How to Tell Better Stories

The difference between a $100 public speaker and a $1000 speaker, is $1000 stories. If you want to be a more powerful public speaker and command higher fees, you need to tell better stories. With this in mind, I spent last weekend at a 2-Day Storytelling Bootcamp run by Craig Valentine and Darren LaCroix here in Sydney, Australia.

Craig and Darren are past World Champions of Public Speaking, and this was Craig’s first visit to Australia. His specialty is Storytelling, so I really wanted to go along and learn from one of the best in the world. Craig has a great storytelling system where each story incorporates these elements:

  • Curiosity.
  • Characters.
  • Escalating Conflict.
  • A Cure, usually provided by a Guru.
  • A Change in the emotion or attitude of one or more of the main characters.
  • Conversations, depicted with dialogue rather than narration.
  • A Carry-out message called a foundational phrase:
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