Storytelling

Our lives are like a book that is still being written. With that books are chapters. Within each chapter, are scenes and characters. These are the  stories of our lives. We all have stories. Knowing how to make them shine in the telling is a powerful communication skill. 

Sometimes these stories are about significant events and heroic struggles, sometimes they are about unexpected awakenings in the course of an ordinary day. The power of the story is in the “before-and-after” picture we are able to paint for a listener. Stories intrigue, engage and entertain us when they take us through some kind of transformative experience. The process of mining our life for experiences that produce some kind of shift or turning point is transformative for us as human beings, and the process of crafting that lived experience into a story to be shared with others activates the artist within.

This workshop series provides fun, engaging exercises that help discover the stories that lie in true, lived experiences, and a step-by-step guide to crafting them for sharing out loud. We will look at ordinary and extraordinary life experiences through the storytelling lens, and apply the tools of story development to discover different approaches to sharing it. We will actively engage with specific techniques for shaping a story, choosing details, using imagery metaphor and humor, and deploy the 5 beats of narrative structure. Through experiential exercises and discussion we will look at ordinary and extraordinary life experiences through the storytelling lens, and apply the tools of story development to discover different approaches to sharing it. Over the 3 weeks each participant will have an opportunity to choose a story to develop and share different versions of it or work on 2 different stories.

INSTRUCTOR: Jude Treder-Wolff, LCSW, CPAI - storyteller and storytelling coach, improviser, performer, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, creative arts therapist, host/creator of (mostly) TRUE THINGS, a game wrapped in a true storytelling show that has been running in Port Jefferson, NY for 10 years.

Storytelling is a powerful way to communicate ideas and information that also happens to be one of the fastest-growing entertainment choices in the world right now. The art and craft of storytelling is a creative process through which we can discover the magic hidden in ordinary moments, and what is extraordinary about ourselves and our life journey that anyone can learn. Whether we use the power of story to expand personally and add to our understanding of the life experiences, to boost confidence when speaking to other people, for performance or for professional communication, studies show that people who tell stories well are seen as more magnetic and charismatic.

The skills to craft and share a story become tools of empowerment in every area of life. Information about a project, idea or business is more memorable and easier to absorb - and a call to action more compelling - when it is framed by a personal narrative. A wedding toast, or any public tribute to an important person is riveting and relatable when grounded in a story. We can become more aware of how seemingly minor details in life can have real significance, and shifts in perspective experiences that shape us through the process of developing a true experience into a story meant to be shared.

The attraction of creatively-crafted, personal accounts of true experiences lies in our need to connect as human beings, to understand what we and others are going through and to share in the experiences we might struggle to understand but anyone might face. It may also be that the in-person sharing of how we deal with struggle and find our strength is important to counter the impact of our digital, socially-networked world.

Storytelling is a way to rethink problems, redefine difficult life events, and empower people who benefit from hearing about something they might not otherwise know about. Expressing emotions and memories through words produces an immediate and important therapeutic effect that shifts perception and focuses attention in a meaningful way.

Storytelling is an essential professional skill.

The art and craft of story is especially vital in a world with so many competing demands for attention at the same time there is so much knowledge to communicate. Well-crafted stories can frame and explain important concepts as well as add color, imagination and emotional significance that deeply engage the listener. and maximize your message.

Lifestage provides workshops in storytelling for professional presentations or talks, for the classroom and for the stage. We also offer training in Post-Traumatic Growth Through Storytelling for therapists, coaches and others who work with people recovering from trauma.

• Maximizing Your Message Through Storytelling Workshops

• Storytelling For Professional Presentations Workshops

• Storytelling For Performance Classes

• Individual Coaching: Develop Your Story and Craft Your Presentation

1:1 Story Development coaching: $80/hour Or
4-session series of 1:1 coaching sessions: $275 to be scheduled as needed

contact Jude Treder-Wolff lifestageco@gmail.com

This bi-weekly group is an opportunity to share a draft of a story you are working on for a performance, to include in a presentation or talk, or just to have a story about an important experience ready to go when you need to shine. The focus is on radical support for the person sharing their work, discussion of storytelling principles and techniques that can benefit everyone, an opportunity to practice different drafts of a story and to learn from listening to others’ work.

Jude Treder-Wolff interview about Transformative Storytelling on “Morning Moments With Maiai” podcast

Authenticity is what makes storytelling the unique art form that it is.

• The power of the story is in the struggle.
  If you are telling about winning a race, the heart of the story is in all the reason success was unlikely, how those obstacles were expressed and how they were overcome. If you tell about a failure or heartbreak, the heart of the story is in coming to terms with this and how you are changed by it.

• Create mental images for the listener through detail and color.
  Think of your story as made up of two elements: the forward motion of the narrative (this happened, then this, then this, etc.) and the color (everything else, including descriptions, sounds, smells, and emotions). Make sure you include both!

• Take the listener through an emotional experience.
  Share your internal thoughts and feelings as well as the events in the story.

• Open with a scene to focus attention on a specific moment in time that sets the stakes of the story.

• Create scenes with dialogue between you and other characters in the story.
  The audience will follow the narrative best if there are enough scenes with emotion and character to balance out the descriptive parts that connect them. Example: “I see my sister looking at me with a look of horror on her face, and I say ‘it’s this outfit, isn’t it. You can tell me the truth. I look like a cake topper in this dress.’ And she says ‘you look like a cake topper in that dress.’ And I say ‘why would you say something so mean????”

• Craft the story by deciding what the climax will be and working back from that.
  What is the emotional turning point, shift or transformation that occurs? If the most powerful moment in the story is finally approaching a crush for a first date and being rewarded with a “yes” build the story so we not only care deeply about the stakes but cannot see ahead to the outcome. Every beat of a story is compelling if we are emotionally engaged and care about the stakes.