was going in one direction, playing it safe. Then I had this opportunity to step out in another direction. I knew nobody in Hawaii and was hours (and an ocean) away from home… and I was willing to take the risk. Doing so changed my life! My guest today, Candice Michelle, has lived her own life full of plot twists. And in this episode, she talks about the many facets of her story including acting out a story live in front of 100,000+ people, a lesson learned from pro wrestler Ric Flair, and more! Plus, she’ll answer questions such as: How does listening to your gut drastically affect or change the course of your life story? How does the professional wrestling world create stories and characters for its audience? And why does winning a WWE title mean so much, even in an industry like sports entertainment where the ending to the story is planned? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Candice Michelle? Candice Michelle had to overcome the odds even before she was born. Due to complications from her father’s health, her mother’s doctors urged her to abort her pregnancy. But her mom braved the pregnancy anyway and gave birth to a healthy baby girl who grew up in Milwaukee as a Green Bay Packers fan. At 18, Candice Michelle followed her heart and moved to Hollywood to pursue modeling. She became a WWE Diva Search Contestant, was the first to win the wrestling organization’s Women’s Championship title, and even got to pose on the cover of Playboy. She also went on to become a WWE 24/7 Champion. You might have seen her in Super Bowl commercials every year, too, as the GoDaddy Girl. An injury ended Candice Michelle’s wrestling career, but it wasn’t the end of her championship reign. Now happily married for 20 years and a mother to three beautiful girls, she’s a champ coach who lives, eats, and trains 24/7 and focuses on helping others through crises and regaining their joy. Links and Resources: | |||
| 07 Dec 2022 | How Telling Hard Stories Helps Healing Through Times of Grief | 00:25:47 | |
I’m coaching a client on her TEDx Talk and she says, “Kymberlee, I don’t know if I can get through this story I’m telling. Every single time I get to a certain part, I start crying and I can’t even stop!” Having an emotional response like that means you’re very present in your storytelling - which is what you want! So I tell her, “Try refocusing on your audience while you’re telling the story. How can you serve them?” In other words, focus on what the audience needs and take care of them instead of focusing internally on yourself. She tries it and… it changes everything! She can share her stories with minimal tears while in service to her audience. My special guest today, Eric Hodgdon, is all too familiar with telling hard stories. In this episode, he’s here to share his incredibly valuable perspective on that side of storytelling and answer questions like: How do you know your story is the right one to tell? How can you conclude hard stories for your audience? And how can you prepare yourself to deliver a difficult story to an audience? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Eric? Eric Hodgdon is a speaker, author, and coach who knows first-hand the struggle after losing a loved one. After his 15-year-old daughter Zoi’s death to suicide in early 2014, he grew frustrated with grief support resources focused on survival as the endgame of a grief journey. So for the past 8 years, he’s made it his mission to change the way we approach grief support and coached and trained thousands of women and men on how to navigate one of the worst setbacks in life. Eric has spoken on a TEDx stage (with Kymberlee as his coach) and authored the Amazon bestselling book A Sherpa Named Zoi. Currently, he works 1-on-1 with clients to help them survive first, then get back up and ultimately live beyond the loss of their loved one. He’s most active on Instagram where he posts every week about how to move from struggle to strength in the face of loss. Links and Resources: | |||
| 07 Jun 2023 | Viewing Stories Through the Scope of Design | 00:35:11 | |
I’m meeting with one of my clients. And she says to me, “Kymberlee, every time I ask you, ‘How are you doing?’ you always say, ‘I’m amazing.’ How is that possible, and how can I do it too?” It’s simple. I tell her, “I’ve designed my life around everything I love to do.” I love speaking, and I know that the best ones are great storytellers. I’ve gone from not knowing where to start with a story to doubling down on it and having it as a core component of what I do and teach... I heard that Improv Comedy improves you as a speaker. And now I’ve gone from shaking with fear before I even got on stage for my first Improv class to teaching it every week and performing it multiple times a month... I’ve been an athlete all my life and use the lessons I’ve learned from over 30 years as a martial artist to influence how I teach and how I see the world... All of these career choices haven’t happened by chance. I’ve basically designed my future. And you can do it too. My special guest today, Dane Howard, is an entrepreneur who has led teams around the world in designing world-class products for services and brands. And today on the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn how design can inspire a plethora of stories and hear answers to questions like: Why does design force you to become a better storyteller? What’s it like to be in the process of redefining your current story? How can visualizing allow you to extract and string parts of your story together? And how do companies like eBay and Amazon develop stories for their products and brands? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Dane? Dane is a strategic design leader & entrepreneur, willing to wear many hats. He’s led globally distributed teams for world-class products, services, and brands and served in principal design, operational, and leadership roles for companies like BMW, MLB, Microsoft, eBay, Samsung, Amazon, and more. Since 2015, he’s launched global experiences in several companies and led and grown remote and distributed teams. And all the while, he focused on scaling the design process across multiple business domains for growth-stage companies and beyond. Links and Resources: | |||
| 27 Dec 2023 | How Story Affects Our Creative Identity | 00:27:41 | |
I’m working with a new client who is getting ready for a huge keynote speech. He tells me that he felt like his last speech completely fell flat and the audience felt disengaged. So I ask him: “Did you use storytelling in any way in your last speech?” “No, of course not,” he responds. In his view, story wasn’t appropriate for his last talk because it was very data-heavy. So I challenge him. “Since you are in the scientific community,” I say, “what if, as an experiment, you add a story to this upcoming Keynote to bring the data to life?” I give him some background about why and how story works. And in the end, he trusts me and delivers his Keynote to a huge standing ovation. To this day, he continues using story in his scientific presentations. We might think we need to deliver data in a straightforward way. Yet our brains are wired to remember stories so much better than facts. There are studies that show people retain up to 70% of the information shared through story, as opposed to only 5-10% when it’s just presented as data. My special guest today, Genein Letford, deals in data through her work in Brain-Centric Design and a curriculum rooted in neuroscience and cognitive psychology. And in this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll hear about the connection between the brain and storytelling and narrative, as well as get answers to questions like: How does your brain respond when you hear a story? What is intercultural creativity, and how does it tie into story? How does your cultural development and competency impact your creative thinking and agility in various aspects of life? And how can you use the arts to increase your ability to tell stories? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Genein? Genein is a national thought leader and creator of the concept of Prismatic Leadership, Intercultural Creativity®, and NeuroSomatic Creativity®. She is the founder and Chief Creative Officer of CAFFE Strategies, LLC which is a consulting, coaching, and training company that trains C-Suite executives and employees to create sustainable organizational equity and inclusion strategies based on neuroscience while unleashing their innovative thinking for themselves and in their businesses. Her 7 Gems of Intercultural Creativity is a leading framework that supports organizations and corporations in their diversity and inclusion development while developing critical cognitive tools for creative thinking. Genein holds degrees in psychology and educational development from UCLA and CSUN, is certified in Brain-Centric Design, and roots her curriculum in neuroscience and cognitive psychology. She believes creative thinking thrives best in an inclusive environment, and she is often called ‘America’s Creative Coach’ for her work in reigniting intercultural creativity within our workforce. Links and Resources | |||
| 05 Sep 2024 | How the Price of Admission in Storytelling Creates Deeper Audience Connection | 00:27:28 | |
I’m coaching multiple speakers for an upcoming TEDx event. During the kickoff meeting with one particular speaker, I ask him, “Okay, what’s your idea worth spreading?” He replies, “Kymberlee, that’s easy. I’m going to talk about the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.” I think, “Wait, what? If this is what you’re focusing on for your TEDx Talk, we definitely need to make 30-year fixed-rate mortgages interesting and shift the audience’s perspective because this isn’t a very sexy topic.” So I ask him, “All right. What’s your earliest memory related to money?” He tells me, “Well, when I was little, I used to go door-to-door selling acacia flowers. That’s when I first realized that people would exchange dollars for something they value.” I stop him right there and say, “That’s the story we need to tell. It’s how the audience will connect with you.” Once an audience cares about you, you’ve earned the right to teach them about what you care about. So he delivers his TEDx Talk and opens with his acacia flower story. Last week, his Talk hit one million views! And perhaps many of those viewers’ perspectives on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have changed as a result. Speaking of which, my guest Josh Lowman changes the public's point of view often and affects change with every organization and brand he works with. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn about the power of multiple story viewpoints, the price of admission in storytelling to create a deeper connection with your audience, and more. Josh will also answer questions such as: How can you think about point-of-view in story in a different way? What effect does authentic vulnerability in storytelling have on a platform where that’s not typically expressed (like LinkedIn)? And why is change an essential element for stories? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Josh? Josh Lowman is the founder and CEO of Gold Front, a category design studio based in San Francisco, California. He has worked with more than 40 C-suite executives and teams to create new categories and market them to their customers. He believes that category design and creation provide the path for business owners and CEOs to cut through the noise and reach their audience. Links and Resources: | |||
| 16 Nov 2022 | Creating Connections and Saving Lives Through Our Authentic Stories | 00:27:26 | |
A few years ago, I’m getting Morgan, a new client, ready for a high-stakes Talk. It’s a controversial one designed for a military audience. So we craft this Core Idea for his speech: The greatest epidemic of our time is one we can’t see. Morgan tells me, “In the military, you’re thought of as weak if you speak out about or admit any challenges about mental health. That’s why we have an epidemic of 22 veteran suicides a day in this country. I want to change that.” Woah. “Okay,” I respond. “Let’s build this Talk to change lives… and save some too.” His Talk goes on to be a huge success. Sharing his personal story about suicide and how to make other choices (thanks to a little-known option) has become his life’s work. If you’re curious to know: How can post-traumatic stress-causing events change your mental story? And why does sharing your vulnerable stories inspire others to share theirs? Then tune in as Morgan Watt joins me on the Storytelling School Podcast to talk about mental health and its effects on your story’s trajectory, how service dogs like his retriever Foley serve to change life stories, and the potential impact of very deep and dark stories on society-at-large. What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Morgan? Based in Tampa, Florida, Morgan Watt is a speaker, advocate, U.S. Air Force veteran, and former airline captain. During the Gulf War, he handled detection dogs at U.S. Air Force bases worldwide. Eventually, he was invited to be part of the Secret Service detail for the President and other highly sensitive assignments with bomb dogs. As an airline transport pilot, Morgan earned multiple types of ratings and became an FAA check airman who later developed a curriculum to train pilots. He studied human services (with an emphasis on mental health and counseling) at Springfield College in Massachusetts following his 17-year career in the aviation industry. Having served as a spokesperson for Southeastern Guide Dogs since 2016, he weaves all of his experiences with a compassionate understanding of anxiety and trauma. Morgan’s mission is to end the silent suicide epidemic among the country’s veteran and active duty service men and women. Links and Resources: | |||
| 24 Jan 2024 | Skyrocketing Your Success With Storytelling | 00:06:35 | |
It’s 2016 and I’m putting on a high-stakes speaking and storytelling workshop. One of the attendees “Shawn” is the CEO of a tech company, and he’s not buying the idea of using storytelling to raise money and land deals. I say to him, “Give me two days. But you’ve got to play all in. Are you in?” Despite his skepticism that anything will drastically change for him, he reluctantly agrees. When the workshop concludes, he feels this storytelling knowledge has given him a new competitive edge. Fast forward in time a few years later when we run into “Shawn”. He reveals that he’s practiced that workshop training ever since it ended and landed a life-changing deal with one of the largest software companies in his industry! He completely attributes his success to his ability to apply what he learned at my workshop: How to tell a great short story. So if you want to know: How can you use storytelling as your superpower and get others to choose you in a highly competitive playing field over your competition? And what powerful insider techniques do great storytellers use to get such great results? Then I’ve got you covered! Today’s episode switches things up a bit. It’s very short and all about the Masterclass I’m offering that teaches you how to skyrocket your success with story. What you will learn in the Masterclass:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teach my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 21 Aug 2024 | How the Power of Play Can Change a Challenging Story | 00:28:36 | |
My husband and I are driving to the airport for a family reunion when we both get pings on our phones. There’s a global outage. We check our tickets and plane reservations–they’re all fine. We head to the airport, and everything seems okay. The airline confirms our flight is on time, so we’re good to go. An hour later, we get a delay, yet they assure us everything will be fine. Another hour passes and there’s another delay. They tell us again that we’ll make our connecting flight, and everything will be okay. Finally, we board the plane. It takes off and lands at LAX, where we discover we’ve missed our connecting flight. They promise us they’ll put us on another one. My dad is texting, worried about the global outage. I reassure him that we’re fine and on the next flight…except that flight gets canceled, too, as does the next one. Around us, people are angry, yelling into their phones, and sleeping on the floor. Others are shouting at the airline staff who can’t do much about the situation. At this point, I turn to my husband and ask, “What if this were fun?” From that moment, we strive to make it fun. We start trekking through five terminals until we find the AmEx Lounge. We get playful and interact with people in character, indulge in some childhood comfort food of grilled cheese, and end up laughing and having a great time. Fifteen hours later, with the global outage continuing, we return home having never reached our destination. However, we chose to make the experience fun when everyone else seemed to be falling apart. My special guest, Sebastian Conelli, is an incredible actor, comedian, improviser who knows a thing or two about having fun. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn about the power of choosing to have fun and be playful, even in challenging situations. You’ll also discover how to create connections with your audience, the value of being vulnerable and sharing one's inner thoughts and feelings in storytelling, and get answers to questions like: How can awareness and being present in the moment enhance the impact of a story or performance? What are some specific ways in which Improv can enhance public speaking and personal confidence? And what techniques can you use to ensure that an audience connects with unusual or unexpected behaviors in a story? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Sebastian? Sebastian Conelli is an actor, comedian and improviser from New York. Sebastian has been performing and teaching improv for over 13 years. Sebastian is a part of the legendary improv team The Stepfathers (UCB), the best improv show in NY Raaaatscraps, and is a cast member of the longest-running improv show in NY, Asssssscat (UCB). Sebastian is the host of the successful podcast LOUD ABOUT NOTHING. You also might have seen Sebastian doing small parts on Max, Apple TV, Netflix, and in the 2024 Palme D'or winner Anora. Links and Resources | |||
| 29 May 2024 | Shifting the Mental Health Story Within the World of Aviation (and Beyond) | 00:29:06 | |
It feels like I’m flying all the time while running my software company. Every month, I’m going somewhere to meet clients. It’s standard practice until, out of nowhere, I have my first anxiety attack. These attacks become serious and start happening randomly on different days at different times of the day. Weeks and months go by, and every single time I step on the plane, an attack triggers. While I’ve been flying on planes my entire life, I find myself having to take medication just to step on to an aircraft. As I’m searching everywhere looking for answers to get to the bottom of what’s going on, I meet with a therapist, Dr. Keith. He asks me a simple question: “Kymberlee, do you think pilots have a fear of flying?” Sounds like a preposterous question, right? So I respond: “Of course not!” Then he advises me to ask the pilot on my next flight what their favorite thing is about flying. I do exactly that. With my heart racing, I board my next flight and ask if I can say a quick hello to the pilot. As I’m having a conversation in the cockpit with this pilot, I quickly learn that his favorite part is the landings. Suddenly, I go from having heart palpitations to laughing and smiling and learning so much about the craft of flying. In the months (and flights) that follow my perspective on flying changes so much that eventually I don’t even need to take the medication anymore. His story changes my story. Speaking of aviation and stories, my special guest, Reyné O'Shaughnessy, is a retired commercial airline pilot and captain with intimate knowledge of mental health. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll hear about the importance of changing the story within the aviation world (and beyond) as it relates to mental health, as well as get answers to questions like: How does the story within the aviation industry regarding changes in mental wellness policy need shifting? And why is it so important to share your stories publicly in the world? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Reyné? Captain (ret.) Reyné O'Shaughnessy stands as a prominent figure within the aviation industry for her unwavering dedication to both pilots and the aviation industry. With a remarkable 35-year career as a commercial airline pilot, she has accumulated a vast reservoir of experience, expertise, and proficiency with flight time exceeding 10,000 hours on heavy jet aircraft. Beyond the cockpit, Captain O'Shaughnessy has devoted over a decade to honing her skills as an aviation strategist, with a specific focus on health and mental wellness. Her dedication led her to become a certified practitioner in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) from Brown University. She founded Piloting 2 Wellbeing and co-founded The Aviation Health and Wellbeing Institute, and her holistic approach to aviation has solidified her position as a trailblazer and influencer within the industry. In addition, Captain O'Shaughnessy is the author of the best-selling book, This Is Your Captain Speaking: What You Should Know About Your Pilot's Mental Health. Her insights have been featured on reputable platforms such as Fox News, NBC News, CBS/KDKA, and AOPA, and she is a sought-after speaker at conferences worldwide. Links and Resources
| |||
| 05 Jan 2024 | Storytelling Seven: How to Influence Your Own Story | 00:08:17 | |
I’m teaching an Improv class where everyone is doing an exercise called “Headlines”. We’re standing in a circle on stage, and one by one, we each share an outlandish headline we’ve made up on the spot. But there’s a twist: each person has to start their headline with the last word from the previous person’s headline. So, for example, if the prior person says, “Life found on planet Pluto” as their headline, the next person has to start their headline with the word “Pluto”. It’s a hilarious exercise that has us holding our tummies from laughing so hard. One week later, I’m meeting with a client who says to me: “I’m thinking about the year ahead, and there are so many things I want to do and create. I don’t know where to start.” In that moment, my mind goes back to the Headline game. So I ask her: “What if we fast-forward a year? In your favorite publication, there’s a headline about you, your business, your life. What does that headline say?” She loves the idea of doing this exercise! And I invite you to do the same in the first episode of a new podcast series I’m calling the Storytelling Seven, where you get bite-sized tools and tactics you can put in practice right now to take yourself to the next level. Today on the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn about how you can use the Headline exercise to set goals and create a vision for the story of your future. You’ll get answers to questions like: How can headlines be used as teasers for stories? How do you create a headline and reverse-engineer the actions needed to achieve it? And why is celebrating your success so important? What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teach my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 31 May 2023 | How Relatable Stories Help You Connect With Any Audience | 00:32:02 | |
It’s 2006. TEDx announces that they’re holding the first-ever TEDx University. They invite all of us who are attendees to submit a description of what we want to share and teach the group. And a handful will be selected to do Talks. At this point, I’m not a speaker; I’m still in the technology industry. Still, I know exactly what I want to do. I want to teach the other attendees something that makes me feel like a badass whenever I do it... I’m going to teach them how to break boards with their bare hands! So I present my crazy idea for selection: Mind Over Wood. And… I get chosen as one of only 30 speakers out of over a thousand people! Excited, I get to work right away on writing my Talk and start picturing myself speaking in front of world leaders, neuroscientists, and billionaires... Wait. World leaders. Neuroscientists. Billionaires. I start thinking, “Who am I to teach anything to a roomful of those people? What if they laugh at me, or even worse, walk right out of the room?” So on the day of TEDx University, I’m nervously standing in front of the room. I see the editor of Forbes to the left, three rows back. I see the founder of Flickr walk into the room on the right. I realize there’s a Nobel Prize winner sitting in the front row. But I’m also feeling good about my Talk because I’ve been rehearsing it relentlessly. So OK, it’s go time! I take a deep breath and begin. And I can’t tell you how many people came up afterward to tell me how impactful my presentation was. Wow. At that moment I realize how fun this was and am astonished that people get to do this… for a living... including my incredible guest today! Adiel Gorel is sought-after as an international speaker and recently joined the TEDx stage. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, he talks about how discovering something that exists only in the U.S. motivated him to help others change one area of their unfolding life story. He also answers questions such as: What’s the biggest financial gift you can add to your story in the U.S. (if you’re not already)? What should you do before you close your story in a Talk (which many people don’t do)? Why does storytelling belong in the real estate industry? And what do you want to have at the ready when someone asks you a question like, “What do you do?” What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Adiel? Adiel Gorel is a CEO, author, and international speaker with a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and a lifetime passion for engaging audiences of all sizes in multiple languages. His company International Capital Group (ICG) is a leading real estate investment firm in the San Francisco Bay. With over 35 years of experience in the industry, he has not only invested in hundreds of properties for his own portfolio but also successfully assisted thousands of investors with purchasing more than 10,000 properties in the U.S. As a six-time published author, Adiel’s books cover topics ranging from building wealth to breathing correctly. From being a Computer Science instructor at Stanford to creating public TV specials, his life’s work is to challenge conventions in order to offer insight on how everyone can improve their health, build their wealth, and live a better life. He has two grown kids and currently resides in the Bay Area. Links and Resources:
| |||
| 01 Mar 2023 | How Gestalt and Relational Horsemanship Can Change Your Life Story | 00:30:03 | |
At eight years old, my Dad is living on a farm in Illinois. It’s Christmas morning and time to open presents. His brother opens his first; it’s a new train set and he’s ecstatic! But my Dad notices that there’s no gift with his name on it under the tree. Did he do something wrong? Are his parents upset with him? These thoughts run through his head when his parents tell him, “Your gift is outside by the barn. Go ahead!” So my dad goes outside, and there’s a Shetland pony waiting for him! Now, he’s never been around ponies. They don’t even have horses of any kind. Yet dad and this pony (who he names Captain) become the best of friends. They’re inseparable! He even teaches Captain how to shake hands! Sixty years later, my Dad still tells me stories about the antics he and Captain got up to and the lessons he learned that still affect him to this day. My special guest today is a pioneer in so many ways, and his own bond with a four-legged friend provided the spark to change his life and the lives of others. Duey Freeman is a licensed therapist and “horse whisperer” who not only has amassed stories through his own incredible life but is also changing the life stories of his clients. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, he talks about how his work helps those with stories involving attachment issues, we explore the relation between storytelling and relationship development, and he answers questions like: Why are horses so good at helping those suffering from stories of traumatic events? And how are we physiologically affected by the stories we tell (or hear from others)? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Duey? As the co-founder of the Gestalt Equine Institute of the Rockies, Duey Freeman is a sought-after teacher, trainer, licensed therapist, and equine professional worldwide. He developed and taught practical attachment and human development theories to thousands of university students. He also has nearly 80,000 direct client hours, supervises therapists and graduate students, and has people from all over the world come to study with him. It was Duey’s bond with his beloved horse Jake (who passed away in 2015) that helped him embody tenderness, strength, and authenticity in his relations and work. He’s exploring new horizons in facilitating men’s growth work because, for him, Gestalt and Relational Horsemanship aren’t just approaches; they’re how he walks through the world. In addition, Duey does business and land consultations for new equine therapy sites. Links and Resources: | |||
| 10 Aug 2022 | Why Improv Can Make Your Storytelling Stronger | 00:25:41 | |
It’s 2015 and I’ve just become addicted to this thing called improvisational comedy. I’m consuming every bit of information I can find: taking classes, reading books, and Googling everything about it. I’m completely immersed. Then I hear about an Improv performance just south of where I live. Obviously, I have to go and see it... and it is amazing! The characters, the music, the performers--they’re all mesmerizing! And I’m thinking, “There’s no way I’ll ever be as good as they are.” After the show ends, the performers meet us outside the theater. I shake hands with one of them and say, “I’d love to be able to do what you do.” And he simply responds, “You can!” Fast-forward seven years later, and not only is that performer my guest in this episode but he and I are starring in a play together! Tom Mueller has been a performer all his life. In fact, he has far-reaching family history with performance art. If you’re curious to know: What is competitive Improv and how does it work? How can powerful stories impact you (and the world around you) long after you first hear them? Then enjoy the show as Tom and I talk about theater sports, the power of commitment to improvisational storytelling, and more! What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Tom? Tom is the co-founder of the Ventura Improv Company (est. 1989) and comes from a theatrical family. He has had a storied career, including as a surgical orderly, radio announcer, tour guide in France, French and English teacher, technical writer, and instructional designer. In addition to his primary focus on Improv, Tom also enjoys performing scripted works, most recently at the Alcazar Theatre in Carpinteria, California. Like many improvisers, Tom sees the experience as enriching one’s life outside theater due to the close teamwork it requires. Links and Resources: | |||
| 10 Jan 2024 | Why Authenticity Cannot be Denied In Storytelling | 00:34:12 | |
I’m at the main TEDx event, sitting in the theater next to a lady who’s captured my attention. Her name is Carrie, and she’s impeccably dressed. I can’t help but fixate on her outfit! So as I’m chatting with her, I compliment her on her dress. She thanks me and says she’s a designer who makes custom dresses for her clients based on their unique measurements. In addition to wanting to get a tape measure and order a custom-made dress of my own from her right then and there, I have to ask her out of curiosity, “How did you get started in the fashion business?” “I believe the fashion industry has it wrong,” she responds. “It should be about role models, not runway models.” She feels fashion needs to highlight the humans wearing the clothes, instead of the clothes themselves. Not only does she go on to debut at New York Fashion Week with this campaign, she’s also one of the first designers to feature a model in a wheelchair on the runway. She’s challenging societal norms and giving voice to a segment that doesn’t always have a voice and doing so in an industry that is set in its ways in certain aspects. As someone who identifies as a non-binary gay cowboy, my special guest today also highlights marginalized voices in his work. Shawn-Caulin Young is an acclaimed LGBTQ+ actor, writer, director, and film and TV producer. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, he’s here to talk about the importance of authenticity and vulnerability in his storytelling journey and the impact these qualities have in storytelling to bring to life the experiences of marginalized communities. He also answers questions such as: What story imprisons too many actors, writers, and other artists? How can you get to your breakthrough moment of authenticity as a storyteller? What’s one thing that instantly disarms any resistance others might have to sharing their stories? And how can you use the breath to help you handle fear and enhance your presence and creativity with storytelling? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Shawn-Caulin? Shawn-Caulin Young is an acclaimed LGBTQ actor, writer, director, and film and TV producer whose storyteller roots extend deep into the arid expanses of Farmington, New Mexico amidst the vibrant tapestry of the Navajo Nation. He’s the youngest of four whose distinct, artistic voice has been shaped by his unique upbringing amidst the professional horse racing world where he identifies as a non-binary gay cowboy. As a beacon for LGBTQIA+ narratives, Shawn-Caulin has garnered acclaim across the spectrum of his various roles. His artistic voyage began in the corridors of high school drama, eventually propelling him to the prestigious Hartt School (UHA) in Connecticut, culminating in a BFA in Acting. His journey, enriched by classical training in England, led him to the vibrant streets of New York City, marking the beginning of an illustrious career in film and television. Known for his transformative and heartfelt performances in Godless, Santa Clarita Diet, True Detective, and notably in the film The Hammer, Shawn-Caulin has etched a place in the hearts of audiences worldwide. He also received the esteemed Screencraft Fellowship in 2022 for his work delving deep into the fabric of the Southwest (and beyond) and championing the untold stories of underrepresented communities with a keen eye on identity and perseverance. His scripts are not just tales but lifelines to the unsung experiences echoing from the underdog's world. Beyond the camera, Shawn-Caulin is a seasoned horseman and a devoted mentor, guiding young artists in the art of storytelling and filmmaking. His artistic journey, dotted with significant accolades and an undying passion for storytelling, continues to push the boundaries of creative expression. His commitment to diversity and authenticity makes his body of work not just entertaining but profoundly impactful and inspiring for storytellers and audiences alike. Links and Resources | |||
| 13 Sep 2023 | How Storytelling Can Skyrocket Your Success | 00:06:35 | |
It’s 2016. I’m putting on a high-stakes speaking and storytelling workshop. One of the attendees “Shawn” is the CEO of a tech company, and he’s not buying the idea of using storytelling to raise money and land deals. I say to him, “Give me two days. But you’ve got to play all in. Are you in?” Despite his skepticism that anything will drastically change for him, he reluctantly agrees. When the workshop concludes, he feels he has a new competitive edge with this storytelling knowledge. Fast forward in time to two weeks ago when we run into “Shawn”. He reveals that he’s practiced that workshop training ever since it ended and landed a life-changing deal with one of the largest software companies in his industry! He completely attributes his success to his ability to what he learned at my workshop: How to tell a great short story. So if you want to know: What powerful insider techniques do great storytellers use to get such great results? And how can you use storytelling as your superpower and get others to choose you in a highly competitive playing field over your competition? Then I’ve got you covered! Today’s episode switches things up a bit. It’s very short and all about the Masterclass I’m offering (I only do this a couple of times a year!) that teaches you how to skyrocket your success with story. What you will learn in the Masterclass:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teaching my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 23 Nov 2022 | Telling One Hundred Weeks of Stories | 01:17:30 | |
In 2020, I launch Storytelling School with programs, courses, workshops, masterminds, and one-on-one training. One of my colleagues notices that there’s something missing. She says to me, “Kymberlee, you also need a podcast.” I’m thinking, “Do I, though? I’m so busy already, and there are a TON of well-established podcasts out there. Does the world need another one? Plus, would anyone even bother listening to mine?” My colleague insists, “None of those podcasts have your unique perspective on storytelling or can highlight the incredible people you know, all in one place. None of them can give back and serve your audience… the way only you can.” Okay, we’re doing this. And one hundred weeks later, what an adventure this has been. Sometimes what we resist is exactly what we need to move forward. And if I had succumbed to that resistance, we wouldn’t have heard the amazing voices and informative points of view from guests around the world who have all shared their perspective on storytelling. Now you’re in for a treat! In this special 100th episode of the Storytelling School podcast, you’ll hear the best “mic drop moments” from every previous guest… plus a couple of powerful ideas from yours truly as well. So grab your pen and paper and get ready for micro soundbites that just may inspire you to take action, challenge you to change your perspective, and even invite you to change your life! Enjoy.
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teaching my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 28 Sep 2022 | Why Brevity is a Storytelling Superpower | 00:29:35 | |
I’m getting buzzed with a text message from my friend Mike. Kymberlee, you’ve got to check out this newsletter! My inbox is already overflowing, so the last thing I need is another newsletter on my to-read list. Thanks for thinking of me, I let Mike know. This is different! It’s micro content which is exactly how you teach. He knows I’m always talking about short-form storytelling and how it’s a superpower. So I check this must-see newsletter out. And wow! Not only do I read the entire thing in just a few minutes, the content is riveting, incredibly valuable, and actionable. Plus, I find myself chomping at the bit to put into practice what I’m reading right then. In this week’s episode on the Storytelling School Podcast, I speak with the man behind that incredible newsletter content. Eddie Shleyner is a copywriter, marketer, storyteller, and one of the only newsletter writers in my inbox that I make sure to read every single time. So if you’re curious to know: Besides story, what are the other elements that make up a micro article? Why does storytelling work so well in copywriting? Why does vivid imagery in writing have such a powerful influence on people? Then tune in as you hear about the power of realism in writing, vivid imagery from a dentist that makes a lesson really stick in the mind, and how Breaking Bad and Raymond Carver’s short story “Cathedral” demonstrate some of the most popular and effective storytelling techniques out there. What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Eddie? Eddie Shleyner is the founder of Very Good Copy (VGC), a blog and newsletter about copywriting and creativity. He used to serve as the former Copy Chief at G2.com for three years where he worked with a world-class marketing team. He was even named “Marketing MVP of the Year” for the company shortly before it announced its Series D $1.1 billion funding valuation in June 2021. Eddie left G2 to continue building VGC which has over 33,000 subscribers and garners approximately 100 more per day. Earlier this year, VGC won HackerNoon’s “Email Newsletter of the Year” award and was voted a “Top Voice” in Marketing and Advertising on LinkedIn. He’s also written copywriting columns for HubSpot, Forbes, and Hootsuite and is a guest lecturer at Boston University. Links and Resources: | |||
| 29 Dec 2022 | How Storytelling Builds Bridges Between Investors and Entrepreneurs | 00:31:07 | |
I’m running my software company in 2015 when this email comes in. As we open it, we’re beside ourselves with excitement because it represents the opportunity of a lifetime. We’ve been selected as one of the very few technology companies to present at the DEMO conference. I eagerly read the details, including how much time presenters have to speak. I’m looking for our company’s name, and I don’t see us among the slots for the 20-minute presentations… nor the 5-minute ones... nor the 3-minute ones. I get down to the 1-minute presentations and see us listed there. Cue the freaking out. We only have 60 seconds to get on stage and talk about our entire software company and everything we do to a roomful of the most influential people in the world! So what do we do? Something completely different of course. My co-founder Mark and I get on stage and ask everybody in the audience to stand up. Then one by one, we ask for anyone belonging to certain groups of people to sit down until eventually only the investors in the room are left standing. Making a joke about how they’re the ones everyone else in the room wants to most meet, we quickly explain that that’s how our software works. It takes complex bits of data and narrows it down to the five people you need to meet. Our 1-minute presentation was a huge success! It opened so many doors afterward. And it happened because we chose to create an experience for our audience that built a relationship. My special guest today, Neal Bloom, knows all about relationship-building from both the entrepreneurial perspective and the investor perspective. In today’s show, he talks about story as it relates to the work he does and answers questions like: What deeper levels of connection can change the trajectory of your life or business? What money stories impact entrepreneurs when it comes to the investor industry (and vice versa)? And how does telling your story open up new avenues or doors of opportunity for you and others? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Neal? Neal Bloom used to think he’d go into one of the family businesses. Instead, he graduated with an engineering undergraduate degree and worked on NASA’s Space Shuttle program. Since then, he’s obtained his M.B.A. with an emphasis on entrepreneurship and marketing. Neal co-founded a company to help new graduates visually brand themselves using their existing classwork as work experience. After selling the company in 2019, he went on to build Interlock Capital, an investment community of domain expert operators to close the gap between capital and subject matter experts. Now, Neal serves as the Managing Partner of the venture capital firm, in addition to being CEO of communication firm Rising Tide Partners. Additionally, Neal has launched multiple companies in the education technology and talent technology space, invested in over 50 startup technology companies, amplified the story of governments to help attract innovative businesses to their city, and mentored hundreds of founders to leap into or keep building quality businesses. Links and Resources: | |||
| 12 Apr 2023 | How Dissecting the Details Makes Your Storytelling Stand Out | 00:26:59 | |
I'm a high school freshman. It’s 2 o’clock in the morning on a school day and I can't sleep, so I get up and wander into our living room. My Dad’s in there taking notes and reviewing video footage of our rival softball team we’re set to play later that day. He’s the head coach of our varsity team and often sends someone to scout out the opponent, so this is a common scene in our household. I say to him, “Dad, why do you spend so much time researching other teams?” “Because the more effort you put in behind the scenes, the more success you’ll have when it’s game time,” he explains. That knowledge bomb was spot on and Dad was right. All those nights and obsessing over the details was worth it since we never lost a single in-league game over the four years I played high school softball. Crazy, right?!? And my special guest today, Marc Bonanni, knows all about research and dissecting what works when it comes to storytelling. In this episode of the Storytelling School podcast, we explore breakdowns and deep dives of story using his encyclopedic knowledge of everything Broadway and Musical Theatre. Marc also answers questions like: What’s the difference between film and theater regarding what’s essential to make a story? What can you use as a performer to make your storytelling successful? Why has Marvel Studios succeeded with their stories when others have failed (and in what way do their movies resemble musicals)? And what makes a character work well (or not work at all)? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Marc? Marc Bonanni is a Musical Theatre Historian based in Brooklyn, NY. He has a beautiful wife who works on Broadway and two amazing, if dramatic, daughters. His YouTube channel, Broadway By Ghostlight, has featured several Broadway and television favorites and is slowly growing to become a favorite among the theater crowd. When not knee-deep in editing his videos, Marc is usually attending a Broadway show or napping. Links and Resources: | |||
| 05 Oct 2022 | How to Skyrocket Your Success With Storytelling | 00:06:34 | |
It’s 2016. I’m putting on a high-stakes speaking and storytelling workshop. One of the attendees “Shawn” is the CEO of a tech company, and he’s not buying the idea of using storytelling to raise money and land deals. I say to him, “Give me two days. But you’ve got to play all in. Are you in?” Despite his skepticism that anything will drastically change for him, he reluctantly agrees. When the workshop concludes, he feels he has a new competitive edge with this storytelling knowledge. Fast forward in time to two weeks ago when we run into “Shawn”. He reveals that he’s practiced that workshop training ever since it ended and landed a life-changing deal with one of the largest software companies in his industry! He completely attributes his success to his ability to what he learned at my workshop: How to tell a great short story. So if you want to know: What powerful insider techniques do great storytellers use to get such great results? And how can you use storytelling as your superpower and get others to choose you in a highly competitive playing field over your competition? Then I’ve got you covered! Today’s episode switches things up a bit. It’s very short and all about the Masterclass I’m offering (I only do this a couple of times a year!) that teaches you how to skyrocket your success with story. What you will learn in the Masterclass:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teaching my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 14 Jun 2023 | Why Lateral Lessons Supercharge Your Speaking and Storytelling Prowess | 00:24:46 | |
It’s 2003. I’m at my very first TED event and I’m in the computer industry. Over a period of five days, I’m not hearing typical presentations on one subject matter. Instead, I am listening to Talks about nanotechnology, robotics, cancer cure research, and a variety of other topics that I never would have had access to otherwise. At first I’m thinking that these Talks are way over my head. Yet soon I find that my exposure to these ideas help me build a completely new point of view around my company and how I treat family, friends, and clients. These influences stick with me and I still practice them to this day. When you take lessons from one field of study and apply them to another, it can explode your momentum in your field of expertise. For instance, I’d hear a TED Talk on creativity and approach a project differently with that in mind. Or I’d slightly change the nature of a conversation with a client because of what I’d heard about a new development in artificial intelligence. These are what I call lateral lessons. And you can do the same thing, too--use lateral lessons to help build out your body of work and what you offer to the world. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn about the lateral lessons that the world of Improv can teach you so you can apply these lessons in your life. I’ll teach you these concepts through stories of backstage preparations, spilled tea, and the danger of doing Improv. And you’ll also find out answers to questions like: What concept helps you stop paralysis by analysis when you’re about to present or perform? How can you make certain parts of your presentation (or your life or business story) more interesting? And what goes on in the mind of an Improv performer? What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teaching my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 06 Sep 2023 | So You Think You Want to Become a Storyteller… Setting Up Your Story | 00:18:17 | |
We’re sitting around a fire pit at my Master’s Circle retreat for speakers, looking out at the ocean as the sun is setting. One of our Mastermind members asks: “Kymberlee, what comes before the story?” He continues to elaborate: “Let’s say I’m doing a Keynote. Do I walk on stage and immediately start telling the story, or is there something I say before I start the story?” There are a few impactful ways to bridge into your story. So I start taking him through my ideas as the fire continues glowing in the background. And as I’m sharing, I begin to realize that I need to share this with you and talk about this topic on the podcast! So in this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, we're continuing our “So You Think You Want to Become a Storyteller” master series where you'll learn seven ways you can transition into your story and get answers to questions like: Why should you keep your story transition short? And what does using all of these bridging techniques do for your audience? What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teach my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 14 Dec 2022 | How to Rewrite Your Money Story | 00:29:18 | |
As a 14-year-old, I’d rather do a million other things than clean. So I’m not happy when my dad tells me, “Our renters just moved out, so it’s time to clean the house before the new renters move in.” He notices the look on my face and says, “When I moved to California after high school, I put a down payment on a rental house that turned into two houses, then three houses, and many more. One day, you’ll appreciate these rental houses because making smart choices with your money today will result in financial freedom tomorrow.” Fast forward to today, and Dad was right. The financial choices we make now do impact our future selves, something my special guest today also knows very well. Dylan Bain focuses his life’s work on the stories that happen as a result of the financial choices we make. In this episode, he tells us all about it. So if you’re curious to know: How can you tell the difference between you writing your money story and the story writing you? How can money stories from your childhood impact you as an adult, even if you have very different financial circumstances? How do you unpack the emotional charge from your financial story to get different results? And why does storytelling garner success or breakthroughs when you do it in your line of work? Then tune in as we touch on the emotional factor of money, other life area stories resembling your money story, the power of storytelling in your profession, and navigating (possibly opposite) money stories between couples. Along the way, Dylan shares stories about a pair of rotting shoes, generational food culture, a bored CFO, a fraudulent principal, an uncomfortable wife, and how all that can have an impact on your money story or the stories you tell others. What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Dylan? Dylan Bain is a financial coach who specializes in helping others rewrite their money stories. His own journey began eight years ago when he left his job teaching math to pursue an accounting career in grad school while raising his family. Wanting to leave his former life of welfare and multiple jobs behind, he rewrote the script of his life and found peace in financial security. He discovered others wanted to follow a similar path, too, so he began coaching in earnest. Since Dylan quit his math teacher job, he’s gone from food stamps to financial sovereignty. He believes that people view money, at its core, with fear and mystery when it doesn’t have to be that way. So he brings a holistic approach when it comes to financial relationships. Working through his company Fiscally Savage, he focuses on coaching clients on the emotions of money, seeing a budget as a statement of shared values, and finding ways to control their financial lives and live freely. Links and Resources: | |||
| 20 Jul 2023 | How to Captivate with Stories and Stagecraft | 00:28:15 | |
I’m walking off the stage after giving a Keynote at a Southern California university. A few of the audience members make their way over to me. “Kymberlee,” one of them says, “Your presentation was so captivating! I was glued to your every word.” I worked very hard on this particular Talk, so getting this feedback feels amazing! And as I’m driving away from the event, I start thinking about what exactly made it so captivating. Was it the stories I told? Or how I moved on stage? Or something else? The analytical side of my brain kicks in and starts trying to reverse-engineer the Talk that earned me such a glowing review. And I realize that I made several critical choices that, joined together, form a blueprint for being captivating on stage. So today on the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn strategies to help you dial into your own captivation skills so you too can experience your audience’s unwavering attention. You’ll also discover: What mistake do many speakers and storytellers make when beginning their presentation? How can you stop your audience in their tracks right away? How do you use visuals to enhance (and not take away from) your audience’s experience? What’s one captivation technique that many speakers and storytellers aren’t taught? And how do you “earn the right to deliver the next section” of your Talk to your audience? What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teaching my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 02 Nov 2022 | How to Explore the World of Possibility in Your Stories | 00:29:00 | |
I’m at a dinner party in this cool, old house that belongs to one of my stepmom Sandy’s best friends. This castle-style home stands three stories tall and has winding staircases inside and trees surrounding it. And I’m a fourth-grader surrounded by adults at this get-together. So despite this cool house, I eventually get bored. I’m still sitting in my chair trying to behave, though. Just as we’re about to start on dessert, Denise (who lives there) notices my boredom. She takes a leftover dinner roll and chucks it out the window! We’re so high up that we never even hear it hit the ground. I look at her in shock as she takes another roll and throws that out the window, too! I ask, “Denise, why do you do that?” She responds, “Oh, to feed the dragons, of course.” Dragons?! “You have pet dragons?” I ask. “Yeah, three of them. And they love dinner rolls.” Right then and there, I decided that Denise is one of the world’s coolest people and that I too want to have pet dragons. This story has stuck with me ever since I was that 9-year-old because of the possibility. What if there were actually dragons or other magical creatures living among us? That’s the premise of the Sam London Adventure books series written by my special guest today, Todd Gallicano. In this episode, he and I talk about how you have your own hero’s journey, effective ways to open and close your story, plot twist predictability, and overcoming writer’s block. You’ll also get answers to questions like: How can you use truth as a springboard for a fictional story? In what way are you on your own hero’s journey right now? Should you leave a story open-ended or resolve it for your audience? And what’s really responsible for writer’s block anyway? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Todd? Todd Gallicano is a book author, Hollywood screenwriter, and international speaker who graduated from New York University’s School of Film and Television. He began his film career with Italian-born producer Dino De Laurentiis. Since then, he’s sold screenplays to SKG, Netflix, and Dreamworks and had scripts developed with Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, and other major production companies. In 2023, Heather Graham, Brandy Norwood, Jason Biggs, and Matt Cedeño will star in the film Best. Christmas. Ever. based on his screenplay. Lovers of the Harry Potter books or Rick Riordan’s fictional works based on ancient Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology will appreciate Todd's Sam London series. His series has already garnered a reputation for encouraging readers to learn more about mythology and folklore, as well as visit and support national parks worldwide. Todd was a recent panelist at the International Congress of Arabic Publishing and Creative Industries and has spoken at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. His talks have touched on adapting books into films, games, and audio, and he’s introduced thousands of students to the universal storytelling components within ancient myth and modern fantasy. You may have also seen Todd’s appearances on TV or his articles in major publications. Currently, he hosts the podcast The Creature Files where he invites expert guests and eyewitnesses to talk about creatures from mythology and folklore. Links and Resources: | |||
| 14 Sep 2022 | So You Think You Want to Become a Storyteller… Getting Paid to Speak | 00:34:15 | |
It’s 7 o’clock in the morning in Des Moines, Iowa. I’m ready to give my first ever keynote speech. My hair and makeup are done and I’ve got my power dress on. I’m ready to dazzle! Only one thing’s missing: my bulletproof matcha tea. It’s my magic elixir that’ll turn my speech from amazing to extraordinary. I gotta have it before I walk out of my hotel room. So I take out my Ninja® blender I’ve brought all the way from California, put all the ingredients in it (hot water, matcha tea powder, high octane oil, and ghee/butter), push the lid down, start the engines, and--poof! Everything explodes out of the blender and this sticky green goo and splatters all over me, my dress, my hair, the walls, the keyboard… everywhere. I’m freaking out when my husband Mark runs in from the other room. He tells me, “I’ve got this” and says he’ll remake my tea while I go shower, change, and get myself together again. So he too puts all the ingredients back into the blender, pushes the lid down... and the same thing happens all over again! Everything, including Mark, gets a fresh coating of green goo. Naturally, I start freaking out even more. But we do our best with cleaning ourselves up and leave without my bulletproof matcha tea. Even though I feel like a mess (mentally and physically), I give the keynote speech in front of 4,000 people. As we fly home after that experience, I plan to give the Ninja® blender people a piece of my mind, tell them their contraption doesn’t work, and send it back in the box it came from. But when I go to the garage to retrieve the box, I notice something. It says that it’s for cold ingredients only and meant for chopping ingredients. That’s why it kept exploding! Whoops! As I always like to say, things will either go well or you’ll have a story to tell on the other side of it. If you want to get paid to speak (with or without a pre-speech disaster like I had that day), then tune in as Mark and I continue our series on storytelling today. In this episode, I answer questions like: What does getting paid to speak look like? What are the different ways you can get paid as a speaker? And how can you be as effective a speaker, thought leader, and storyteller as possible? In this episode, I answer questions like: What does getting paid to speak look like? What are the different ways you can get paid as a speaker? And how can you be as effective a speaker, thought leader, and storyteller as possible? What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teaching my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 08 Feb 2024 | How to Begin Your Story With a Bang | 00:10:13 | |
One sentence from a stranger is all it took to ignite the biggest epiphany of my life. I’ll explain. I’m sitting in the audience at my first TED conference, enraptured by all the speakers when a guy comes on stage who I’ve never heard of before. He starts showing some of the most beautiful and haunting images I’ve ever seen. Then he says something offhand that gives me chills… Speaking of the impact of words, welcome to the next episode in our “Storytelling Seven” series! Today on the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn about how to capture your audience’s attention from the very beginning by starting your story off with a bang. I unpack the power of using hook statements by answering questions like: What is a hook, and how does using one in your story engage your audience? How do you craft an effective hook statement? How does FDR’s first inaugural address illustrate the power of a great story hook? What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teach my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 21 Dec 2022 | How to Name Your Year | 00:13:56 | |
It's 2014. As the year draws to a close, all of my friends come up with their New Year’s resolutions, ranging from dropping bad habits to losing weight. But while I create my list of resolutions on the eve of the new year, I realize it isn’t going to work. Sure, I write them out every year with the best intentions in mind, but I forget some of them by February and even blow by others in January. At the end of the year, when reflecting back, it’s the goals I haven’t reached that make me feel like I’m failing. Walking on the beach that morning with my matcha latte, I wonder, “What if there were a new way to set intentions for the year ahead? What if those intentions actually made a significant difference in our lives?” Then it hits me. Instead of doing the usual thing, I’m going to give the upcoming year a short, memorable, spicy name. I’m going to name my year based on who I want to become, not who I am today. No more lists, no more forgetting, no more failing. I will live into what I’ve named my year with every decision I make and every action I take. What happens as a result? Everything. Outcomes change based on what I name my year, and it has such a profound effect on me that I start teaching others to do it and have incredible transformations of their own. Now it’s your turn! In this short but very special episode, I talk about changing your year (and your life) with one, simple word or phrase and demonstrate why it works better than your typical New Year’s resolution. What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teaching my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 08 May 2024 | The Power of Storytelling in Mind-Body Healing | 00:26:44 | |
Whenever we do a new TEDx event, our first order of business is finding the theme to get everything flowing. It influences everything we do, from the set design to invited speakers and so much more. So as we come up with theme ideas for our Santa Barbara TEDx event in 2019, nothing is really clicking. We try phrases, single words, even full sentences and they all fall short. The theme candidates feel very generic and unexciting. Then, it hits me: What if we take a deeper look at the role of stories through three different lenses: stories we tell, stories told to us, and stories we tell ourselves? The team loves it! We finally have our theme, and it sets in motion our lense through which to look through for all our decision-making. And… our TEDx event ends up to be a huge success that year! No speaking of stories, my incredible guest today, Brandy Gillmore, uses all three of those storytelling lenses in her life’s work. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn about her healing journey from an accident in 2003 and what she discovered about the crucial role of stories in mind-body healing. You’ll also get answers to questions like: What are misconceptions in stories about mind-body healing? What is the story connection between our subconscious mind, emotions, and physical health? How can transforming stories you tell yourself lead to life-changing results? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Brandy? Brandy Gillmore is a researcher, author, and mind-body expert. Spurred on by a debilitating injury from an accident in 2003 that left her disabled, in excruciating pain, and without hope for recovery, she began researching for a cure and discovered obscure research that changed the course of her life and resulted in a complete recovery. Now, she shares this research in her book Master Your Mind and Energy to Heal Your Body, which showcases our power to radically heal our bodies using only our minds. Thanks to her groundbreaking discovery, Brandy has been featured in prestigious medical journals, on notable platforms (such as the Shift Network), and in several documentaries and docuseries including Women’s Health Secrets, Thrive Global, Harper’s Bazaar Brazil, Pain Revealed, and more! She’s also been praised by medical professionals, health and wellness luminaries, global leaders, Hollywood celebrities, corporate tycoons, and people from all walks of life who’ve been captivated by her remarkable insights and results from her work. Links and Resources
| |||
| 16 Aug 2023 | Why Saying Yes Opens More Storytelling Doors | 00:27:34 | |
I’m on the last day of a five-day, 12-hour daily intensive Improv class at The Annoyance Theatre. Our instructor comes in and has us count off by threes. Once that’s done, he instructs us to find everyone else with the same number. Then he tells us: “Whoever’s in your group, you all are now an Improv team. And you’re going to perform tonight live on the main stage for a public audience.” I’m thinking, “These teams are made up of people I barely know.” They come from all around the world with different backgrounds, styles, strengths, and varying levels of Improv experience. And that’s when I realize that’s what's so cool about this whole thing! We can bring all that to the table in our performance. My made-up-on-the-spot team and I spend the rest of the day creating, refining, rehearsing, and doing it over again, based on our collective suggestions and ideas as a collective. That night, when we hit the stage and show our stuff, it’s a huge success. And I know a big part of it is due to the collective diversity of the group and the openness to learning from each other as well as respecting and honoring everyone’s contribution. Speaking of spotlights and collectives, today’s special guest, Lindsay Ravage, is a veteran of the Improv community in addition to working as an actress. And in this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, she’s here to dive into how the world of Improv can influence you as a storyteller and answer questions such as: Why are you already an experienced Improv storyteller, even if you’ve never performed it on a stage? How does having trust in others influence the ability to create a bigger story? Why is it so important for kids at a young age to learn how to express themselves and be creative in telling stories? And how do shared experiences make for powerful storytelling? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Lindsay? Growing up just outside of New York City, Lindsay Ravage fell in love with the stage at a young age. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Southern California’s Theatre School and studied at the esteemed British Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. She is also a graduate of The Second City Conservatory program and UCB Improv program and has performed Improv all over Los Angeles in various Improvisation and sketch troupes. In addition to still acting in commercials and television, she has worked as a casting associate for some of the most successful commercial casting offices in Los Angeles. Lindsay has also worked with children most of her adult life. But she felt there was a lack of theatre classes in the L.A. area for her own kids. Wanting to create a fun and creative outlet for non-professional kids, she started Tiny Spotlight--Los Angeles’ premiere children’s theater academy that offers musical theater, Improv, and sketch comedy classes to kids aged 3-11. These classes are taught by top-notch directors in a real theatre setting. They’re designed as fun-filled performance experiences to build confidence and let kids know that their ideas are important and what they have to say matters. Tiny Spotlight classes are held at the charming Two Roads Theater in Little Tujunga Village in the heart of Studio City, California, and at The Pico Theatre in West LA. Links and Resources: | |||
| 01 Oct 2024 | How Story Can Help You Cultivate Courage and Bridge Divisions | 00:29:05 | |
It’s the third night of a very intense survival training course with a Green Beret guy. I haven’t slept or showered. I’m muddy and exhausted and just want to go home to Santa Barbara. I tell myself I just need to make it through one more night and this will all be behind me. When it’s time to call it a night, I am given a choice: I can either sleep in my tent or in this lean-to I’ve built. The lean-to is essentially a hole in the dirt with some twigs on it. At this moment, I’d love nothing more than to be at a resort, yet I remind myself I came to this insane training for a challenge. So I say, “Fine. I’ll sleep in this lean-to.” I trek down the road around the bend and shimmy myself into this little hole in the dirt. I can’t even see the base camp anymore. I can hear every sound around me as I lay there, and I realize that I’ve never been alone like this before. But hey, it’s fine! “I’m fine; in just hours, I can go home,” I think to myself. Then, after slightly dozing off, I wake up to this crunching sound just off in the distance. It’s coming towards me, and I keep telling myself everything’s fine. Then the crunch gets louder and faster until, in the moonlight, I see it: the tusk of a wild boar!?! I lie there, frozen and deciding whether or not to scream, when I remember something: animals sense fear. So I need to be strong, be still, be silent, and stick this out. While it’s rooting around my head, something suddenly distracts it, and it runs off into the forest. And when morning arrives, I get out of the lean-to, go back to camp, and announce I survived. The Green Beret guy says, “Yeah. Good job Kymberlee.” Here’s the deal: I am committed to affecting change in our world. With change comes challenges. With challenges comes fear. That means that different levels of fear are always coming up for me. What this unforgettable experience has taught me is that we must cultivate your courage. And when I think of courage, I can’t help but think of that Green Beret guy who has become a dear friend. His name is Retired Lieutenant Colonel Scott Mann. Scott is with us today in this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast to discuss the transformative power of thematic stories of survival and courage and answer questions like: What is the significance of storytelling leadership roles? What do personal stories that resonate with others have in common? And why is your delivery of a story as important as its content? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Scott? Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Scott Mann is a former U.S. Army Green Beret with tours all over the world including Colombia, Peru, and multiple tours in Afghanistan. He is a warrior storyteller and the founder of Rooftop Leadership, where he shares the rapport-building and storytelling skills he learned in Special Forces to help today's leaders make better human connections in high-stakes, low-trust engagements. Scott is the author of the instant New York Times Best-Seller, Operation Pineapple Express, a third-person narrative detailing the harrowing stories of the veterans, volunteers, and Afghan allies who navigated the U.S. abandonment of Afghanistan in August of 2021. The Gary Sinise Foundation partnered up with Scott to bring his play, Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret, to stages across the country to provide healing for our veterans and families of the fallen, as well as provide insight for our citizens on the personal cost of the longest war in our nation’s history. Links and Resources | |||
| 12 Jun 2024 | How Surrender, Resiliency and Reconciliation Create Impactful Storytelling | 00:30:34 | |
I’m on stage performing at Santa Barbara Improv. My scene partner and I are playing a game of He Said, She Said which goes like this: After every line of dialogue from one person, their scene partner will then narrate something physical for them to do. For instance, let’s say that I say to my scene partner, “I’m so angry at you right now.” My partner then narrates something like, “She said while jumping up and down on one foot.” And I actually have to do the thing. So we’re in the middle of a mob scene digging a hole, and my partner says, “She says while taking a cigar out of her back pocket and lighting it.” Being a dedicated athlete my whole life, I never learned how to light a cigar. So when I pretend to do it, I fumble around with it which causes the audience to lose it so much that my scene partner keeps on narrating me lighting cigars. Pretty soon, I’m losing it too, almost crying because I’m trying to hold in my laughter so much. It turned into a delightful disaster on stage, yet one that ends up being one of my funniest bits. My special guest today can certainly relate. Polo Reo Tate is a comedian herself as well as an author, actress, keynote speaker, philanthropist, podcaster, and so much more. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll hear how she champions authenticity and resiliency through storytelling and beyond and get answers to questions such as: Why do you have an innate Improv storytelling ability? How do the rules of Improv storytelling mirror the rules of life? How does reconciling within yourself the low points of your life impact your power as a speaker and storyteller? And what role does your physicality play in enhancing your stories? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Polo? As an author by soul, actor by trade, artist at heart, and uplifter to the core of her being, Polo Reo Tate redefines what it means to be a Renaissance Woman. From a myriad of life experiences, she intimately understands the transformational value in mindfully getting to know ourselves wholly and love ourselves unconditionally in order to live fully in the freedom of our own authenticity. Her supreme love for people, and the clarity with which she sees and celebrates the superpowers of those around her, allows her to help elevate the energy of any relationship or situation brought forth by a client. Whether she is in front of a camera, a crowd, or the company of one, Polo revels in the kinetic web of creativity that is born from every interaction, every co-creation. She lives each moment to the fullest, lets no one take her joy, and avidly operates from the belief that we can do anything upon which we set our minds, hearts, and spirits. She welcomes and invites you to embrace your own infinite possibility, embody the loving being that you are, and feel the power and the pleasure of being fully present in your own life. Links and Resources
| |||
| 28 Jun 2023 | How Living in the World of Perspective Changes Your Stories | 00:35:59 | |
I’m at an Improv class doing a scene with a partner when the instructor stops us. He says to me, “When you think about your character you just acted out, what was their point of view? What was their philosophy?” I’m thinking, “Philosophy?! This is Improv! I barely know my character’s name, let alone what my character’s philosophy is.” I tell him that I have no idea. And then he gives me a piece of advice that has stuck with me: knowing your character’s philosophy, point of view, or how they see the world will influence what you say, how you say it, your voice, your body language--everything. Even though in Improv we don’t have any time to set up a whole backstory for our character, just having that awareness of their philosophy helps you as a performer. It changed me. And my special guest today, Jillian Paige, lives in the world of perspective from the point of view of a classically-trained singer, actress, and instructor. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll hear about how you can take performance training to a whole new level in your storytelling (or anything you do). We’ll also answer questions like: What is the Meisner technique, and how is it similar and different to Improv? How can repetition help ground and calm you before a performance or audition? How can you practice avoiding inattentional blindness when speaking or performing? And what is the “liking gap” and how can you use it in your storytelling to take it to the next level? Along the way, you’ll hear about Marlon Brando’s influence on Hollywood acting, the operatic singer who cried from letting go, the 90-second audition gone wrong, and so much more! What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Jillian? Jillian Paige is the Founder of Meisner in Music, the premier class to infuse the Meisner technique with singing. Jillian received her master’s in music theatre from Oklahoma City University, her bachelor’s in classical vocal performance from Belmont University, and studied Meisner under Terry Martin (a direct pupil of Meisner’s) and Ted Wold. Jillian is based out of New York City and has performed with companies such as Actors Theatre of Louisville, the Nashville Opera, and Kentucky Opera. She is passionate about helping singers maintain beautiful singing while achieving emotional freedom and impulsivity in the moment. Links and Resources: | |||
| 20 Dec 2023 | How to Craft Persuasive Stories | 00:36:23 | |
In a small village, a young shepherd boy is given the task of guarding the sheep. He’s the type of boy who wants entertainment and perhaps even attention. So he suddenly cries out, “Wolf!” Hearing this, all the villagers come rushing to his aid. When they arrive, there’s no wolf to be seen. So they get back to their daily lives. Then they hear the boy cry “Wolf!” again. The villagers run over and still, they don’t see a prowling threat to their flock. This happens again and again. They hear the “warning,” rush over, and each time they don’t find a wolf, their trust in the shepherd boy diminishes. Then, one day, a wolf does suddenly appear to threaten the sheep. When the boy cries “Wolf!” this time, the villagers ignore him. So the wolf is free to feast on the flock, and the boy is left with a hard lesson to learn about telling the truth. Why does this well-known fable work so well as a memorable and persuasive teaching tool (in this case, for the importance of honesty)? In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll get a deeper look into why this fable works along with other powerful insights on how to craft persuasive stories. You’ll also hear examples of persuasive storytelling in action and discover answers to the following: What are the important elements that make a story persuasive? How can storytellers balance facts and emotions to persuade effectively? And what common mistakes should you avoid making in persuasive storytelling? …and much more! What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teach my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 27 Jul 2022 | How Storytelling Can Make Opportunities Appear | 00:28:55 | |
It’s 2010 and I’ve been attending the annual TED conference for seven years. I want all my friends and family to experience TED too, but it’s by invitation only. I learn that the head of TED, Chris Anderson, has announced that TEDsters can apply to create independently organized TED events locally. I’m thinking, “What an incredible opportunity, but can we pull it off?” I worry about our ideas not being big enough to share. Not to mention, I’ve produced events before but not at this magnitude. After talking about it endlessly, we decide we’ll go for it. It turns out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Those events become known as TEDx events (the x stands for independently organized TED event). Ever since, we’ve had the opportunity to produce many TEDx events, birthing ideas and stories into the world that affect change, one person at a time. Speaking of producing, my special guest today Angela Gulner is a film producer, actress, and writer, who also brings stories to life that can touch individuals at the exact moment they need it most. In this episode, she and I look at storytelling through different angles and answer questions such as: How does energy play a part in the writing process? As an actor, what is it like to become a character? And must your protagonist be likable, or is there another way to get an audience to go on a journey with a character? Along the way, you’ll hear Angela discuss playing a villainess, collaborating with others to create work during hard times, taking on the producer role out of necessity, and upleveling your storytelling game with accountability. What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Angela? Angela Gulner got her start with an MFA in Acting from Harvard University. She then began her career as a writer and producer with the indie dark comedy Binge, which went viral with over 2 million on Youtube and got a development deal with MGM Studios. Along with her writing partner, she developed and pitched TV projects for heavy hitters in the industry such as MGM Studios, Calvary Media, and Debbie Liebling. Recently, Angela wrote for upcoming features like Some Other Woman (starring Amanda Crew and Tom Felton) and Kaet Might Die for Balcony 9 Productions. In addition, she produced and starred in the feature film The Summoned which was released by XYZ Films on VOD. Currently, she’s in post-production as the producer of the short film Gay-ish (written by Michelle Askew, the youngest female writer to ever make the Blacklist, who also makes her directorial debut with the film). Angela also has two feature films in development as writer and director for Wicked Myth Films. Links and Resources: | |||
| 15 Feb 2023 | How Immersion Benefits You As A Storyteller | 00:30:16 | |
It’s 2015, and I’m ready to take the next leap. I’ve been working with speakers one-on-one for a while and want to try my hand at hosting my own event. Except, I’ve never done this before, and if I do it… will anyone even come to it? How long should it be? What content should I cover? And what about the whole performance aspect of speaking? These are the questions going through my mind when I realize that I need to ask my Improv mentor, Alan Irwin, to join me in co-hosting this event. So I reach out to him: “Hey, Alan. Want to play? This is what I’m thinking. What do you think?" He loves the idea and soon we’re planning all the details for our dream speaker power event on napkins and stickie notes. On June 12th 2015, we host our very first live event and haven’t stopped since. And today, I’ve invited my event co-hosting partner in crime back on the Storytelling School Podcast. He and I have gained many insights and fielded many questions after years of running these events. So in this episode, we talk about how these workshops help you, as a speaker or storyteller, effectively express your message to an audience. We touch on developing and refining your ideas on your terms, including humor in your speech, and overcoming fear related to public speaking by answering questions like: How can you effectively dig deep into exploring the ideas and stories you want to share with an audience? What’s the formula for adding humor to your Talk, and how does humor benefit you as the speaker or storyteller? How can you work on the fear you feel when telling a story or sharing your ideas in a presentation? And how does Improv influence you as a communicator or storyteller? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Alan? Storytelling has played a role in both of Alan Irwin’s careers in different ways. He recently retired from a career spent in the infrared industry as a senior software engineer by day. However, he stumbled into Improvisational Comedy in his 30s and by night has performed it for over 30 years, while also spending most of that time teaching Improv. Improvisation has transformed Alan’s teaching. His secret weapon lies in his penchant for making complex subjects accessible and fun. It has served him well worldwide in speaking engagements on a wide range of other topics, from robotics to crisis intervention (including suicide prevention). He’s taken on the task of communicating very complex ideas to others in tech (and his interests, like geek culture and cheesemaking). Links and Resources: | |||
| 06 Mar 2024 | How Humor and Storytelling Converge | 00:21:49 | |
I’m standing backstage with my dad in a room full of speakers who are getting ready to make their TEDx debuts. We’ve been working for over eight months for this moment, yet the nervous energy in the room is palpable. So Greg, the event organizer, takes the microphone and gives a short, inspirational talk. Then he stops, walks over to my dad and hands him the microphone. Dad clears his throat and says, “What did the fish say when it ran into the wall?” And that joke breaks open a dam of levity that helps take the energy from trepidation to confidence and readiness for the stage. Humor can be a game-changer. And in this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn about how humor affects stories, the different types of humor you can deploy, how you can play with humor to find what works for you and your audience, and the pitfalls you need to avoid when using it as a device. In the process, you’ll get answers to questions such as: Why is humor so effective in storytelling and speaking? How do you choose a style of humor and start experimenting with it? And what can go wrong when using humor in your stories and speeches? What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teach my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 15 Mar 2023 | How the Worlds of Storytelling and Design Intertwine | 00:28:53 | |
It’s 2002. I’ve just come up with a brilliant idea with someone I met at a networking event. We’re in the right place at the right time as this idea involves the creation of a software application that’s never been done before. We get the greenlight to develop this software application for TED. But there’s a problem... As a technologist who has written books on Flash programming, I have a vision for how this might work. Yet I’m not a designer. However, I happen to be running a technology conference and know that the best designers and developers in the world are right there! So we ask for the best to come on board and help this idea take shape by creating an email titled, “Want to Play?” in the subject line. Eight weeks later, we unveil this back-of-the-napkin idea to HUGE success! And it is 100% because of the design, interaction with the software, and what the experience felt like for clients. My special guest today, Ryan Ford, has over two decades of experience as a professional, award-winning designer influencing the stories of products, companies, and brands. And today on the Storytelling School Podcast, he joins me to talk about how the world of design and the world of storytelling intertwine. So if you’re curious to know: What’s the difference between people’s perception of design and its reality? How can you cater your story to different audiences when pitching ideas? How does the design process itself parallel storytelling? Then tune in as we cover it all. And along the way, you’ll be treated to stories involving anime, outcasts, an ice cream cone-licking sloth, and one movie studio’s ability to drive your emotions better than most businesses you’ll encounter. What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Ryan? Ryan Ford is an accomplished designer and leader with over 24 years of design experience. He’s built design teams and helped businesses that have had significant cultural impact such as Chime, Deviantart, and Crunchyroll. Among his many other acknowledgements, he received recognition from the California Senate for contributions to eco sustainability through design. Ryan focuses his time on authoring transformative design thought pieces and mentoring young designers, when not enjoying time in his day job or with his family. Links and Resources: | |||
| 31 Aug 2022 | Why Truth, POV and Risk are Vital in Storytelling | 00:32:57 | |
I open an email from the creative director of a local theatre. In it, she’s asking me if I’d be willing to step in as the replacement lead in a two-person play… that opens in 10 days! I take a look at the play and a couple of things immediately catch my attention. First, it includes Shakespeare. I’ve never done Shakespeare before. Second, it involves singing in multiple genres. The genres part? Cool. The singing? I don’t sing. And I would only have a few days to memorize this entire play and prepare to sing it in front of a live audience over multiple performances. So of course, I respond, “Yes, I’ll do it!” And… at the same time, I think to myself, This is either going to go incredibly well or be a disaster. But either way, I’ll have a story to tell one day. It’s one of those “Yes, and” moments of life, and my special guest Drew Boudreau knows all about it. In this episode, he and I explore the idea of character and different approaches to acting, a valuable lesson to learn from both Mike Trout’s MLB career and a high school director’s stunt, and more. Are you curious to know: What’s the difference between character work in Improv vs. other storytelling performance art forms? What’s one area of story and performance where adults can learn from musical theatre students? And how does showing up as your truest self make for the best life story you can give yourself? Then enjoy as Drew graces the show with mic drop moments, humor, and great stories gleaned from his experience as an actor, educator, and absolute pro at Improv performance. What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Drew? Based in New York City, Drew Boudreau is an actor, writer, teacher, and comedian. He has spent time at The Second City in Chicago, 3-D Theatricals in Southern California, Off-Broadway, and in national tours and Moth story slams. A theatre kid since birth, Drew has also worked as a performer and production manager for the Walt Disney Company on land and sea. Along with his acting work, he helps students and parents through the auditioning process for theatre colleges through his company, College Audition Pros, and is a self-described obsessive baseball fan and fish dad. Links and Resources: | |||
| 08 Mar 2023 | How Simple Choices and Superfoods Can Transform Your Health Story | 00:27:09 | |
I’m lying in a hospital bed after my cement truck accident in Hawaii. While I survived, the doctor comes into the room and tells me that something didn’t: “Kymberlee, I’m sorry to tell you this, but you’ve lost your taste and smell forever.” When I get released, I’m craving everything you can imagine. I want to smell and taste it all, especially chocolate chip cookies. But I can’t, and my friend says to me, “Why don’t you just eat rice cakes from now on? Doesn’t matter what you eat.” So that’s what I do, for years and years. I kind of give up on the pleasure of food and eating. But then I start dating a guy who happens to be a chef. He comes over to my house and is horrified at the contents of my fridge: Red Bull, PowerBars, and vodka. That’s all that’s in there! That was my diet at the time. In the months and years to follow, he completely transforms my relationship with food. Instead of eating to survive, I learn to appreciate food again... But not just any food. I notice how my body feels when I eat certain kinds of food and realize that what I put into my body matters. I start eating healthy food because I feel it nourishing my body in a way food hadn’t before. My special guest today, Michael Kuech, also had a health scare that precipitated a change in his experience with food. Now, he has an entire business based on what you put on your plate. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, we talk about food as a risk factor, why healthy eating can be easier (and more fun) than you think, and the emotional connectivity of the foods you choose. If you’re curious to know: How can you enjoy eating healthy as a measure to restore or keep your health story on the right track? What simple thing can you do right now to start rewriting your current eating story into a more healthy one? And how soon will you be able to tell the difference in your body and how you feel? Then tune in to hear about the doctor visit that changed everything, the woman whose wedding ring wouldn’t fit, and much more! What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Michael? Michael Kuech is a sought-after speaker who was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 24. While recovering, his then-girlfriend Kristel helped boost his immunity with superfoods and a plant-based eating plan. Together, they started their B corp company Your Super--a company with a mission to improve people’s health with the power of super plants. Your Super went from just the two of them in Kristel’s kitchen to an international community of over a million health-conscious enthusiasts that has sold products worth over $200 million. They work with small farmers to provide the cleanest superfood mixes, plant-based proteins, and organic snacks for everyday health, detoxing, immunity, hormone health, and gut support. Michael has been featured on shows and in publications like The Doctors, Good Day L.A., CheddarTV, People, Well+ Good, Real Simple, Parade, InStyle, and more. Recently, he and Kristel were married and just welcomed their first mini-plant lover, a baby boy they named Leo. And when not residing in Los Angeles, they go wherever their farmers have an extra hammock. Links and Resources:
| |||
| 13 Dec 2023 | How Data and Details Can Tell Real Stories in Healthcare | 00:26:13 | |
It’s 1990. Five days after my moped accident with a cement truck, I wake up in my hospital room. The doctor comes in and says, “Kymberlee, you’re going to have headaches for likely the rest of your life. You’ll probably have trouble with balance too. You’ll need plastic surgery on your face. And you may have lost your sense of taste and smell forever.” I’m thinking, “How is this possible?” I can deal with all the other things he said and anything else I have to do. Yet how could I have lost two of my senses forever? I spend weeks and months trying to make sense of it and trying to get my senses back. I’m doing everything I can to taste or smell something--anything--again. Nothing works. A few more months go by when I’m at a different doctor’s office for a checkup. I tell him what’s going on and ask why it’s happening to me. He explains to me: “Our brains are connected to cranial nerves that affect our taste and smell. If those nerves are slightly damaged, they can grow back. If they’re severed, however, there’s nothing that can be done.” So my cranial nerves are severed. Despite not liking hearing that news, it finally helps me understand the story of what’s going on in my body. And knowing that… changes everything. My special guest today, Amy Zolotow, is a healthcare operations leader who thrives on finding the real story in the data. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn about storytelling within the healthcare space as it relates to data, connections, and humans in the medical field. You’ll also get answers to questions like: How does learning the stories of the people around you in a time of crisis help you (and them) after? How does story help bridge the disconnection gap people have with data in the healthcare industry? What role does artificial intelligence (AI) play in the story of patients and practitioners in healthcare? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Amy? An accomplished healthcare operations leader, Amy Zolotow thrives in complexity. Whether leading cross-functional teams or finding the real story in data, Amy drives lasting change in dynamic, matrixed healthcare environments. She consistently strives for shared language, community building, and technology adoption--all with an eye on the most effective patient and employee experience. Amy’s work at the operational level has explored the impact of AI, matching organizational and human needs to technological merit. She has lent her expertise as a moderator and speaker at Ai4 and a panelist and Ambassador for AIMed, leading vital discussions on the importance of responsible and thoughtful AI adoption and implementation in healthcare. Her career includes business and operational leadership roles at Johns Hopkins International, Johns Hopkins Hospital, and Mercy Personal Physicians. Currently, she also serves as a Healthcare Advisor at ScaleHealth and Principal Solutions Architect, Healthcare and AI at Synthminds. Links and Resources | |||
| 04 Oct 2023 | How Your Reactions Influence the Stories You Tell | 00:26:32 | |
I’m in Los Angeles at the beginning of my Improv exploration. During an advanced class I’m taking, I go out on stage to do my scene. As I’m sitting there, painting my nails in this scene, my scene partner comes in and starts suddenly lighting fireworks and firecrackers all around me. I go on painting my nails, not reacting to the situation. The instructor stops the scene right there and says, “Kymberlee, react.” I’m thinking, “What do you mean? I’m focused. I’m painting my nails.” She responds, “I need you to react with the fireworks going on around you. What’s your point of view on that? Do you care? Do you not care? Even if you don’t, we need you to react in some way.” Lightbulb moment. So often, we as storytellers and speakers are so focused on getting to the end of the story or the speech. We’re trying to make sure we deliver every line and paragraph correctly that we forget to react and respond to what just happened. And oftentimes, that reaction might just be internal. My guest today, Niccole Thurman, lives a life reacting as an actress, writer, and Improv performer. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll hear about how she does it and answers questions like: What’s the difference in choosing how you react within a role or character in life (or through Improv) versus a scripted version? What different facets can flow into creating a variety of characters? And what can you do when you’re having trouble adapting to a role or character? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Niccole? Niccole Thurman is a Los Angeles-based actress and WGA award-winning writer. She is the voice of Jabberjaw, Squiddly Diddly and Dee Dee Sykes in the HBOMax series Jellystone. Her past work includes voiceovers and appearances on: Grace and Frankie and Desperados (Netflix); Kenan , Indebted, and Superstore (NBC); A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO); and Shrill (Hulu). She was also a correspondent on Comedy Central’s The Opposition w/ Jordan Klepper. As a writer Niccole has worked on the ESPYs, the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards (hosted By Jimmy Kimmel), Sherman’s Showcase (AMC), Baking It (Peacock), Haute Dog (HBO Max), Phoebe Robinson’s show Everything is Trash (Freeform), and Robert Smigel’s Let’s Be Real (Fox). Links and Resources
| |||
| 30 Aug 2023 | The Lessons We Can Learn From True Crime Stories | 00:27:03 | |
I’ve just finished speaking at a live event when one of the attendees approaches me and asks: “Was your whole story about the moped accident true?” “Yes,” I reply. “All of it?” he asks incredulously. “Everything you did to get back on the softball mound as a pitcher? The part about using martial arts to get your balance back? And you completely lost your sense of taste and smell?” I affirm that yes, all of it is true. See, he’d been thinking that I made these things up just to enliven my story. I tell him, “Our true stories can often be way better than fiction.” When we look back on our lives, we may discover moments more heroic than any we could have made up. And whether or not the story you’re sharing is true or fiction, it’s the truth within the story that helps our audience learn, gain perspective, and make different choices than they otherwise would’ve made. And that leads me to my special guest today, Wendy Whitman. Wendy is an author and award-winning expert on murder crimes in America. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, she’s here to dig into the world of story through the lens of crime and answer questions like: How do you approach dry subjects (like legal cases) and craft them for better audience engagement? What toll does it take on you to cover murder crimes day in and day out? And how is storytelling different for a TV-viewing audience versus a book-reading one? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Wendy? Wendy Whitman is an author and expert on the subject of murder in the U.S. She worked for comedians Lily Tomlin and George Carlin before attending Boston University School of Law. After graduating from law school, she embarked on what turned out to be a 20-year career in television covering crime. Fifteen of those years were spent as an executive producer for Court TV. Then Wendy spent another few years on HLN for the Nancy Grace show, where she appeared on air as a producer/reporter covering almost every major high-profile murder case in the country. During her tenure at Court TV, she received three Telly Awards and two GLAAD nominations. Since turning her attention to writing, she has published two crime thriller novels: Premonition and its sequel Retribution, which was released on July 25, 2023. Links and Resources: | |||
| 23 Aug 2023 | How Storytelling Creates Opportunities for the Underrepresented | 00:31:19 | |
It’s 1999. I’m attending Pepperdine University for my MBA program when I ask myself, “What else can I do?” I decide to learn computer programming at UCLA. In my first class there, I’m sitting in a room filled with other students and realize two things: First, I’m one of only three female students in a class of over 40 people. And second, I love everything about this training and want to learn more! So I start reading books and learning as fast as I can, noticing all the while that there aren’t many female authors and role models in tech. Yet, I’m still hungry to learn as much as I can and want to accelerate my training. Thanks to a magazine ad, I sign up for the Web 99 Conference in San Francisco and listen in fascination to Lynda Weinman talk about Flash technology. It makes me realize that I want to do this for my career. I walk up to her after her Talk to introduce myself and discover she’s holding her first-ever workshop on Flash in Ojai, California. She personally invites me to sign up, and I go for it! Thanks to Lynda’s guidance, I move from that workshop to teaching classes for her, writing two books on Flash technology, running a Flash-focused tech event, and co-founding my own software company. My story changed just from casually taking a computer class in college… and all because someone believed in and opened doors for me. And my special guest today has made it his business to do the same for others. Mike Roberts helps underrepresented people break into tech and companies build high-performance engineering teams out of often overlooked talent. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn about how creating opportunities for the marginalized can change the trajectory of their story and get answers to questions like: Why does storytelling help those with social anxiety? How does having different skill sets affect the future of your story’s path? And why is software engineering both a science and, like storytelling, an art? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Mike? Mike Roberts is the founder and CEO of Creating Coding Careers (CCC), an innovative nonprofit organization committed to diversifying the tech community and creating equitable opportunities for individuals pursuing a career in the industry. He is passionate about helping underrepresented people break into tech and helping companies build high-performance engineering teams out of often-overlooked talent. Mike has launched more than 100 student careers and has grads working at IBM/RedHat, Apple, WalmartLabs, Sony, AWS, Facebook, Deloitte, and many more amazing tech companies. His superpower is helping gritty people grow and get better at writing quality software. Links and Resources: | |||
| 12 Oct 2022 | How the Art of Letting Go Can Strengthen Your Stories | 00:29:01 | |
I’m sitting with my mom looking over old photos. At one point, I ask her if I ever played with dolls as a kid. She kind of smirks and says, “As soon as you received any doll that was given to you, off came the clothes. The doll was tossed aside, and your stuffed animals became the best-dressed toys in the world.” My mom then points to one particular photo of me with our Siamese kitty Samantha. In it, I have her under my arm dressed in one of my nightgowns! “We had to capture this moment. And you always had a story to tell us.” My special guest today also had a magical childhood filled with stuffed animals. Elora Marquez created make-believe stories with hers set to music from her father’s turntable. In fact, her life has always been filled with creativity: from jewelry-making to dance and music to photography to painting and beyond! If you’re curious to know: What life lesson does the world of painting have to offer to storytellers? How does just being human allow you to influence the story of others on this planet? Then tune in as she and I talk about the many avenues of storytelling creativity, an intuitive push to transition from the corporate world into the art world, letting go of old unwanted stories, and even the bright side of dementia as it relates to story. What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Elora? Elora Marquez is a multi-hyphenate creative who used to work in the corporate world but has always loved the world of art (whether it’s fashion, photography, or dance) thanks to being raised by a photographer dad and fashion designer mom. When stress at her job started to deteriorate her health, she quit and went back to college part-time to take art classes and rekindle her love of the art world. She started teaching photography with her dad, dove back into making jewelry (which she’s loved since age 7), and took up painting which she infuses with reiki to leave others with a sense of calm joy. In 2015, she started a jewelry-making business and had her pieces featured on TV and sold in numerous fairs, galleries, shops, and boutiques like Bloomingdales. And she plans to fuse her love of painting, jewelry, and photography to play with others who want to learn in workshops and classes. Currently, Elora and her husband Jason raise four kids: twins Mason and Ella, with stepkids Jonah and Cecilia. Together, they’re passionate about supporting their community and the world and inspiring people to live fully self-expressed and healthy lives. Links and Resources: | |||
| 25 Jan 2023 | How Hyperpremium Storytelling Can Build Trust in Your Brand | 00:31:58 | |
I’m preparing to teach my Mastermind class about being a premium brand. But there’s one issue: I’m tired of using the same old Apple, Ritz Carlton, Mercedes types of examples… As I’m sipping on my homemade matcha latte, it hits me. I have the answer right in the palm of my hand! I remember being out of matcha and scouring the Internet looking at one site after another to find one that stands out. As I land on a particular matcha website, I see it has a STORY around the product. As I continue reading, I learn about matcha: all the different varieties, where a particular grade of matcha comes from, and the actual people who grow it. I’m hooked and I purchase it. When it arrives on my doorstep, I realize that everything about this experience is different. Right from the get-go, I’m unboxing this very carefully, noticing the beautifully tissue-wrapped product, and the invoice even has a handwritten thank you note on it. I can’t remember the last time a company hand wrote a thank you note on their invoice. This kind of detail, service, and interaction really illustrate what premium brand experiences are made of! Premium brands aren’t just selling products; they’re truly selling an experience. And this particular one changed my relationship with matcha forever. If you’ve listened to my show for a while, you know I can’t live without my matcha latte. So it should be no surprise that I’d eventually bring a matcha expert onto the show. This week, I talk with Eric Gower, the founder of the very company I just described, Breakaway Matcha! Eric and his matcha business have certainly made me a customer for life! In this episode, he discusses how story infiltrates everything he does in his business and takes us on a deep dive into matcha tea. If you’re curious to know: What is matcha? How does it affect your external and internal story? And what about storytelling makes it one of the most effective things you can do for sales? Then tune in as Eric talks about how his introduction to matcha has influenced his life story, explains how metaphors helped him finally understand Bitcoin, demonstrates how he uses storytelling to sell matcha tea, and so much more! What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Eric? Eric Gower is an author, editor, private chef, cooking teacher, and the founder of Breakaway Matcha. He developed an obsession with extreme-grade matcha while living and working in Japan for 16 years. He thought it should be much easier for people to find. A decade later, his determination paid off as he opened the doors to his company. The main goal of Breakaway Matcha is making great matcha accessible to anyone. Eric has formed close relationships with those in Japan who cultivate and process it. The company specializes in sourcing exceptional matcha, blending and distributing it worldwide, and educating consumers and food service professionals on matcha preparation and service. In addition, he works with local ceramicists and artists to create beautifully-designed, special teaware that brings the best out of matcha and enhances its enjoyment. So if you’re looking for a transcendent matcha experience, Breakaway Matcha stops at nothing to keep you as happy and healthy as possible! You can access it along with ceramics and other teaware through Eric’s website. Links and Resources: | |||
| 29 Nov 2023 | How to Impart Life Lessons Through Educational Storytelling | 00:27:27 | |
I’m sitting in the living room at eight years old when my mom walks in and says, “Kymberlee, I have a surprise.” It’s not a holiday or my birthday, so there's nothing particularly special about this night… yet. So what’s the big surprise? “Tonight is going to be movie night.” Now there’s one particular well-loved book I read over and over again and keep on the nightstand by my bed so I recall all my favorite moments within its pages: Charlotte’s Web. The TV comes on, and we start watching the movie version of Charlotte’s Web, in living color on the screen. And as with the book, I’m mesmerized seeing what I’ve imagined in my mind so many times come to life right in front of me. I can’t help but watch it over and over again, just like with reading the written version. Why was I so obsessed with this story? Was it the narrative? The plot? The characters? The scenery? The messages? I’d say it’s all of the above. My special guest today, Rene Rawls, lives in this world of educational storytelling herself as an author, screenwriter, and teacher. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn about her proverb detective, how storytelling can provide a lot of good life lessons, and the power of telling stories about yourself and others that make you happy. You’ll also get answers to questions such as: What’s one way you can increase a young child’s learning through stories? How does writing stories help you discover things about yourself? How can you and your kids better understand the lessons that proverbs can teach? And what’s one major difference between the same story written in book vs. screenplay form? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Rene? Growing up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida as the daughter of an elementary school librarian and a lawyer, Rene Rawls has evolved into becoming an educational storyteller who’s dedicated to inspiring tots, tweens, and teens to do the right thing through the content she creates. For years, she used her platform as a teacher to impart both academic and life lessons to her students throughout the USA. But when she became a writer, her classroom exponentially expanded to include kids all over the world! Rene firmly believes that what children see in the media can be just as impactful as what they don’t see, especially if they don’t see themselves. So, she creates content for that unseen child. Not only has her work been celebrated by national and international audiences, but her stories have been acknowledged by the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and the Fred Rogers Productions Writers’ Neighborhood. After writing Sule and the Case of the Tiny Sparks, Rene received the Mandela Day/Tribeca All Access Award, and the script was produced as an animated short film. In addition, her picture book, Sule and the Case of the Tied-up Lion, was selected as one of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Indie Books of 2021, and it received the Kirkus star. Rene’s passion for writing and teaching has led to her intentionally telling stories that capture those precious, magical moments of learning in awe-inspiring and fun ways. Her heart simply melts when she’s asked by kids to create more content. Links and Resources: | |||
| 20 Feb 2024 | Why Every Storyteller Needs a Stack of Sticky Notes | 00:13:28 | |
I’m in the final planning stages for Story to Standing Ovation, our annual live event, when my dad randomly stops by to drop something off. He comes toward my office, stops in the doorway, and says, “What the heck is that?” As he points at my sliding glass doors, I tell him, “This is my brain on sticky notes.” What he’s looking at is three days of our event broken down, sticky style. These aren’t just randomly placed sticky notes, either. I have these organized in full outline form and broken down into topics and categories. Some of the sticky notes are in bold, others are in different colors, and still others are highlighted. Whenever I plan an event, a Talk, or even a story, I need to visually see the pieces. And even though I’ve tried other ways, this adhesive square playground is the planning method that works best for me. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn how a simple tool like sticky notes can revolutionize the way you plan your stories, speeches, workshops, and other events and get answers to questions like: What are the advantages of using sticky notes for story and other event planning? What do you need to consider when choosing your workspace for sticky notes? And what two things must you do to eliminate the confusion of working with your sticky note outline later on? What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teach my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 22 Feb 2023 | How We Can See the Ripple Effect of Our Stories | 00:29:32 | |
I’m running TEDxSantaBarbara in 2017 with my husband Mark. Our committee is gathering to select the speakers for the upcoming event, and we’re going through hundreds of applications. One particular application stands out with a bold statement. It claims that half of all blindness in the world is just a 10-minute surgery away from being cured. That’s an idea that absolutely deserves to be heard far and wide. But is it real? Is it actually possible? To find out, we interview the doctor behind the idea and discover that not only is it real, but it’ll change cataract surgery as we know it! We unanimously invite him to speak at our TEDx. And now, I’ve invited that doctor onto the Storytelling School podcast. In this episode, I talk with special guest Dr. Jeffrey Levenson about what has changed since his TEDx Talk in 2017, how one person who watched his Talk was inspired to fund 10000 eye surgeries, and the remarkable story behind his passion for affordable and accessible cataract surgery to all. He answers questions like: How does the rate of blindness in poor communities affect the story of those around them? What happened to him recently that changed the trajectory of his story and that of a thousand people (and potentially more)? What are doctors doing overseas for just $50 to change the story for blind people in poor countries (and is it happening in the U.S., too)? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Dr. Levenson? Jeffrey Levenson, MD is a Florida based eye surgeon and the founder of Jacksonville's Gift of Sight Program, a program that has for over 30 years assured that no one in North Florida is blind for want of a cataract surgery, regardless of their ability to pay. He's also the Chief Medical Officer of SEE International, a Santa Barbara based charity dedicated to the end of needless blindness around the world. He has spent the last ten years working around the globe to promote a re-engineered variant of cataract surgery that's less expensive, equally effective, and suitable to low resource communities. Half of all the blindness in the world is people who need a 10 minute surgery. It doesn't have to be that way. His TEDxSanta Barbara Talk points the way. Links and Resources:
| |||
| 12 Jul 2023 | Exploring Stories: Illuminating the Teachings Within | 00:17:32 | |
I’m invited to a very high-level martial arts seminar to provide communications training to the attendees. These attendees are not your average martial artists, however: they train governments and militaries all over the world. And they’ve all traveled here for this event. Tommy, the person running the event, starts the morning by having everyone gather around him. He reaches into his duffel bag, pulls something out, and holds it in front of each person, inviting them to take a calculated risk. Silence. But then, slowly, one by one they all rise to the challenge… until there’s just one person left in the room who hasn’t tried it yet. Me. Even though I’m not here to show off any martial arts skills, everyone’s eyes are still on me because they know I’m a martial artist, too. And now everyone is waiting - and watching - to see what I’m going to do next. So what exactly was this experiment, and how did I respond to the challenge? Today on the Storytelling School Podcast, we mix things up with a brand new “Exploring Stories” master series where I dive into one aspect of storytelling or a piece of a story and show how you can use these insights, tools, and perspective to take your storytelling to the next level. And in this episode, I reveal the calculated risk that I (and the other martial artists) took that day and the powerful lesson it taught me. I’ll also teach you: Why do calculated risks make for such great stories to tell? And what’s the one caveat you need to be careful of when it comes to storytelling? What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teaching my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 21 Jun 2023 | So You Think You Want to Become a Storyteller… Slaying the Snafus | 00:33:16 | |
With each podcast episode we release, I send an email out with a story to highlight it. My favorite part of these emails is the “PS” where I can spotlight news, make announcements, or ask you a question. So I’m working on the email last week and thinking about what I can put in the PS. And I get the idea to ask about what you’d like to see in a future episode. The only question is... will anybody take the time or be brave enough to write back? No need to worry, though, because you guys sent in some fantastic suggestions. And in this continuation of our “So You Think You Want to Become a Storyteller” series, my husband Mark and I are going to dive into one of them: What are the biggest mistakes storytellers and speakers make, and how can we avoid them? Today on the Storytelling School Podcast, we’re tackling what I call “slaying the snafus.” You’ll learn about the 10 most common snafus you’ll want to slay right now and hear answers to questions like: What things can you work on while rehearsing your speech or story to enhance it for the audience? How can you avoid overloading your audience with information? What is the biggest snafu of all, especially for those who speak for a living? What are some easy ways to build a connection to your audience? And how do you avoid just regurgitating or mimicking someone else’s ideas? What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teach my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 26 Jul 2023 | How Doing the Unexpected Distinguishes You as a Storyteller | 00:28:08 | |
I’m a sixth grader with a dream: I want to be Student Body President. So I get to work on dazzling my fellow students, relentlessly preparing and rehearsing every word of my speech for days and days, night after night… even into the early mornings. And then, the big day arrives. It’s time to give my speech! I’m sitting onstage with two other candidates. Both of them deliver their speeches to huge applause from the student body. Suddenly, I’m next up, and I’m shaking! I nervously get up from my chair, make my way to the podium, place my prepared speech in front of me, and start reading. A few paragraphs in, I notice the restlessness in the auditorium. Some students are looking around the room, others are beginning to talk to their neighbor, and there’s even one guy, Stu, asleep in the front row! I can’t believe what I’m seeing! Instead of treading on with what isn’t working, I take my speech, crumple it up, and throw it onto the floor. Then, I start speaking from my heart... and I hear a smattering of applause. As I continue, the applause gets louder and louder until the entire audience jumps to their feet. I learn a valuable lesson: stop trying to be something you’re not. Just be yourself and share your ideas and what you feel in the moment. That way, you’re memorable in a way others can’t ignore! My guest today, Intae Kim, has lived his life being memorable while bringing various film and TV characters to life. And in this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, he’s here to share how doing the unexpected differentiates you from other speakers and storytellers and allows you to reap the greatest benefits. He also answers questions such as: What attribute is at the core of your audience feeling connected to you? And what does it take to make people fall in love with you as a storyteller? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Intae? Growing up in the Boston area, Intae Kim was preternaturally interested in stories. As a voracious reader, social parrot, and frequent make-believer, Intae loved learning more about our world and exploring imaginary ones whenever he had the chance. These passions only grew stronger after he traveled across the country. Not only did his initial pursuit of a Cognitive Studies major at UC Berkeley eventually morph into dual degrees in English and Theater, but his subsequent move to Los Angeles led to a career in the Performing Arts. Intae's first big splash in Hollywood took the form of a scene-stealing turn in Monday, a short film that went on to win first place in HBO’s inaugural APA Visionaries Competition. Since then, he has worked on stage, on screen, and in the voiceover booth on projects as varied as Fargo (FX), How to Get Away With Murder (ABC), Succession (HBO), and Tom Clancy’s The Division: Hearts On Fire (Audible). He is grateful for the chance to tell stories for a living and to continue learning more about our world and exploring imaginary ones. Links and Resources: | |||
| 28 Aug 2024 | Why Storytelling Belongs in the Classroom and Boardroom | 00:30:47 | |
I’m running a high-energy speaker training event, and everyone is buzzing with excitement as we stand in a circle, introducing ourselves. Each attendee shares their role and a fun fact. Among them is a CEO of a tech company who loves bagels, a marketing director obsessed with villas in Rome, and an entrepreneur who just secured his first round of funding. The introductions continue, one after another, until it’s time for my team to introduce themselves. Our first team member steps forward and says, “Hi, I’m Sandy Zabarsky. I’ve spent the last 27 years in prison and just got out.” The room falls silent. I can feel the weight of all eyes on me, then shifting to each other, and back to me. Sandy continues, “I served as an educator and administrator in juvenile halls and juvenile camps. Today, I’m here to help turn your challenges into stories your audience will never forget.” A collective breath is released from the room. You see, Sandy happens to be my mom. She was an English major and dedicated her career to helping the underdog–particularly disadvantaged youth entangled in the criminal justice system. She assisted these kids in earning their GED, offering them a glimmer of hope and a chance at a different story. Throughout her career, my mom impacted the lives of thousands of kids. Her unwavering commitment to changing their narrative and giving them a new possibility transformed their futures, making them very different from the ones they had while inside the system. There are so many like my mom out there, including my special guest Alfonso Paz. He brings to life a different possibility for the people he works with whether they’re students, educators, or business owners. And through his company Vibix Learning, he is transforming education by helping to create healthier, more inclusive school environments. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn about the power of storytelling in education, business, and personal growth. Alfonso will share his experience of using storytelling to pitch to investors and the impact its made, discuss the effectiveness of short-form storytelling, and so much more. He’ll also answer questions such as: How does storytelling help bridge emotional gaps and foster compassion? Why is short-form storytelling particularly effective in high-stakes environments? And why is the struggle such an essential part of the storytelling process? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Alfonso? For close to 30 years, Alfonso Paz has been helping underrepresented students and families in Los Angeles’s East Hollywood area have greater opportunities and access to college and other post-secondary options. He is the co-founder and CEO of Vibix Learning, which transforms education by enhancing emotional well-being through its innovative Collective Care Continuum (C3) model, integrating emotional intelligence and mental wellness support to create healthier, more inclusive school environments. Alfonso’s experiences have solidified his belief that it does take an entire village to raise a child to be a successful contributing member of society. He believes that while traditional schools can provide a foundation for positive change, the strong partnerships between families, schools, and communities will provide a greater influence on a student's life and prepare them to contribute to a united, stronger, and healthier society. Through Vibix Learning, he recognized that the greatest effect he could have would be to "re-teach" educators how to listen to the students and staff, recognize everyone’s needs, and define the best way forward for each student and staff member. Once schools and administrators saw his methods' incredible effect on the student's lives–both in and out of the school environment–he became a sought-after coach and advisor. Links and Resources: | |||
| 07 Sep 2022 | What The Ocean Can Teach Us About Storytelling | 00:29:32 | |
I’m being recruited by colleges throughout the country as a high school softball pitcher. The NCAA rules say I can go on up to five paid recruiting trips. So I have to pick and choose - it’s a tough decision! The first school has an incredible coach... but I’m not sure if it’s really a great fit for me. The second school I visit has a really strong team (and skiing which I love almost as much as softball)... but it’s very different from my SoCal roots. Then I get approached by the University of Hawaii. They don’t really have a top five team, I know nobody there, and it’s really far away from home. But hello! It’s a paid trip to Hawaii! I’ve never been there, and I’m not about to turn down an opportunity to spend a weekend in the islands. So off I go, and when I step off the plane, the smell of the air just hits me. The ocean view from my hotel room takes my breath away! It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, and I make my decision then and there. I sign on the dotted line to play softball for the University of Hawaii. As it turns out, I’d end up spending almost eight years living in Hawaii. And it probably never would have happened without that magnetic ocean view that captivated me. My guest today has made a career of documenting and telling stories about the ocean and its challenges. Michael Hanrahan has such a love affair for the ocean that he’s spent 25 years involved with documentary films about it, working as an underwater camera operator in it, and even writing a fictional book about it! If you’re curious to know: What two elements at the center of storytelling develop trust between you and your audience? What critical role does research have in storytelling? And why is upsetting people not an effective path to inspiring them to act for change? Then tune in as Michael and I discuss stories of Japanese bottle-nosed dolphins in distress, shark fin shenanigans and other perils of a Polynesian fisherman (past and present), and how it all ties into one of the main purposes of storytelling! What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Michael? Michael Hanrahan displays a respect for the ocean and combines it with his desire to communicate the challenges it faces. He double-majored in marine science and motion picture film at the University of Miami and has been involved with ocean documentary films for the last 25 years. He spent the early part of his career traveling to every continent (except Antarctica) working as a lecturer and underwater camera operator for Jean-Michel Cousteau. Next, Michael went on to mentor with Mike deGruy, a legend in the underwater and natural history documentary world. Together, they developed a filming strategy for a Discovery Channel production of the first video footage of the giant squid. They were also involved in the production of a short film series for the National Science Foundation about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and its environmental impacts in the Gulf of Mexico. A proposed film project in the works between them and James Cameron in 2011 was indefinitely suspended with the untimely death of deGruy in a helicopter accident in Australia. Currently, Michael is the author of the environmental thriller The Last Extinction. It tells the story of an ancient table discovered in the Amazon rainforest that reveals the truth of the relationship between humanity and nature. Links and Resources: | |||
| 17 Jan 2024 | So You Think You Want to Become a Storyteller… Amplifying Your Expansion | 00:24:04 | |
It’s 2015, and I’ve just started training in Improvisational comedy. Every Wednesday night, I attend Alan Irwin’s Improv classes at Santa Barbara Improv. Weeks turn into months, and my fondness for Improv grows into an addiction. I want to learn more, absorb more, and grow faster! So I start keeping a notebook of all the games we play and capturing all the critical class lessons and sound bites. I even stay after to ask for notes on my performance. Yet, I still crave more and want to accelerate my learning beyond the pacing of one class a week. I ask Alan for private coaching and, while he doesn’t do it very often, he agrees. Those one-on-one sessions are a game changer for me. They help deepen my understanding of the craft of Improv and allow me to significantly expand my knowledge. Thanks to his feedback from just a few of these private lessons, I end up at a completely different level. So many of us want to accelerate our growth, amplify our learning, and expand our skills fast. How do we do that as speakers and storytellers? In this continuation of our “So You Think You Want to Become a Storyteller” series on the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn where to start, how to accelerate your learning and grow with your audience, and how to keep track of your progression as you amplify the expansion of your speaking craft. I’ll answer questions like: How do you personalize your development plan to become a master storyteller or speaker? How can you accelerate your success and make stories more engaging and memorable? How can you leverage digital platforms, networking, and collaborations to become more visible and expand your reach? How can you get more opportunities to practice storytelling and teach your expertise? And how do you integrate continuous learning into a busy schedule? What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teach my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 15 Nov 2023 | From Storyboard to Spotlight: Your 90-Day Storytelling and Speaking Countdown | 00:30:31 | |
It’s Saturday morning. I’m headed out for coffee with friends after a kickboxing class. As I get out of my car in the parking lot, my phone starts blowing up with text messages. I look down and see that they’re coming from a number I don’t recognize. I start reading. “You don’t know me,” the message says, “but you worked with my wife several years ago on her TEDx Talk. I was wondering if you had time to help me get ready for mine?” I text back saying I can and ask, “When’s your TEDx Talk?” “Tonight,” he answers back. So I cancel the rest of my Saturday plans. And for the next six hours we work like crazy to get him ready for the spotlight that night. His Talk ends up being a huge success. Yet I can only imagine how much more incredible it would have been with more time to work on it. I get asked all the time, “What’s the ideal countdown for a Talk? What should I have on my calendar from the time I’m invited to speak to when I’m standing there in the spotlight?” It varies depending on time, place, and preparedness ahead of time. So many different factors come into play. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn how to take your speech or story from the storyboard to the spotlight in 90 days. I’ll unpack a few areas for you to consider as you hit different time milestones along the way and answer questions like: What do you need to ask yourself to help you design the content for your Talk? How do you choose the story (or stories) you want to tell in your speech? What logistics of your Talk do you need to consider and confirm ahead of time? How can you make practicing your speech fun instead of monotonous? What do you need to consider about how you look, sleep, and eat (especially as you get closer to the Talk)? What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teach my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 01 May 2024 | How Fierce Civility Creates Win/Win Stories | 00:28:11 | |
As a kid growing up, I get to spend time with two families. On one side is my mom and stepdad, and on the other is my dad and stepmom. Being the only child in both families, I spend holidays at one house and then the other. Trick or treating on Halloween with one family earlier in the evening and the other later in the evening. I even have two different celebrations on my birthday. Everything is separate...until 2010 when I decide to run a TEDx event for the first time and realize quickly that I need help. So Mom, an English major, offers to help with speakers. My stepmom helps with overseeing and running registration and volunteers. My stepdad has experience with stage managing and works with me behind the stage with the tech team and speakers. And Dad helps with all onsite needs including fine-tuning the sets and becomes our X-factor. While my two families have very different values, beliefs, and even rules, they do have one thing in common: they have tremendous love to give and they come together civilly for a collective cause that is bigger than any one of us individually. They volunteer at our TEDx event to help change the world through spreading ideas. Now my special guest today, Joe Weston, teaches people how to not only be civil to each other but fiercely so in order to influence what happens next in their stories. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn about why we get caught in a repetitive story of arguing and fighting with others. You’ll also discover keys to creating stories of mutual empowerment between people and get answers to questions like: How are power dynamics at the core of stories that fuel fights? What has helped create a universal mindset that helps facilitate arguments? What’s an example of how a challenging life story can positively impact others? And how can the process of working on your first TEDx Talk change the story you tell yourself about public speaking? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Joe? Joe Weston is an international thought leader, lecturer, author, consultant, coach, trainer, and advocate for lasting peace. Born in Queens, NY and raised in a volatile, argumentative environment, he was determined to understand the roots of conflict and find another way to safely address problems. So he went on a worldwide quest and studied diverse traditions such as various martial art forms, meditation, contemplative practices, neuroscience, communication models, and more. Eventually, Joe ended up living in the Netherlands for 18 years where he expanded his vision of human solidarity that transcended nationality, race, religion, political ideology, and economic status and led to creating programs in the U.S., Europe, and some of the most conflict-ridden regions in the world. His career as a conflict prevention specialist spans over 30 years, and he’s a highly sought-after facilitator for individuals, corporations, government agencies, and nonprofits worldwide. Links and Resources
| |||
| 22 Feb 2024 | Why Your Storytelling Needs a Dash of Surprise | 00:18:31 | |
I’m at the Annoyance Theater in Chicago taking a week-long intensive Improv class. In the middle of a scene with my scene partner, I have this brilliant idea. So I start forcing the scene in the direction I have in mind. My partner follows along…and the whole scene ends up being pretty flat and predictable. After we’re done, the instructor says, “Kymberlee, I have a note for you. Allow yourself to be surprised on stage rather than in control.” What if we apply the same principle to our presentations? How would that change us and the audience? In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn why it’s important to allow yourself to be surprised on stage as a speaker or storyteller and how that leads to more dynamic, memorable presentations, Talks, and stories.. I’ll share examples of embracing unexpected moments and answers questions like: Why are spontaneity and authenticity crucial for effective speaking and storytelling? What impact can unexpected moments have on the audience? And what techniques can you use to create an authentic connection with your audience? What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teach my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 07 Jun 2024 | How to Turn Questions into Storytelling Opportunities: The Handshake Technique | 00:11:44 | |
“Kymberlee, how are you always able to take questions and turn them into storytelling opportunities?” That’s the question my client Claire asks me as we’re getting her ready for a big keynote presentation. As I’m quickly thinking about how to answer her, I realize that I mostly do it unconsciously. Yet I know that’s not really a helpful answer, so I replay in my mind the times I’ve recently turned a question into a story. Then it hits me: I’ve been building bridges from questions asked to times in my life that are in some way related to the questions… during handshake moments. So I explain my thought process to Claire who, during our next coaching sessions, reports that she’s been binging on my technique to great fun and success. She feels like every time she turns a question into a storytelling opportunity, her connection with that other person goes deeper faster. In this installment of the “Storytelling 7 Series” on the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn about how you can turn questions into storytelling opportunities, too. I’ll also answer questions like: How can you understand the concept of a handshake as it relates to questions and storytelling? What practical tips can help you improve your storytelling skills with the Handshake Technique? And how do you make your story responses more engaging and relatable using this technique? What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teach my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 19 Apr 2023 | Why Truth and Listening is Essential to Your Storytelling | 00:28:33 | |
I’m 12 years old. It’s summertime, and we’re on our annual family trip to Bainbridge Island off the coast of Seattle. I love going on these trips, and one of my favorite things about them is getting to see family friends Bob and Denise perform in a different play. This particular summer they’re doing The Pirates of Penzance. After the show is over, Bob and Denise walk up to me and ask, “Kymberlee, what was your favorite part?” I’m thinking that since they’re both in it, I don’t really want to pick sides. So I talk about everything: the amazing set design, Bob’s incredible costume, Denise’s epic singing, the cool set, the fantastic dancing, the memorable characters... After each mention, Bob and Denise just stare at me. But I can’t pick just one thing; I love it all! Years later, I realize that what I loved most was… The live experience of story! Seeing it played out right in front of my eyes and ears made each story unforgettable. My special guest today, Mary Lauren, tells stories in multifaceted ways. She directs them, writes them, produces them, performs them, and choreographs them. And in this episode of the Storytelling School podcast, we dive into her tips and techniques on bringing stories to life with questions like: How do you know if a particular story you want to tell is important? What should you always do when you get handed a script for your role? What’s the benefit of playing darker characters? And what can you do when you’re struggling to connect to your story? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Mary? Mary Lauren is a passionate and multifaceted artist who loves to tell stories. She has had work seen Off-Broadway and regionally as a director, writer, performer, producer, and choreographer. She’s a proud member of the Actors’ Equity Association (AEA) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Mary has written several new works, in addition to choreographing and acting as the lead dancer in the short film Dream of Spring (which has been featured in festivals all over the world). Some other acting credits include: The Last 5 Years, Gypsy, Sarah Was Mine, Sophia!, My Shadow and Me, and Hamlet. For almost 20 years, Mary has directed and educated artists. As artistic director of Heart String Theatrical, she created the streaming live/filmed piece Loving You Always. Her cabarets have raised money for artists and for organizations including the NAACP and ACLU. Mary also serves as the Youth Artistic Director at AMT Theatre, a new Off-Broadway Theater in Times Square. She loves working with young artists and finds inspiration from their exuberance and stories. Over 50 productions with young artists have been directed by her including original pieces and published works like Seussical, Annie, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Beauty and the Beast, and more. Links and Resources: | |||
| 26 Apr 2023 | How to Find Your Voice as a Storyteller | 00:36:35 | |
Growing up, I spent a lot of time with my grandmother, nicknamed Moo. We always had fun; we’d play, make things up, sing songs, write poems… just be creative together. As she gets older, though, and reaches 100 years old, she develops dementia. Sometimes she’s with us and other times not. I go over to her house one afternoon, and she’s super happy and pleasant and lovely... yet she doesn’t know who I am. And I’m her only grandchild! I start to get a little frustrated because I want that connection with Moo again. So I begin to bring up things from our past and ask her if she remembers what we did together. Did she remember rolling down the hill together at La Brea Tar Pits? Or that time we made a crazy salad and water went everywhere? She doesn’t. As I grasp for more things, I recall one song she taught me that has two verses. One verse is very slow and methodical, the other goes very, very fast, and they’re meant to be sung by two people in tandem. So I start singing the fast verse. And pretty soon without any prodding, Moo starts singing the slow verse. And for that one moment, we connect again, sharing a reality with both of us present that melts my heart. That’s the power of music. It can stop time. My special guest today, Laura Hall, has spent a career in music, song, and sound. In this episode of the Storytelling School podcast, she talks about finding your voice in storytelling through her lens of Musical Improv and answers questions like: What drives a scene in an Improv story when it’s combined with music--the scene or the song? When can Improv help you with your audience as a speaker or storyteller, (in non-Improv situations)? How does variety make you a better storyteller? And how can you start sharing your stories and ensure that you get helpful feedback? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Laura? Laura Hall got her start as an Improv Musician performing with The Second City National Touring Company of Chicago. While in Chicago, she worked with almost every Improv theater in town and used Improv to create original musicals at The Annoyance Theater. She also played in cover and original bands, did solo piano work, played recording sessions, and taught at The Old Town School of Music. After moving to Los Angeles, Laura studied music for film and television and focused on songwriting and original musicals with Theater-A-Go-Go. She has worked with several Improv groups worldwide such as Second City Hollywood, iO West, and others, and taught Music Improv extensively with her husband Rick Hall. Laura performed on every season of the American version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? with hosts Clive Anderson, Drew Carey, and Aisha Tyler. She’s also toured extensively with Drew Carey and the Improv All Stars, including performances at Carnegie Hall and Radio City Music Hall and a USO tour of the Middle East. In addition, she’s performed with Whose Line Live at the Adelphi, the Palladium, and Royal Albert Hall theatres in London. You can find out more about Laura on her website. Links and Resources: | |||
| 03 Aug 2022 | Using Curiosity to Power Up Your Storytelling Game | 00:29:09 | |
I’m running for 6th-grade student body president and it’s a big day for me. When it’s my turn to make my speech, I walk up the stairs to the podium on stage with my script in hand. I’ve worked and re-worked this speech for hours and hours, day after day, just for this moment. The entire school auditorium is full as I begin… And as I get further and further into my speech, I look up from my paper to see that the students aren’t paying attention. One kid named Stu is even asleep in the front row! Before I even realize what I’m doing, I pick up my speech, crumple it up, and throw it on the floor. I start speaking from my heart, saying all the things I’d like to promise them if they vote for me: longer recesses, no homework, free ice cream. I finally get a reaction from my fellow students, ending in a standing ovation when they hear about the free ice cream. I continue to tell them that I can’t promise any of that, but I can promise them to be the best president I’m capable of by upholding school policies. No one hears that though; they have their mind set on free ice cream every day after school. I win in a landslide. That’s how I became Student Body President and more importantly, how I learned a pivotal life lesson: When you speak from the heart, you can wake people up and change the game. My special guest on the Storytelling Podcast, Cathy Scharetg is incredible at changing the game through curiosity. In this episode, we discuss storytelling as a way to draw people into your world or allow them to let you into theirs. And along the way, Cathy answers questions like: What does it really mean to be curious? And what happens when you allow yourself to be curious about the world around you? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Cathy? Cathy Scharetg is a TEDx Presenter, certified Career Development Specialist, and the director and head coach of Curiosity Coach. She believes that curiosity illustrates what’s possible, collapses your biases, and catapults you just beyond your comfort zone to where gold lies. She’s seen leaders become master-level influencers and coaches them to use their curiosity as a catalyst for connection, change, and innovation. As an accredited public speaker, teacher, and personal coach, Cathy helps thought leaders worldwide transition from overtaxed systems and antiquated ideas to new insights, impact, and clarity. She’s also a certified Rewilding Coach, Learning and Development advisor for One Up One Down, and president of the When Women Speak chapter in San Francisco. In addition, she’s served as a licensed Realtor for over 25 years, holding board and leadership positions in the process. Links and Resources: | |||
| 09 Aug 2023 | How Ripples Create Waves When You Share Your Story | 00:26:26 | |
It’s circa 2010 and I’m running the software company I co-founded with my husband Mark. One of our clients is among the largest advertising agencies in the world and they’re preparing a big pitch for Nike. The stakes couldn’t be higher for them to win this business. Since our software creates communities and includes a customized matching engine, the Chief Strategy Officer uses it to search for all worldwide employees of his agency who have a passion for photography and clubbing. He finds them instantly within a couple of clicks and gives them a challenge: “Tonight, go to the clubs in your area and take pictures of all the trainers you see.” He wants them to photograph people’s sneakers at the clubs in Berlin, Tokyo, Budapest… wherever they may be. By Monday, they’re able to use those photos to show Nike that they’re able to activate a global community to come together in this way… and also that they have a pulse on what’s happening in youth culture around the world. This way, they can influence what happens next in Nike’s story. Speaking of activating global communities, my guest today, Tyler Skinner, has also spent a good part of her career focusing on bringing women together to create something for the greater good. And in this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn how making connections (whether it’s two or three people or more) can be life-changing for a person or a business and get answers to questions such as: How do you take a dire situation and use it to influence or change the stories of others (or create a new one for yourself)? Why is vulnerability as a storyteller not always about sharing sad things? And what can happen when you put your story out there for the first time? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Tyler? Tyler is the CVO and Founder of Connected Communities and Women Making Waves and also serves as President for the Central Coast Chapter of NAWBO (National Organization for Women Business Owners). As a multi-passionate entrepreneur, she has reinvented herself again and again to create and cultivate connections and community collaborations that enhance social & cultural shifts by bringing people together to believe in something bigger than themselves and to see the magic in motivating others. During the 2020 pandemic, she launched the platform Women Making Waves as a leadership development program of dedicated women committed to co-creating a future where they can personally & professionally emerge to lead in a new way. Tyler is building a revolution of women through curated workshops, events, and adventures to allow women to see, do, and be more because women deserve to be supported and seen. Links and Resources: Women Making Waves | @women.making.waves on Instagram National Organization for Women Business Owners (NAWBO) - Central Coast Tyler Skinner (coming soon) | @thetylerskinner on Instagram Storytelling School Podcast: “How to Name Your Year” The Game of Life and How to Play It by Florence Scovel Shinn | |||
| 05 Apr 2023 | So You Think You Want to Become a Storyteller… Public Speaking Edition | 00:28:01 | |
My husband Mark and I are at a venue about to give a presentation on the new software application we’ve developed. It's a big deal! We’re in our hometown with a room full of people waiting, and this is the first time we’re showing off what we’ve created. Standing at the front of the room and getting ready to start, we’re plugging in our computers to test everything, and… There’s no internet?!? Our software needs the internet to run so we start panicking. The audience is getting restless now because we’re late in starting our presentation. Trying to maintain our composure, Mark and I decide to switch to our PowerPoint presentation which we’ve worked on for weeks and weeks. We fire up the projector and… the light bulb isn’t working and we can’t see our slides! People are running around the room now, trying to get the internet up and the projector working. Cue mild-to-escalating freaking out mode. So I take Mark behind the curtain, put my hands on his shoulders, and say, “I know everything’s going wrong, and I’ve got your back. Let’s just.. tell our story.” We come back out to face the audience and tell them the story of how we created our software application, why it matters and what our vision is for its future. And… it turns out to be a huge success! In this installment of the “So You Think You Want to Become a Storyteller” series, I dive deep into how public speakers can use storytelling to capture an audience’s attention and answer so many good questions like: How can a personal story help you build rapport in your audience right away? How does storytelling help make meaty content about dry subject matters in speeches and presentations more relatable and memorable? And how can you tell a story to an audience who shares an experience you’ve never had? What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teaching my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 02 Aug 2023 | Using Storytelling to Stand Up for What Matters | 00:28:37 | |
It’s 2018. I’m working with a Syrian-born American filmmaker named Sam to get him ready to hit the TEDx stage. We’re forming the foundation of his Talk--his idea worth spreading--when I ask him, “Why was making this particular film so important to you?” And he responds, “It’s imperative to amplify the voices of what Syrians are going through. Their voices are muted right now and giving voice to the voiceless should be an obligation. That’s why people literally risked their lives to make this film.” With that, we have his idea worth spreading: For society to survive, the voices of repressed people must be revived. By the way, Sam’s film, Little Gandhi, becomes the first official Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film and goes on to win several awards. And most importantly of all, Sam’s willingness to stand up for and speak on what he believes has changed individual and collective stories around the world...which leads me to my special guest today! Lynn Andrews is a versatile artist who has been standing up for what she believes, literally. As a singer, actress, and writer, she has a stake in bringing stories to life as part of her life’s work and is fresh off the picket line protesting as part of the SAG-AFTRA strike. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, listen in as she and I dive into the idea of using your story to stand up and speak up, whether your voice matters at all, and how to influence the stories that are told. You’ll also discover the answer to questions such as: What’s it like participating in a community of storytellers standing up for themselves? What’s one thing you need to be mindful of as you speak up for your cause during a protest or strike? What opportunity can you choose to take with an Improv performance, beyond the humor? And why does your profession not matter when it comes to storytelling? And along the way, you’ll hear about trimmed trees, strongly-worded umbrellas, memorable theater moments, and more! What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Lynn? Lynn Andrews, an artist excelling as an actor, singer, and writer, was born in Denver, Colorado. Her passion for the arts led her to pursue training at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in New York City. Lynn won the coveted role of Miss Hannigan in the national tour of Annie. The New York Times praised her, saying she "has a wonderful way with a shimmy." During her time in New York, Lynn showcased her singer-songwriter abilities as one-third of the girl group The Shirtwaist Sisters, highlighted by the NPR Tiny Desk competition. In 2017, Lynn made her way to Los Angeles, where she appeared in popular television shows like The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, and Dead To Me, as well as the critically acclaimed film The Dark and the Wicked. Her recent appearances on The Resident and American Auto continue to solidify her status as an accomplished and skillful performer. Links and Resources: | |||
| 08 Nov 2023 | How Untold Stories Affect You | 00:24:39 | |
I’m getting a speaker ready to hit the TEDx stage. He has a completely unique take on what it means to be of service in the hospitality industry. So I ask him: “What story are you going to tell to set up your Idea Worth Spreading?” He says that he has a story about a client… and another about a vendor… which is when I interject: “Hang on, hang on. What personal story do you have that allows us to feel how committed and passionate you are about this idea?” His response? “The audience doesn’t want to hear about me.” “What if they do?” I reply. “What if by sharing a real, even vulnerable story, the audience can get to know, like, and ultimately trust you?” He goes for it, and his Talk ends up being a huge success! Several weeks after it goes live, he tells me he wants to do it again. The process of sharing his personal story was incredibly valuable for the audience and very therapeutic for him, as well. My special guest today, Alisha Kalisher, has also found therapeutic value in her passion. She’s a professional vocalist and songwriter and has a Master’s degree in Depth Psychology and Creativity with an emphasis on Arts and Humanities. And in this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn how she uses creative expression as a mechanism to help heal the stories of trauma survivors, as well as get answers to questions such as: Why is the area of creative expression so important to study? How can people get around the fear of stories they don’t want to tell? Why is play in creative expression essential for both the mind and body? And how does vulnerability in storytelling connect us all? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Alisha? Alisha Kalisher is a professional vocalist and songwriter living in Altadena, California. She has achieved many accolades and awards, performed on late-night television, awards shows, with orchestras across the United States, and some of LA’s most notable venues, as well as written many songs for film, and television with her husband. She also collaborated with her husband on their project The Sheen, as contributors to the Meta Music Initiative. While music has been a big part of her life, she has always been an avid seeker and student in the study of humanity. In conjunction with her studies as a graduate student, receiving a master's degree in Depth Psychology and Creativity with an emphasis in the Arts and Humanities, she has gathered a collection of songs to release her album Center Line. Alisha’s graduate education ignited a passion for the therapeutic value of creative expression. She is currently a student at the Expressive Arts Institute where she is training to become an Expressive Arts Facilitator. In 2022, she founded the Bella Arts Foundation, a non-profit organization that believes in promoting and providing healing experiences through the creative and expressive arts to support and empower survivors of trauma. Links and Resources | |||
| 26 Oct 2022 | How Stories Can Protect Us | 00:32:30 | |
I’m nine and living in a wonderful residential neighborhood in southern California. And someone has just broken into our house while I was at school and my Dad and Step Mom were at work! As I watch the police interview my parents outside, I know what I have to do. I go into my Dad’s tool shed and look around until I find it: the caulking gun. I then traverse my backyard and cover everything I can see--the bushes, the furniture, all of it--with white caulking paste. Why does nine-year-old me do this? Because in my mind, I know that when the robbers come back, their feet will stick in this gluey paste and I’ll catch ‘em! Except that’s not exactly what happens... Annie, our golden retriever, is not aware of my plan and finds herself covered in this thick white sticky paste after innocently wandering into the backyard. After multiple baths for her and deep breaths from my Dad, he suggests, “We leave the police work to the professionals.” My special guest on the Storytelling School Podcast this week, Pete James, is one of those professionals. Plus he takes it up a notch by protecting the people who protect us. In this episode, you’ll hear him tell some shocking stories involving law enforcement, judges, and others (though not in the way you’re probably thinking) and get answers to questions like: What’s one thing that can change the trajectory of your story without you even being aware of it? And how can you ensure control of your story before some harmful, unforeseen circumstance influences it? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Pete? Pete James is a former member of the U.S. Navy. He served on an aircraft carrier as an Intelligence Specialist. Then he moved on to a career in law enforcement where he worked for 25 years and rose to the rank of Lieutenant. As a skilled Open-Source Intelligence analyst and computer forensics expert, Pete has experience in investigating thousands of criminal, civil, and corporate cases and has testified in state, federal, and civil trials. His passion involves the protection of those who protect us. To that end, he combined his law enforcement experience and online investigative skills to create his company Officer Privacy. The business protects law enforcement officers, celebrities, and regular citizens by removing their private information from the Internet so that they and their families feel safe from criminals and others who want revenge. Links and Resources: | |||
| 22 Mar 2023 | How Embracing Your Unique Genius Impacts You As a Storyteller | 00:29:50 | |
“Hello, Master Kymberlee.” I’ll never forget hearing those words for the first time. I’d just earned my Fourth-Degree Black Belt in Dynamic Circle Hapkido. And standing in the dojo, after receiving that greeting from a fellow martial artist, makes me reflect on my 20+ years of Martial Arts training. In that moment, I can’t help but think about what it truly means to master something. Fast forward to real-time today on the eve of my Fifth-Degree Black Belt Test. The actual test I have coming up is simply a moment in time. The pursuit of mastery, though, is an evolving adventure on every level, and the gift of mastery is an entire story of evolved learning, growth, accomplishment, and surprise based on a singular skill. Adam C. Hall has spent a good part of his career studying for mastery of the intellectual kind. And as my special guest on today’s episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, he and I unpack and get into this world of genius, mastery, and success by delving into questions like: What is genius, really, and how does it tie into the story of your potential? What bonus benefit comes out of sharing your traumatic stories? Why is there no such thing as bad stories? And where does relatability in your story ultimately come from? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Adam? Adam C. Hall is an intellectual master. He’s the creator of the Genius Process and founder and CEO of Genius Studios. He has three decades of experience as an impact investor and entrepreneur. He’s trained in shamanism and is a teacher of A Course in Miracles. And since 2007, he has been conserving land and working with global evolutionary leaders as the founder of the EarthKeeper Alliance. Adam is also a four-time published author whose teachings integrate science, spirituality, and success. He’s been a featured presenter at numerous summits and conferences, guested on over 100 radio and TV shows, and given more than 40 speeches and keynote addresses. Currently residing in Santa Barbara, California, he’s the proud father of three daughters and grandad to seven granddaughters. Links and Resources: | |||
| 29 Mar 2023 | How Music Can Help You Redefine Your Internal Story | 00:26:13 | |
It’s a Tuesday night. I’m teaching my Improv class and ask the students to tell me one reason why they came. “I want to work on character voices tonight,” says one person. A few others in the room are here for that too. “I want to work on being more physical tonight,” says another student who also has others echoing the same sentiment. Then a third person pipes up with, “I want to escape.” It’s so silent you can hear a pin drop. He goes on to say, “I’ve gotten some really tough news today and just want to leave the outside world behind. I just want to play. I just want to laugh.” And so I tell him, “You’re in the right place. You have 100% permission to play.” Sometimes, we just need a change in our story. We need to escape in order to create a different chapter or trajectory, and sometimes that results in something incredibly delicious (even beyond our wildest dreams). Singer and songwriter Priska, my special guest today, has used music to not only change her story but also the lives of so many. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, she talks about the power of positive internal dialogue, why surface appearances don’t always tell the real story, storytelling through song as a sensitive person, and the transformative power of stories. She also answers questions like: How can a traumatic experience actually open up your curiosity about yourself and the world and the stories you create from it? What needs to happen to make the resolution of a story worth it? And how important is it for people to hear diverse voices tell their stories? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Priska? Priska is a Taiwanese-American singer and songwriter from Los Angeles, California who, despite her small stature, will draw you in with her big voice and intimate lyrics. She has performed and competed in various international showcases and singing competitions. In 2018, she released her debut EP State Change which features soaring vocals, lush instrumentation, and cinematic lyrics. A lifelong lover of feeling out songs with her heart, Priska will take you on an emotional journey that involves heartache, loss, and learning to carve your own path. In August of 2020, she started the podcast Two Horny Goats with director and friend Roxy Shih, where the two chat about food, sexuality, and the damaging effects of Asian-American stereotypes. Links and Resources: | |||
| 30 Nov 2022 | How to Develop Your Delivery in Storytelling and Speaking | 00:27:35 | |
As a storyteller and speaker, how you deliver your content is as important as what you write on the pages in front of you. And there are many things that can affect your delivery and enhance your story or speech and its message for your audience, regardless of the size of said audience or the method of delivery. While working with speakers and storytellers over the years, I’ve seen many go through draft after draft after draft of their content. Yet, in the end, they don’t have as much time to work on the delivery side of things. So in this very special episode, I want to take you through several techniques you can put into practice immediately to help you be the storyteller or speaker that people talk about weeks, months, and even years after! You’ll hear stories about delays, dancing maniacs, doctors who aren’t physically present, and get answers to questions like: What can you do to calm your nerves when giving a talk or telling a story? How do you interact with an imaginary person in your story who isn’t actually there? And how does being aware of your tenses and all of your senses in a story help your listeners? What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teaching my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 18 Oct 2023 | Why Holding Back Can Enhance Your Storytelling | 00:29:23 | |
I’m in a law class at Pepperdine, studying for my MBA. In our first assignment, we’re supposed to take this unbelievable amount of text and turn it into an outline using a very specific structure and methodology. I’m thinking, “Why do we need to outline? I just read all of this text and highlighted certain sections of it in detail. It’s fine. Plus, It seems like a waste of time. And aren’t all outlines the same anyway? Why is structure so important?” I begrudgingly do the assignment and turn it in. Then we get our next assignment… more outlining! Next assignment? Alas more outlining again! By the middle of the semester, something dawns on me: I start to realize that I’m looking at paragraphs of text completely differently. I can pinpoint what matters most even faster. At the end of the semester… I am an outlining Ninja. This skill that I learned in my Graduate Studies has turned out to be a tool that I use to this very day. Every time I read any block of text I can't help but condense it down to its most essential elements which has definitely helped influence my path of specializing and Short Form Communications. I love to take complex things and condense them down to their most essential elements, especially in storytelling. The elements we use in stories really matter–to the listener, to the memories we can create in the minds of our listener, and to the integrity of the story. Michael Stinson has an incredible career exploring and teaching the cinematic art of storytelling, in addition to many other forms. And today on the Storytelling School Podcast, he’s here to talk about how stories bind the world, share the tools he uses to explain storytelling, reveal what keeps an audience engaged, and tell us: How can experiencing different cultures influence your storytelling? Why is it a mistake to tell everything in your story? What’s the best way to create suspense, and what other tools are essential for storytelling? And how are cinematic journeys like cathartic, storytelling labyrinths for the audience? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Michael? Michael Stinson is the professor of Film and Media Studies at Santa Barbara City College where he has taught courses in film studies, film production, screenwriting, film editing, cinematography, and directing for over two decades. He is also the author of Labyrinth of Light: A Journey Into Cinema and has co-directed the 10-10-10 filmmaking and screenwriting competition at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival for the past 20 years. Prior to film school, Michael spent a decade abroad as a photojournalist based in Europe and the Far East. He worked for five years as a screenwriter for the Hollywood studios after earning a Master’s degree in Film and Television from UCLA. Then, he began teaching at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and has taught courses in film and media at the University of Rome, New School University, and Los Angeles Film School. Michael is a Member Emeritus of the Writers Guild of America, Society of American Travel Writers, and PEN America. Currently, he directs international film programs in Rome, Paris, and Tokyo. Residing in Santa Barbara, California, he also now divides his time between a Craftsman bungalow built by the town barber in 1906 and a Cheoy Lee sailboat moored in the harbor. Links and Resources: Email Michael: paperhammer@hotmail.com, paperhammer@gmail.com, or paperhammer@mac.com Labyrinth of Light: A Journey Into Cinema by Michael Stinson | |||
| 15 Mar 2024 | How Crafting Event Experiences Can Create Memorable Stories | 00:27:34 | |
I’m ready to dazzle! I have on my heels, my dress, and my glitter as I enter the doors of Blaisdell Arena and make my way to my seat near the front row. I can feel my heart racing with anticipation. Then, the lights go out. The fog on stage gets thicker. The familiar beat begins, and it’s as if my heart starts to beat with it in unison. Suddenly, the backup singers take their places on the stage. And through the haze, I finally see him. As he comes into focus, there’s cheering, and screaming, and some nearby me are even crying. We’re all so excited to see what we’ve been looking forward to for months: Prince performing live on stage, in person, in living color! At that moment, we’re all in the middle of this story happening around us. Years later, I can recall where I sat, what I thought, and who I was with that evening. That’s what a powerful experience that earns a permanent place in the memory can do. Starting from his days as a civil engineering student, my special guest Adam Metwally is all about creating experiences for others using a combination of his various interests, knowledge, and experience. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll hear how he emphasizes the power of creating memorable experiences, his tips on building genuine confidence and its role in storytelling, and so much more! You’ll also get answers to questions like: How do you build trust and connection as an interviewer of those who want to share stories? How can better understanding your influence affect the story of others and, in turn, impact your own? And why is genuine authenticity essential for effective storytelling? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Adam? Adam Metwally loves to connect and riff with intelligent and interesting people to expand his insight, perspective, and knowledge. He reads voraciously and has an unending curiosity about the world around him. Politely persistent but extremely extroverted, his interests include business psychology, mindset, finance, music, spirituality, and sports like yoga, snowboarding, running, and basketball. With deep curiosity and an environment that fosters growth through impactful projects, Adam aims to take the wide variety of intersecting and specific knowledge he’s developed over the last decade to learn quickly and contribute world-class ideas to organizations. He then uses his organizational skills, persistence, and focus to push those ideas into outcomes. Links and Resources | |||
| 24 May 2023 | Why Embracing the Unexpected Rewrites Your Story | 00:32:13 | |
My husband Mark and I are back in California after our Hawaiian vacation. We loved the kayak adventure we had there, so we decide to get a two-person kayak. But not just any kayak. We need one that’s built for speed. It’s not as stable as others, but it’s going to go fast and be so exciting! We take this kayak out on a maiden voyage and, after tipping over into the ocean a couple of times, we get the hang of it. We’re having the best time paddling, and we go several miles out. So far out that the shore looks like a speck of land... Then I feel it. Something has hit the bottom of the kayak. What the?? I think, “We’re in the middle of nowhere. How could we have hit something?” I keep paddling... and it happens again. BUMP! Mark says he sees… A FIN, and we go silent and still. If we tip over again, we’re done. The shark bumping into our boat is going to get us, and no one will ever know what happened because we’re so far offshore. And all of a sudden, the creature jumps out of the water, spins, and goes back in. And another. And another... We’re inside a pod of 40 or 50 dolphins! What was a terrifying moment becomes magical! Sometimes in life, what scares us turns out to be a gift that not only changes the story of our experience, but also the lessons we learn so we can help others. Speaking of stories changing our experience, my special guest today, Adrienne Smith, is an athlete and entrepreneur who has had that happen, many times over. Adrienne is building an intuition-based wellness movement. And in this episode of the Storytelling School podcast, you’ll learn lessons about the stories we tell ourselves and the stories we can create in this world, through her experiences. Plus, you’ll hear her stories about rowing across the Pacific with a four-person team, earning Adrienne a world record title, and how her daughter recently reiterated the feebleness of trying to force things, along with answers to questions like: What’s an example of a mindset shift that changes your story when things aren’t working out? How can you create stories in even the most unusual and uncomfortable situations? How can incorporating storytelling change you as a public speaker? And what can you do to visualize in a way that’ll help you create the future story you want to see happen? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Adrienne? As a mom, athlete, and business owner, Adrienne Smith has an appreciation for the strategies necessary to overcome obstacles and reach success. Drawing on firsthand knowledge of how it feels to be stuck when striving to accomplish goals, she is enthusiastic about sharing systems that help others transform anxiety, get organized and motivated, and most importantly, reignite a passion for life. Adrienne is building a movement of expanded awareness to cure the personal energy crisis in our world through creative connection, storytelling, and intuition-based wellness programs. She helps individuals and teams make the seemingly impossible possible - like she demonstrated by setting a new World Record rowing across the Pacific Ocean with her team. Links and Resources: | |||
| 31 Jan 2024 | How Stories Cultivate Speaking Confidence | 00:16:19 | |
I’m catching up with my Aunt Marie about everything that’s happening in life. She asks me, “Do you have any performances or events coming up?” I do. Our annual three-day immersive speaker bootcamp is coming up at the end of February. For those three days, I get to be on stage helping people take their speaking to the next level. “I don’t know how you do it,” my aunt replies. “Growing up, you were always so good in front of a crowd. You had no fear. I could never do that.” And the more we talk about all the times I was in the spotlight growing up, the more I think, “Is confidence really cultivated? Is it a natural ability we’re born with, or can it be learned?” In my most recent Masterclass, too, quite a few attendees expressed a desire to be more confident. So in this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, we’ll explore confidence in relation to communication, storytelling, and public speaking and get answers to questions such as: What two elements does confidence as a speaker or storyteller really come down to? What does having confidence as a speaker or storyteller really mean? What three areas will help you cultivate your confidence when speaking or telling stories? What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teach my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 19 Oct 2022 | What It Means to be Real in Your Storytelling | 00:28:26 | |
It’s the end of my first semester at the University of Hawaii and my roommate Shannon and I are cramming for finals. At around 9p at night, we decide to take a break so we go get a bite to eat at King’s Bakery. After our delicious late night snack of Sweet Hawaiian Bread French Toast, we hop back on our mopeds, wind in our hair, heading back towards our dorm. That’s the last thing I remember. The next thing I do remember is waking up in a hospital bed five days later. The pain is so severe I can barely turn my head. I learn that a masonry cement truck had run a red light and hit us. I’m dizzy, nauseous and my head is pounding as the doctor comes into my room. I ask him if he can give me something for the pain. “No Kymberlee, I’m sorry. We can’t give you anything because your brain is swelling right now.” What?! “You’re going to have trouble with dizziness and nausea for a really long time. You’ll probably have trouble with balance and headaches for the rest of your life.” Ready for the bad news? According to him, I’ve also lost my sense of taste and smell… forever. Now, lying in this bed, I have a choice to make. I can let others decide what happens in my story next, or I can take the reins of my story instead. I chose the latter. And because of that pivotal decision, doors and opportunities opened up to me that would have never been options. Dreams have come true all because I took my life in my own hands. My guest today, Kurt Kanazawa, also had a choice to make when he was faced with a diagnosis. He was on a very specific life path when everything changed. In this episode, you’ll hear about it and answers to questions such as: What’s the benefit behind telling the story that you don’t necessarily want to tell? How can your history spawn creative storytelling for other creators? And what’s a powerful way to open a story? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Kurt? Kurt Kanazawa is an actor and writer born in Los Angeles and partly raised in Hawai'i. He graduated from The Juilliard School in Vocal Arts, and lived for several years in Italy, where he starred in the Italian drama series, Provaci Ancora Prof! He is fluent in Italian, and is of Japanese and Filipino descent. He is based in Los Angeles. Most recently, Kurt can be seen in the ensemble feature film No No Girl, a multi-generational Japanese American family drama, written/directed by Paul Daisuke Goodman. At Tribeca, Cannes, Hawai'i, and BFI London Film Festivals, he played Stanley Hayami in A Life in Pieces: the Diary and Letters of Stanley Hayami, a V/R film co-produced by the Japanese American National Museum, and has also appeared on Bosch: Legacy and Grey's Anatomy. Trained in martial arts, and an alumnus of Columbia University, UCLA TFT, and the Manhattan School of Music, he was formerly an award-winning opera singer. After a diagnosis of vocal dystonia ended his singing career, a casting director scouted him in Rome, where he landed his first acting gig. Links and Resources: | |||
| 08 Feb 2023 | So You Think You Want to Become a Storyteller… How the Five Sense Enrich Your Stories | 00:30:38 | |
“Black belt, don’t think!” Those deep, stern words from the Grandmaster echo across the dojo and ring in my ears like a loudspeaker at full volume. Eight fellow black belts surround me in a circle with weapons in their hands while I have none. We’re doing a dynamic circle knife drill exercise where, one by one, they attack and I have to disarm each weapon and take the attacker down while avoiding injury myself. When the exercise begins, I’m full of adrenaline and can feel my heart racing like a race car at the Indy 500. I’m trying to outthink my opponent, contemplating their next move, pre-planning my next move, and overthinking the entire scenario. I’m not trusting myself or my instincts. While I manage to avoid what would be serious injury on the street, my movements aren’t fluid at all! Grandmaster calls me out and starts the exercise over. I take a slow breath and turn around in a circle to look at each of my eight opponents. “Begin!” the Grandmaster orders. I… close my eyes. Now that I’ve removed my sense of sight, I’m relying solely on sound, touch, and trust in myself. Each black belt yells “Ki-ai” and initiates their attack. I respond and disarm the first one, then the next, and the next. The disarming goes significantly better, and I’m reminded of how powerful the senses are and how harder the others work when you take one away. In this next episode of the “So You Think You Want to Become a Storyteller” master series, I talk about how the five senses can enrich your storytelling. Once again, I have my interviewer extraordinaire (Mark) ask me some tough questions on this topic such as: How do you incorporate the senses into your storytelling and make your stories come alive? Do you even need all five senses, or will just one or two do fine? And can you overuse senses in your stories? What you will learn in this episode: -How you can use the senses to describe anything in a story A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teaching my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 11 Oct 2023 | How Play Can Bring Your Storytelling to a ‘10’ | 00:28:21 | |
I’m about to speak to a room full of CEOs. These CEOs know there’s a guest speaker, yet the topic has not been revealed. Because I’ve been told that this group loves to be challenged and pushed outside their comfort zone, I come in and start my Talk with an unusual request. I have everyone stand up and form a big circle. Then I invite them, one at a time, to step into the middle of this circle and introduce themselves with their name and in the form of any character they wish. After which everyone in the room repeats that person’s name and character in unison. This is an Improv game called Character Intro. To demonstrate, I start things off and it goes around the circle. When the game circles back around to me, I say to everyone: “Great work. That’s a level one or two. Let’s do it again, same character, but take it up to a five or six. What would that look like?” So we do it again, each person taking their character up a few notches in whatever way that looks like for them. After the second round, I say: “We’re getting warmer. Now I’d like to invite you to step into the middle of the circle at a 10.” When this third round gets to the fourth person, he suddenly leaps into the air and somersaults forward into the circle as his character to cheers and laughter. This whole exercise is meant to demonstrate that we, regardless of what we do, always have an opportunity to be at a 10. It’s up to you how you want to enter the room and communicate, which is something that my special guest, Maja Watkins, is an expert at helping others (especially kids) do. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn about how to apply Improv in situations where you can really use this skill on a deeper level and get answers to questions like: How do storytelling games contribute to social and emotional learning? How can you adapt storytelling games and Improv exercises for a different audience? What story should adults be telling themselves about play? And what makes applied Improv so powerful? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Maja? Maja is a mother, author, education consultant, and non-profit founder living in Los Angeles, California. She holds a degree in Child Development and is also a graduate of The Second City in Hollywood where she studied Improvisation and sketch comedy. Through her work with children in various settings, and her experience growing up with a brother on the autism spectrum, she has developed an understanding of how powerful communication is for all people. Maja is the author of The Brain's Playground: Using Improv Games To Teach Social and Emotional Learning as well as the author of a parenting guidebook titled 10 Minutes of Play for 10 Days. The Brain’s Playground includes her valuable research, data, and curriculum. Right now, she works as a Play Specialist focusing on inclusion using her curriculum designed to allow children and young adults to reach their highest potential in whichever way they feel most comfortable. Her newest project is a script putting her true stories with kids to life in a preschool animated pilot! Links and Resources: | |||
| 06 Dec 2023 | Telling Fifty Weeks of Stories: “Mic Drop” Moments | 00:29:26 | |
I almost don’t do it. Normally, a Storytelling School Podcast episode lasts around 30 minutes with a special guest (or myself) delivering mic drop moments and storytelling nuggets of pure gold. Yet, for the 100th episode, I do something special; I collect these moments and golden nuggets from the first 99 episodes and put them all together in a single show. The episode runs over an hour. Does anyone want to listen for that long? Yes! It works so well and I get so many positive comments that I’m commemorating another milestone for the podcast by doing it again! In this special episode, we’re celebrating over 150 episodes of the Storytelling School Podcast with more ‘write-them-down’ worthy mic drop moments from special guests and yours truly. So get ready to take notes as you hear these powerful storytelling ideas and perspectives that can make a significant difference in your business and life. Enjoy. A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teaching my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 17 May 2023 | How Stories Can Help You Become a Better Advocate | 00:31:18 | |
At the age of 101, my grandmother, Beverly’s, dementia is really starting to show. I’m over at her house one day when her new social worker comes by. I hear him talking to one of her caregivers in the other room. She says to him, “Sometimes Beverly says she wants to go home. Yet, she’s in her own home. So when Beverly says that, we just tell her, ‘You ARE home.’ But it doesn’t really register.” He responds, “Beverly is simply looking for a safe space. So rather than trying to battle with her, all you need to do is remind Beverly that she is 100% safe and everything is fine.” As I listen to this conversation, I find myself smiling and feeling happy that she has someone besides myself advocating for her... and someone helping the caregivers too, offering them a different perspective instead of telling them that they’re doing it wrong. My guest today, Dr. Karen Federici, also advocates on behalf of others. She’s an award-winning family physician and an expert in breastfeeding. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll hear all about her story on advocating for others and answers to questions like: How is your Talk enhanced when you use story versus when you don’t? What role does storytelling play in the work that doctors do, and how can healthcare professionals integrate it into their own work? And what can you do to redirect the story you’re hearing from those you serve in your profession to better help them? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Dr. Federici? Inspired by her own experience as a new mother, Karen Federici, MD saw a genuine need for doctors who championed breastfeeding. So she became that doctor, leaving her career as an actuary behind. Now, she’s an award-winning physician and breastfeeding expert. Dr. Federici founded Family First, a practice centering around primary care for women and children and breastfeeding medicine, after completing her residency in 2006. Recently, she founded TeleLact which provides expert lactation support through telehealth to expand access to quality care for breastfeeding moms. Last year, she opened the first and only donor human milk dispensary in her region. As part of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine and with a certification in family medicine, Dr. Federici volunteers as a clinical preceptor, teaching breastfeeding medicine to students and fellow physicians. Not enough families have access to a doctor with knowledge on breastfeeding. So she likes to direct them to her TEDx Talk to help spread the word so that they can positively impact breastfeeding, advocate for themselves, and encourage their doctors to seek more education on the subject. Links and Resources: | |||
| 11 Jan 2023 | How Digging Deep Into Self Expands Your Storytelling Magic | 00:28:36 | |
I’m at The Groundlings Theatre for an Improv class. We’re doing two-person scenes when our instructor says it’s time for a drill. “This next exercise is a way to go deeper into your characters, fast.” For each pair, he instructs one person to start with a mundane statement about the other. The second person repeats the statement and adds something about what it means. Then it goes back to the first person to repeat the added-on part of the statement and add something else about what that means. Kymberlee: Carl, you look lonely standing here by the punchbowl all by yourself. Carl: I look lonely standing here by the punchbowl all by myself, and what that means is I’m not very good at social events. K: You’re not very good at social events, and what that means is you prefer to have fun where you don’t have to talk to people. C: I prefer to have fun where I don’t have to talk to people, and what that means is I’m really into gaming. And so on it goes, until the instructor says, “Scene!” to end the exercise. That simple made-up scene gives us lots of information about our characters in only a couple of sentences. In our world, we as communicators have so much we want to share. But sometimes we get stuck in expressing the meat of it in a way that resonates with our audience. When you tap into your feelings, you get to the heart of your story faster! My guest today, Jane Lui, knows all about storytelling in a variety of ways. She does it through singing, composing, acting, producing, and so much more. In this episode, she talks about how she brings stories to life through her work with emotion leading the way and answers questions like: In what ways can you start to build your story if you’re stuck? And how can you make your story more interesting for your audience? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Jane? Jane Lui is a singer, songwriter, composer, and actress who goes by the stage name Surrija (sur-rye-ya). Originally from Hong Kong, she grew up playing piano. She immigrated to the Bay area and started listening to everything from 1930s oldies to 1990s Bjork. After obtaining her Bachelor of Music in Choral Conducting, Jane released three albums on Youtube that gained a strong following. Then she evolved into her self-titled concept album SURRIJA based on Picasso’s lovers and demonstrated her own growth as both a woman and musician, from classical training to electro-pop artistry. The album, which received a 2021 Best Pop Album nomination at the San Diego Music Awards, features drummer Matt Chamberlain who has also worked with artists such as David Bowie and Fiona Apple. In addition to Chamberlain, Jane also collaborated with Kate Earl, Melissa Polinar, Son Lux, Tom Brousseau, Vienna Teng, and more. Currently, she’s a cast member and co-music director of Lauren Yee’s Cambodian Rock Band. She also composed for the theater productions All’s Well That Ends Well and Secret in the Wings. Links and Resources: | |||
| 25 Oct 2023 | How Sharing Your Story Can Help Break Down Barriers | 00:27:37 | |
It’s the second round of selecting speakers for an upcoming TEDx event. I’m there with our committee on either side of me, facing a speaker standing in front of us. I ask her: “Why are you the right person to speak on this topic?” She says she’s not a professional speaker. She doesn’t like being on stage at all, and in fact, her knees are shaking just talking to us. And then she goes on: “This issue of human trafficking in our city is vitally important. It is dangerous, and we need to raise awareness on what’s happening, how it’s happening, why it’s happening, and what we can do about it. No one else was coming to talk about this so here I am.” Because of her expertise on this topic, her commitment to affecting change, and her role within the city, she was selected to speak at this particular upcoming TEDx event. Sometimes, it’s the conversations we don’t want to have that are the most necessary. Tackling delicate, even dangerous issues is where change can begin with a new perspective, insight, or action. It all starts with a story. And my special guest today, James Joyce III, has direct experience with having delicate conversations. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll hear about his perspective on telling tough stories and get answers to questions like: How can stories break down barriers? How has music served as a cultural storytelling vehicle for Black Americans? And what role does storytelling play in being a journalist or political candidate? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is James? Originally from Maryland, James Joyce III is an award-winning journalist, educator, public servant, civil rights activist, and social entrepreneur. He founded Coffee with a Black Guy (CWABG) which serves as a safe place for interactive, community conversations about a variety of issues from the perspective of a Black man. It's been a growing, grassroots effort hosted by him and his team to help put an end to racism. Known as a sturdy leader and champion for justice, Joyce has served on various advisory boards in the Santa Barbara area. For much of the past decade, he was District Director for California State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (Ret.), who represented nearly 1 million constituents within Santa Barbara and Ventura counties until December 2020. Currently, he’s serving as adjunct faculty for the Santa Barbara City College Career Skills Institute. He’s also on the board for the Common Table Foundation (formerly the Lois and Walter Capps Project), Sanctuary Centers of Santa Barbara, TV Santa Barbara, as well as the national board for Student African American Brotherhood (SAAB). Joyce was runner-up in the 2021 Santa Barbara mayoral election, securing 27 percent of the votes cast among six candidates. Now, Joyce leverages more than two decades of public service and journalism experience to provide impactful insight for groups and individuals seeking to gain better cross-cultural understanding. Links and Resources | |||
| 15 May 2024 | How Unforgettable Experiences Make for Unforgettable Stories | 00:33:06 | |
I’m in prep mode, getting ready to host a standup comedy night. I ask myself: “What’s it going to take to move this event from good to unforgettable? Sure people are coming to see comedians who they love and may have been following for years… What can we do to make this experience last and earn a permanent memory in every audience member’s mind? What can we do to make this experience last and earn a permanent memory in every single audience member’s mind?” The answer? It’s all in the details. From eye contact and smiles, to the welcoming and fun atmosphere being directed at each guest from every angle–box office volunteers and snack bar workers, old-time comedy posters and fresh flowers… even the cleanliness of the theater plays a subtle and important role. In other words, it’s in making this entire evening feel like every single detail matters and producing an unforgettable experience in the process. My special guests today, Mo Barrett & Katy Stevens, have made creating unforgettable experiences into an entire business. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, they’ll share how the monotonous and mundane can be disrupted and generate stories that entertain and empower, as well as answer questions such as: How can seeing and appreciating the stories of others deepen your understanding and connection? What effect does allowing your mind to rest have on your story creation and productivity? And how can taking an unconventional approach with your story or Talk produce an experience for your audience that only you can deliver? What you will learn in this episode:
Who are Mo & Katy? Mo Barrett & Katy Stevens are unlikely best friends from two separate worlds who collided at a barbershop brigade singing event. Mo is a retired Air Force Colonel turned public speaker, and Katy is a music and performance instructor turned Mo-wrangler. Together they take stages as corporate entertainers and educators. Despite all the ways they’re different, they choose to lean into the strength of the things they have in common, recognizing, acknowledging, appreciating and leveraging their respective quirks. Together Mo & Katy disrupt monotony and are building a world filled with unforgettable experiences that entertain and empower by using humor in unexpected ways. Links and Resources
| |||
| 03 May 2023 | So You Think You Want to Become a Storyteller… Rehearsal Rituals | 00:14:05 | |
It’s Tuesday morning, and I’m so excited! I’m leading a storytelling workshop for a group of speakers and entrepreneurs who give presentations as part of the work they do. To start, I ask all of them what their objectives are for the training. One person raises their hand and says, “I really need help with rehearsing.” Two other participants agree... and it seems odd to me. Rehearsals have been such an important part of my life since I was a kid, whether it was training for a big softball game or a martial arts test. It’s the same with preparing for a big speaking engagement, so I’m surprised to hear how many people struggle with the rehearsal process. And after discussing it with the group a bit, I quickly realize that not everyone shares my passion (or obsession - ha!) for rehearsing. What happens next? Join me in the continuation of the “So You Think You Want to Become a Storyteller” master series as I share my simple rehearsal rituals you can use to prepare yourself for a speech or story presentation. You’ll hear answers to questions like: Where can you practice, and how do you create a practice zone for your speech or story? How long and how often should you practice? Why do you need to plan practice sessions? Should you practice your Talk or story with an audience or not? And what are some effective ways to practice your presentation? What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teaching my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 24 Aug 2022 | Why Your Voice Can Make or Break a Story | 00:30:17 | |
I’m rehearsing with my Improv team for a big upcoming show when our coach John says to me, “All your characters sound… like Kymberlee.” I’m thinking, “Well, of course, they do! I’m the one creating them.” I must’ve said what I was thinking out loud because he responds back, “Actually Kymberlee, we want to meet these characters as themselves.” So he gives me an exercise to do. I’ve got to stand in the center of the stage and do a completely different voice whenever one of my fellow performers approaches me to start a new scene. PANIC! I had all of maybe three different characters prepared in my head, so I had no idea what I was gonna do. But after doing scene after scene, I managed to find all these new characters--just by changing my voice. That exercise helped change my point of view in scenes, my physicality, and even my emotions. And it all came from simply speaking differently each time. My guest today, Steve French, literally does this for a living as a full-time, in-demand voice actor. In this episode, he and I discuss storytelling through voice acting, and he answers questions such as: What's a process you can use to prepare for incorporating stories in your business? How can you transform mere lines in a script into a compelling audible story? And what can you do if you struggle with your storytelling skills in an event, such as an audition or speech? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Steve? Steve French is a voice actor based in New York who graduated from The Hartt School Theatre Division in West Hartford, Connecticut. He was an award-winning stage actor and singer before becoming a full-time voice actor. You might recognize him as the promo voice of The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian on Disney+. Steve’s voice has been featured in various projects, from nature documentaries on National Geographic to spooky movie trailers and funny commercials. You can hear him on recent episodes of STARZ’s P-Valley and Peacock’s Girls5Eva. His voiceover work also appears nationwide for Toyota, and he hosts the official Unsolved Mysteries Podcast every week. Links and Resources: | |||
| 22 Nov 2023 | How to Turn Small Talk into Stories | 00:10:36 | |
I’m at a family gathering when a family friend remarks about the weather. “It’s cold outside.” Others agree. Someone chimes in about the wind. Then someone else mentions that it hasn’t rained in a while. Oof. I can't take it anymore. I have to step in. “Rain makes me think of snow. And snow makes me think of the time Dad decided it would be a brilliant idea to go out and tie an inner tube to the back of the rental car so my best friend, Nikki, and I can ride it.” As 10-year-olds, Nikki and I love this idea. So we wedge ourselves into the inner tube together while my dad gets behind the wheel and starts driving down the snow-covered road. Yet, it doesn’t all go according to plan… As I relay the story to everyone of how this inner tube adventure goes down, I look around the table and realize everyone is laughing! And all of a sudden, I’m laughing with them at the ridiculousness of the situation. My story does the trick. Not only does this conversation become more lively and fun, it also reminds my dad of his own story about growing up on the farm. And for the next two hours, we take turns around the table telling hilarious true tales. With the holidays coming up, there’s going to be lots of dinners and parties with family and friends. So how do we take the chit-chatty conversations that often go on during these events and turn them into storytelling adventures for everyone there? In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn how to turn conversations from small talk into story time and get answers to questions like: Where do you begin when you want to change up the energy of a conversation? And how can turning small talk into stories affect the interaction between you, friends, and family years from now? What you will learn in this episode:
A little about me: Hi there. I’m Kymberlee. As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives. Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teach my clients to do the same. If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value. Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place. Links and Resources: | |||
| 21 Sep 2022 | Bringing your ideas to life through sound, song and stories | 00:27:32 | |
I’m sitting alone in my car with the radio on. One of my favorite songs of all time begins to play. I start moving my head and tapping along with it on the steering wheel. Pretty soon, I can’t help myself: I’m belting out this song. I look around to see if anyone notices me because I’m in the middle of traffic. I realize I don’t care, though. I love this song so much and am so in the moment that I’m even getting chills during certain parts of it! Like stories, music has the power to take you to a place where you lose sense of time and space. My guest today knows that all too well. In fact, Rich Jacques is an award-winning producer and artist who’s spent his life creating songs and narratives that evoke all the emotions of the human experience. In this episode, you’ll hear about REM and why literal meanings for songs aren’t necessary, the Brené Brown speech that caused her the most anxiety but also put her on the map, and get answers to questions like: How do you bring stories to life through sound? Why can your relationship to storytelling be a daunting thing? And how can giving yourself permission push you past your writer’s block? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Rich? Rich Jacques is a Grammy-winning producer, songwriter, musician, and solo artist based in Santa Barbara, California. Authenticity is a key factor that drives him. As a producer, Rich wants to get to the core of what makes each artist unique. Some of the notable artists he’s worked with include Maya Rudolph, Sarah Macdougal, Rob Giles, Colin Hay, Shane Alexander, and Lisa Loeb (Rich won his Grammy collaborating on her album Feel What U Feel). As a songwriter, his music has been featured in commercials for Honda and Xbox as well as in movies and on TV shows. You can hear Rich’s work on productions like Grey’s Anatomy, The Fosters, Nashville, Pretty Little Liars, Heartland, Vampire Diaries, America’s Got Talent, The Breakup, All My Children, and so much more. Links and Resources: | |||
| 01 Nov 2023 | How Pairing Stories with Music Can Open Up New Possibilities | 00:26:51 | |
“You should reach out to Joni.” I’m reading a text from my step-mom and she is suggesting I contact a dear friend of hers because her focus on Musical Improv can take performances to the next level. I’ve met Joni and she’s fantastic. The challenge is: I’m directing a big Improv show this Friday… and it's already Tuesday. So there’s not much time to bring her in. I’m thinking, “What if introducing music now ends up throwing off the performers or intimidating those who aren’t so musically inclined?” I decided to go for it anyway. I invited Joni to our Tuesday evening class so she could be part of our rehearsal and get to know the players before Friday’s show. And I create a game set list that involves everyone–from those highly inclined in Musical Improv to those who have zero experience. I want them all to feel like musical superheroes. After the class is over, my phone starts blowing up with text messages from different students. Everyone loved the addition of Joni and her music. And she had a great time too! Experiences like this are just a reminder that it’s good to mix things up sometimes. When you try new things and put yourself even a little out of your comfort zone, you open yourself up to a new story of possibility. And when it comes to music, my special guest Dan Kalisher knows a lot about mixing it up. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn how music can impact the story you’re telling (whether in a performance or a Talk), as well as get answers to questions such as: Why does music transcend spoken language? And what’s one reason why people can feel creatively stuck or like they’ve hit a roadblock? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Dan? Dan Kalisher is a session guitar and pedal steel player, producer, and songwriter based in Los Angeles. He has played all over the world performing and recording with artists such as Noah Cyrus, Grace Potter, Louis Tomlinson, Fitz and the Tantrums, Bea Miller, AJ McClean, Don Felder, Matthew Morrison, JC Chasez, and Jesse McCartney. He has also performed at countless music festivals, with regional orchestras nationwide, and has appeared on several major network morning and late-night television shows. As an award-winning songwriter and producer, Dan has over 25 placements of original music in network TV and worldwide ad campaigns. Most recently, he contributed over 100 original songs for the Meta Sound Collection. Links and Resources: | |||
| 10 Jul 2024 | How Storytelling Can Transform Awareness | 00:30:06 | |
It's 2017, and I'm meeting with our TEDxSantaBarbara team, preparing to plan our next year's TEDx event. As we start discussing the hundreds of speaker applications we've received, it feels incredibly hard to narrow down our selections with so many wonderful candidates. That's when it hits me. What if we focus on the idea first and the person second? In other words, what if we identify the most important and urgent ideas we want to cover and then consider all the applications, recommendations, and research to find the strongest person with subject matter expertise in that area? Our team loves this approach, and we immediately engage in healthy dialogue, even debate, about which ideas our world and our community need the most right now. One of the ideas that rises to the top of the list unanimously is human trafficking. Fast forward many months later, the speaker we choose delivers an incredible Talk, not only highlighting the issue of human trafficking but also discussing actionable solutions. And now her TEDxSantaBarbara Talk has earned over 400,000 views and counting. This means more than just a number; it signifies that by sharing her Idea Worth Spreading, she has initiated change on a global scale. This means change in awareness, change in mindset, and change in action. My special guest today is that very same speaker. Megan Rheinschild is Director of the Victim Assistance Program at the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office and directs the Countywide Sexual Assault Response Team, which provides medical-legal forensic exams and advocacy to survivors of human trafficking, child abuse, and sexual assault. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, we’ll explore the issue of human trafficking and the power of storytelling in raising awareness and creating change and get answers to questions such as: What are some common misconceptions of human trafficking? How can storytelling foster empathy and understanding? And what can the average person do to make a difference? What you will learn in this episode:
Who is Megan? Megan Rheinschild serves as the Director of the Victim Assistance Program at the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office. In this role, she oversees a countywide initiative that delivers comprehensive services, support, and advocacy for victims of violent crime and their families. Ms. Rheinschild has been instrumental in forming the Human Trafficking Victim Advocacy Program and establishing the multi-agency Countywide Human Trafficking Task Force in 2013. This task force aims to identify and investigate human trafficking cases and address the complex needs of survivors through collaborative efforts with local, regional, and state partners. Additionally, she directs the Countywide Sexual Assault Response Team, a partnership involving Law Enforcement, Public Health, Rape Crisis Centers, and Child Welfare Services. This team provides medical-legal forensic exams and advocacy to survivors of human trafficking, child abuse, and sexual assault. Links and Resources | |||