Bringing It All Together

Dear Reader,

Over the past few weeks, we’ve explored the 4 Cs of storytelling: Story Idea Collecting, Story Idea Choosing, Story Crafting, and Story Conveying.

Each step builds on the last to help you find, shape, and share meaningful stories. If you missed any of these issues, feel free to go back and explore them through the links above.

Last week, I had the opportunity to put everything to the test by leading my first hybrid storytelling workshop.

Here’s what I learned along the way, both about storytelling and the art of delivering a great presentation:

Key Lessons from the Workshop

1. People have more story ideas than they realize.
   When participants took time to brainstorm, they were surprised by how many meaningful personal stories they uncovered.

2. Writing story ideas down makes structuring a story easier.
   Once the ideas were on paper, participants found it much easier to see the beginnings of a story arc: a start, a transformation, and an ending.

3. Practice is essential.
   Whether you’re working on storytelling or public speaking, practice builds confidence. The more you rehearse, the more natural your delivery becomes.

4. AI tools are great practice partners.
   Tools like Yoodli.ai and ChatGPT’s voice (available on mobile) feature are perfect for rehearsing stories or speeches. They offer feedback and allow you to practice in a low-pressure environment, helping you refine your delivery.

A Story About Showing Up Early

One more lesson I learned: always arrive early for a public speaking appearance, especially for hybrid events.

At the workshop, we encountered a few technical challenges: figuring out how to stream the event live while keeping the in-person audience focused, managing microphones, and adjusting camera angles.

These things take time to sort out. Arriving two hours early gave me time to work through these issues without stress and ensured the event went smoothly for everyone, both in-person and online.

If you missed the workshop, don’t worry, you can watch the full replay here.

I encourage you to revisit the 4 Cs and take some time this week to practice one of your stories.

Use ChatGPT or Yoodli as practice partners to refine your delivery, or record yourself and listen back for areas to improve.

Remember, the key to great storytelling isn’t just having a good idea, it’s about preparation and practice. Every story gets better with repetition.

Until next time,

Rico