Swim With Whales
Do you swim with whales? When we want big clients and big opportunities, we get in the water with them! And that’s what we’ll do in this coolest-ever business retreat. Check an Item Off Your Bucket List Spend six days … More ☛
Category Archives: Storytelling
Scientists Have the Climate Story Wrong
Oh, they’re right enough about climate change. If you look at the data and at changing weather patterns around the world, it’s difficult to argue otherwise. But when it comes to telling the story, scientists have it all wrong. Measuring … More ☛
A Story of Steve Jobs, Creativity, Balance, and Success
“People from technology don’t understand the creative process … companies go through to make their products, and they don’t appreciate how hard it is. And the creative companies don’t appreciate how creative technology is; they think it’s just something you … More ☛
Writing is Design: Avoid Writing Clichés for Better Prose
Since time immemorial, clichés have sneaked in the door when we least expect them to. They’re low-hanging fruit for writers who abscond with them quickly instead of striving for excellence. But to the trained eye, writing clichés stick out like … More ☛
Verbs: Spice Up Your Writing with Verbs that Rock
Verbs are the engines that move your writing and your readers, but many authors don’t spend enough time choosing the right ones. If your writing was an electric guitar, your verbs would be the volume, tone, and distortion controls that … More ☛
What’s a Professional Editor Worth?
What do you think a professional editor‘s pay scale should be? Assume that a proofreader would be at the bottom of the scale and a developmental/line editor would be at the top. An examination of the work editors perform sheds … More ☛
Take the CUSS Out of Customer Service!
Everyone thinks they know what good customer service is. We’ve all had bad customer service—a waiter who won’t bring the check or an Internet company that can’t keep a four-hour appointment window. But good customer service means more than … More ☛
M&Ms, Rock Stars, and Divas
What of M&Ms, rock stars, and divas? The rock band Van Halen had an infamous clause in their contract saying there could be no brown M&Ms backstage, or the promoter would forfeit the entire show at full price. It … More ☛
Every Sailor Runs Aground Sooner or Later
Every sailor runs aground sooner or later! How do you know if a speaker really brings the experience they claim to? I was sailing along through clear turquoise water over a pure white sand bottom. A jagged line of … More ☛
Zero, Infinity, and the Search for Meaning
13.7-billion years ago, the universe expanded from a single point. Some of the light we see in the sky took billions of years to travel across space—at 186,282 miles per second—to reach our eyes. Will the universe expand outward indefinitely—infinitely? … More ☛
The Best Speakers Tell Stories About You!
The best speakers tell stories about YOU! A speaker walked onto the platform wearing a rugged jacket and hiking boots. He set an ice axe down on a small table, pulled off his snow goggles, and began to recount his … More ☛
Free E-Books by Dave Bricker
Effective speakers wrap their messages in stories—but few understand what stories are and how they work. This brief guide explores why some narratives connect with listeners and others don’t. Examples—including a few of the author‘s nautical adventure tales—reveal powerful techniques … More ☛
Speechwriting: The Magic of the One-Sentence Paragraph
One-sentence paragraphs are common when short pieces of dialog are being exchanged, but consider the effect of serial one-sentence paragraphs in other contexts. The following excerpt from my sailing memoir, The Blue Monk describes an ocean crossing in a small … More ☛
Is Your Story Big Enough?
Is your story big enough? What a sad question! Too many meaningful stories go untold because we fear they’re not as big as someone else’s. Why should we tell tales about life as a middle manager in a corporate cubicle … More ☛
Speechwriting: Come to Your Senses
Writing teachers encourage us to engage the mind and senses. Describe sights, smells, tastes, sounds, feelings, thoughts, and tactile experiences to appeal to the reader’s imagination on every possible level. In concept, this is excellent advice. In practice, the advice … More ☛
Find The Phrase that Pays
Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “There is nothing to fear but fear itself.” Why is it that some words naturally stick in our heads… like the lyrics to a song that keeps spinning in our brains? What if we could harness … More ☛
Speechwriting: Structure vs. Flow
Just sit down and write! Let the ideas flow! For many of us, they do—and it’s easy to become enamored with that feeling that we are channeling ideas from some sort of mystical “source.” Flow–writing is a marvelous feeling but … More ☛
How to Win Speaking Contests
Especially if you’re in Toastmasters, you may wish to challenge yourself to compete in a speaking contest. Here are a few tips for winners. Read the ballot. The judges will score you based on a variety of factors. Why guess … More ☛
Don’t Let the Truth Ruin a Good Story
If we’re honest and authentic, we often feel compelled to fill in every detail of a story as it actually happened—but this isn’t always the best strategy. Be a journey-ist, not a journalist. The purpose of a story is to … More ☛
What Problem Do You Solve?
So many speakers are subject matter experts … and of course, we have to be. But if you tell people you speak about leadership, branding, corporate culture, or some other topic, you’ve missed the point. What problem do you solve? … More ☛
Use a Beautiful Model to Sell Your Message!
We all like to look at attractive models… But I’m not talking about the kind that smiles for the camera. If you have ideas to share, communicate them with a contextual model. When I teach storytelling, I share the StorySailing® … More ☛
The Three Circles of Storytelling
You may already have explored the golden rule of storytelling: Stories are always about people. The StorySailing® model breaks story structure into four elements. The CAST Call formula helps with creating stories that influence and persuade. The Three Circles of … More ☛
The One-Sided Phone Call
Sometimes you can get a lot of mileage on stage when you leave half the conversation to the audience’s imagination. [ring] Hello … Oh, hi honey. I can’t really talk right now. I’m in the middle of giving a pres…” … More ☛
The Golden Rule of Storytelling
Stories are always about people! If you’re talking about prices, processes, ingredients, or data you’re not talking about people. If you’re not talking about people, you’re not telling stories. If you’re not telling stories, you’re not connecting. And if you’re … More ☛
The Callback
The callback is a very effective speechwriting technique that adds a natural exclamation mark to the end of your talk. Watch the beginning of Errol Leandre’s One Rotten Apple speech. He sets up the rotten apple motif and then he … More ☛
The Call to Action
So many speakers offer wonderful advice … And then they forget to Kick ASK! What is it we’re supposed to do next? How can we take what they’ve given us and harness its power? Calls to action—CTAs—can be simple: Stories … More ☛
Tell Your Story About the Audience
Do you have a powerful story? Great! That’s an advantage. Now tell your story about the audience! What does that mean? Make your story a metaphor for the audience’s story. In my storytelling speech, I share a time when I … More ☛
Storytelling Mistakes: Poor Me Stories
Never play the victim card, on stage or in life. Don’t use your audience as a therapist. Your triumph over cancer, escape from an abusive relationship, or successful battle with addiction is admirable but… When we’re in pain, we tend … More ☛
Storytelling Mistakes: Pit of Despair Stories
Here’s a simple rule: If you bring your audience into darkness, bring them back into the light. Not every story has a happy ending, but it should at least offer a worthwhile lesson. If everybody in your story loses and … More ☛
Storytelling Mistakes: The Data Dump
WordPress is a content-management platform used to drive over 455 million websites. Written with open-source technologies like PHP and MySQL, this free software is supported by a huge developer community that extends its functionality through thousands of free and commercial … More ☛
Stories Are Everywhere!
Many speakers tell stories of adventure, of tragedy, of fall, and redemption. But what if you’ve lived a fairly uneventful life? Maybe you’ve never been shot at. You’ve never spent a night in a hospital, folded up a business, or … More ☛
Speechwriting: Rhyme
Many of us can recite poems and lyrics we first heard when we were children. Rhythm and rhyme are beyond memorable. So why don’t we use them more often when we speak? I was bored with my elevator pitch and … More ☛
Speechwriting: Anaphora
Anaphora is the repetition of a phrase to drive home the impact of a speech. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. used anaphora to great effect in several parts of his famous “I have a dream” speech. Here are a few … More ☛
Speechwriting: Alliteration
Alliteration perpetually positions presenters to produce powerful programs that inspire professionals to make progress on their paths toward prosperity. Repetitive pronunciation of parts of prose offers a peculiarly promising way to position your playful premises, practical promises, and pithy platitudes … More ☛
Speaking and the Hero’s Journey
Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” model offers a story structure that’s been used to create many successful narratives. Star Wars is a classic Hero’s Journey. Here’s how it works: Introduce the hero living in their Ordinary World. They hear a call … More ☛
Open Your Speech With a Story
I said goodbye to my traveling companion, rowed back to my anchored sailboat, sat in the cockpit, and looked around the harbor. What am I doing here? I’m twenty-four years old, single, unemployed, and alone in a foreign country on … More ☛
Open Your Speech with a Startling Statistic
One in five Americans reads below a fifth grade level! The average person spends two years of their life on the phone! 87.3% of all statistics are made up on the spot! A startling statistic (or two or three) will … More ☛
Open a Speech with Questions
One simple way to open a speech is with questions—usually three. How will you captivate your audience at the beginning of your next speech? How will you show them you have a message they care about? How will you assure … More ☛
Need Their Attention? Train Your Audience
I watched a speaker disperse the audience into discussion groups of four people … And then struggle to get them to stop talking and return their focus to the stage. The exercise was a success—the audience got caught up in … More ☛
Let Your Audience in on Your Unspoken Thoughts
Sometimes we say one thing when we want to say another. Maybe you need to reject someone but you want to let them down easy. It goes something like this: Oh thank you Beth. That’s such a kind invitation! (hand … More ☛
In Public Speaking, Being Theatrical is Authentic!
So many speakers—even professional ones—are afraid to be “theatrical.” They worry that will be inauthentic or phony. A speaker I worked with told a story about a great injustice: A military leader was wrongly court-martialed and forced to retire in … More ☛
How Stories Work in Your Mind
Many speakers talk about cortisol and oxytocin and how your brain reacts to stories. That’s all rather sophisticated sounding except you can’t do anything with it except repeat it if you think it will make YOU sound sophisticated. Brain chemistry … More ☛
How Stories Work: The 4 Elements of Story
Start with the golden rule of storytelling: Stories are always about people. And in a story, that person or group of people are out in a sailboat on the rocky, stormy seas of conflict. They’re facing a challenge of some … More ☛
Find the Funny in the Room
A super way to surprise your audience is to “find the funny in the room” and use it to your advantage. Years ago, I competed in a humorous speech contest. My talk was about “my speaking journey” and how a … More ☛
Acknowledge the Secrets of Human Nature
Here’s one of my favorite advertisements: This hair salon bills itself as the place “where the women you hate get their hair done.” That’s funny because most salons tell women they’ll make them more attractive to men. Instead, this one … More ☛
How to Write a Humorous Speech
Write a humorous speech. What’s that? You don’t think you’re funny? Well, you’re not alone. Most comedians aren’t funny, either. Contemporary humorists have broken every toilet humor and sexual humor boundary, and yet so many of them keep trying to … More ☛
PowerPoint Mistakes: Bullet Points!
How deadly are your bullet points? There are seven elements that every speaker must consider when crafting a presentation: ✅ Timing ✅ Volume ✅ Pauses ✅ Presence ✅ Facial Expressions ✅ Body Language ✅ And Dynamics Let’s talk about timing … More ☛
Heart Words
Heart words are verbs that offer emotional impact. Words like “put” and “use” and “develop” are functional but bland. Words like “create” and “inspire” and “discover” are motivating and empowering. Use this collection of heart words in calls to action, … More ☛
They Don’t Have a Clue!
They don’t have a clue! In 1991, I sailed a wooden boat 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean. During my 38 days at sea, I battled seasickness, faced storms and calms, adjusted the sails, and minded the compass. Do … More ☛
‘Twas the Month Before Christmas
Here’s a little holiday fun. Thanks for reading my storytelling posts. Have a safe, happy, and prosperous season. ‘Twas a month before Christmas, when all through the land Every forklift was stirring, precisely as planned Products were lined on … More ☛
Thoughts on Thanksgiving
When the urge to gripe arises, consider that no matter what dark clouds may loom on the horizon, you threaded the needle of human history. Imagine what life would have been like had you been born not so many years … More ☛
Jazz and Musical Storytelling
What is musical storytelling? Many of our favorite storytellers rely on music to help them deliver their messages with impact. Depending on what’s happening in the story, they use specific techniques and strategies. For example, when there’s a dream sequence, … More ☛
Take the Twerking Out of Networking!
Another agonizing networking event! You walk around the room, introduce yourself to the next stranger, ask them what they do, and pray they’ll offer anything remotely relevant to you. Great! Another realtor! Wow! Another financial manager! Nice to meet you … More ☛
The Essential Absurdities
Watch a sunbeam Magic! The light reveals swirling dust, a hidden universe Slip a jar under it Close the lid What do you have? Nothing Take a picture of a sunset. Can you capture the grandeur of the frameless … More ☛
Why AI-Generated Marketing Copy Misses the Mark
Is AI-Generated Marketing Copy the powerful shortcut we’ve been told it is? The explosive growth of online content has done little for the evolution of graphic design or copywriting. Publishing has never been so easy, and the demands of producing … More ☛
Never Play the Victim Card
Keep your poor me stories off the stage. My friend Tony showed me a video of a speaker who told the story of her escape from alcohol and depression and her long, hard road to personal and professional success. “It’s … More ☛
An Interview with Voice Artist Humphrey Bower
Find Your Voice … And Someone Else’s! Do you enjoy a good audiobook as much as I do? Australian actor Humphrey Bower voices hundreds of characters—men and women with accents from around the world. I’ve listened to over 350 hours … More ☛
Survive and Thrive in the Land of Clocks & Calendars
Is your digital calendar robbing you of the time you need to be productive? Maybe the problem isn’t your calendar. Back in my carefree boat bum days, my course was governed by the world’s natural rhythms. I rose and retired … More ☛
Jazz and the Dangerous Magic of Creative Flow
Perhaps you’ve experienced flow writing. You sit down, watch your fingers tap away at the keyboard, and wonder, Where did that come from? Did I write that? That’s really good! Sometimes the experience of flow can be as simple and … More ☛
How Good is AI at Writing Stories?
AI Storytelling – Is it any good? I entered a simple prompt into ChatGPT. Yes, I could have been more specific about what I wanted—better prompts make for better output from the AI—but my intention was to analyze the … More ☛
What is “Dynamic Speaking?”
We often hear about “dynamic speaking,” but what does that mean? The dictionary defines “dynamics” as “the forces or properties which stimulate growth, development, or change within a system or process.” Essentially, “dynamics” means “change,” and if you want your … More ☛
Punch Up Your Pitch With Storytelling
You’ve been asked to pitch a big project. You and your teammates Shelly and Barbara sit at your conference table discussing next week’s big presentation. “It’s impossible to know how the competition is going to position themselves,” says Shelly. “We … More ☛
If You Think SALES is a Dirty Word…
Do you think sales is a dirty word? Many of us think that way … and given all the tacky messages we have to sort through and delete every day, it’s no wonder. For some, the word “sales” conjures up … More ☛
Tell Your Story Concisely!
Can you tell your story concisely? A popular anecdote about Ernest Hemingway says he made a bet with friends that he could tell a story in only six words. That story: Baby shoes for sale. Never worn. Whether … More ☛
Illustrate Your Story with AI?
You’ve probably read about OpenAI and how artificial intelligence has come of age. It’s easy enough to generate articles and blog posts using tools such as ChatGPT, and if they turn out a bit too academic or clinical, you can … More ☛
Change Your Pricing Story
Should you charge $20 for your new book or $19.97? Will dropping your price by three cents help you sell more books? What about smart consumers who are educated about sales and marketing? Will they think you’re being manipulative? … More ☛
Shared Stories and The Next Generation
Hooray for Hollywood! Well … maybe; maybe not. Movies about rock stars’ journeys and superheroes (Is there really a difference?) may amount to no more than the latest money grab by motion picture studios and music labels (Is there really … More ☛
Real Estate and Storytelling
Maria, a realtor attended one of my storytelling workshops at the suggestion of a mutual friend. “What does storytelling have to do with real estate?” she asked before the session started. Tell me about a property you’re excited about,” I … More ☛
Lost and Found Losers
Lost and found items create logistical challenges, but stories are always about people. The story of how (or whether) a person is reunited with a lost item they need or value determines the success of important business relationships. Create a … More ☛
You Can Keep Your Business Cards
I was talking with a friend at a business networking event when a man came plowing through the crowd doling out business cards as if he were handing out candy on Halloween. After the most cursory of introductions, he put … More ☛
Rewrite the Bogus Story of Happiness
What’s the number one cause of unhappiness? Love? Money? Hunger? Insurance companies? The number one cause of unhappiness is the pursuit of happiness! You can never be happy. Think about your last new … More ☛
Put a Price on Your Passion
How do you put a price on your passion? How can you charge a fair-but-high price for your services? You’ve got a fantastic prospect on the line. The conversation is engaging. The relationship develops instantly. Your hopefully-soon-to-be client is … More ☛
Inspire Prospects to ASK You to Sell!
Inspire prospects to ask you to sell to them. Many years ago I was out sailing on Biscayne Bay with an old sailor friend. The conversation drifted from how to adjust the sails to light talk about our personal lives, … More ☛
Sound Advice for Writers & Publishers
The following advice on writing and publishing is based on my own experiences and those of my clients. I hope you find it valuable and encouraging, even if it changes your expectations. I’ve written and published twelve books, and I’m … More ☛
Hobbyist or Professional? Be the Best in the World.
Hobbyist or professional? True professionals dedicate their lives to being the best in the world at whatever they do—not some day, but today—every day. Not try, do. I have played guitar almost every day for almost forty years. I play … More ☛
Conflict: Sailing the Storms of Life and Business
In storms of life and business, it requires immense energy to sustain conflict. Dangerous and destructive forces require attention and—at the appropriate times—resistance, but often the best strategy is to park and wait for the tempest to subside. A retail … More ☛
Sell Outcomes, Not Products
Sell outcomes. The products or services you exchange at the transaction stage of a business relationship might not be the most meaningful basis for describing what you offer. Before you print your next batch of business cards, think like a … More ☛
Your Unique Value Story
Imagine an event where each attendee is given a puzzle piece and directed to connect one-at-a-time with others in the room to see whether their pieces fit together. Though such a laborious process sounds absurd, it describes exactly how most … More ☛
Confirmation Bias: Storytelling at Your front Door
We give more weight to evidence that supports what we like—a phenomenon called, “confirmation bias.” Belief is often based as much on what we want to be true as on what we determine to be true through direct observation. Data, … More ☛
Storytelling and Your Mission Statement
Anyone who questions the relationship between business and storytelling need look no farther than the humble corporate mission statement. The goal of this article is to teach the value of storytelling so you can develop engaging mission statements that … More ☛
Reading Aloud Doesn’t Have to Be Boring
Keep your listeners’ attention while reading aloud. The host announces the next author. She walks to the lectern, offers a synopsis, and begins reading aloud. It’s not bad prose—and I can’t say that for every writer here—but after three pages … More ☛
Another Customer Service Horror Story
Do you have a customer service horror story to share? What stories are you telling about yourself before you even show up to do business? A Customer Service Horror Story A friend of mine sailed his boat up on some … More ☛
Advertising, Business Strategy, and Storytelling
If you’re skeptical about the connection between business strategy and storytelling, consider the challenges faced by advertising agencies and marketers. Ad agencies’ storytelling challenges are complex because they must consider how the stories of their individual team members dovetail with … More ☛
Shipwrecks, Reefs, and Stories About You
Shipwrecks are the ultimate symbols of massive failure. Building and operating a ship is an enormous enterprise that requires people, money, teamwork, and skill. Whether a vessel was sunk in battle or lost to a navigational blunder, every wrecked ship had … More ☛
The Virtuoso, the Teacher, & the Centipede
One Sunday morning not long after I had been introduced to sailing, I was enjoying a cup of coffee in the cockpit of my friend Strider’s boat. The sounds of rustling canvas alerted me to watch a bronzed man on … More ☛
Storytelling Tips: The Rush of Discovery
Storytelling tips: You’re walking along and you happen to look down. “Hey, that’s not a scrap of paper; that’s a $20 bill!” Isn’t it a rush when something we thought was useless turns out to be meaningful. Stories—whether they’re truth … More ☛
My Club Got a One-Star Review
How do you handle a one-star review? Capable leaders are adept at untangling the many stories that compete for attention when problems need solving and egos need soothing. I monitor a FaceBook page for a local chapter of a national … More ☛
River Stories
River stories: Numerous stories have been written about rivers. We all have rivers to cross. Metaphorical rivers represent both the obstacles we encounter in life and business and where the “current” carries us. Perhaps a tough conversation lies ahead or … More ☛
Sea Stories: Do You Trust Your Compass?
Do you trust your compass? Finding your way in life, business, and traffic is a challenge. The easiest way to get somewhere without getting lost is to switch on the GPS. But too many people never know the joy of … More ☛
Storytelling Straight Talk: Humility Kills Conviction
Leaders write and speak with conviction. Bold writing is not arrogant. Readers and audiences know that your words are a direct extension of your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and experiences. Don’t talk about yourself at the expense of offering value to … More ☛
Phil Woods: Is Your Work Beneath You?
I was frustrated the other day, thinking about how I need a better computer. Some of my software is out of date and my machine just doesn’t have the speed and the memory to support some of the the new … More ☛
Sexual Harassment – Rewriting the Story
Is sexual harassment a problem, or a symptom of a larger, deeper issue? The answer depends on the stories we use to define and discuss it. Challenge: Write a story about sexual harassment. Use fictional avatar characters. (If you call … More ☛
Be an Effective Storyteller. Try Story Listening
Storytelling is a powerful tool, but no one ever talks about story listening. Have you ever been with a friend, family member, client, or colleague and assumed they were thinking and feeling something completely different from what they actually were? … More ☛
Superhero Stories
When I was young, I collected superhero stories and comic books. I was fascinated by the exploits of the same characters—Ironman, Spiderman, Superman, and others—who inspire movie-watchers today. The comic book was for me, the ultimate storytelling medium, a combination … More ☛
Selling the Story: Storytelling for Skeptics
“Storytelling…? I don’t know.” A troubled look flashed across Sally’s face. “You’ll have a hard time selling me on your topic. Last year’s speaker was a dud. I need to deliver some wow-factor this year or I might not be … More ☛
Story Themes: The Unlikely Teacher
The unlikely teacher is one of my favorite story themes, partially because I’ve been fortunate to have had wonderful, unlikely teachers in my own life, but also because it suggests pathways and opportunities for us to transform our lives and … More ☛
Are Your Messages Missing the Mark?
Are your messages missing the mark? Are your stories clear and accurate or are your meanings lost in translation? The storyteller’s challenge is to convert abstract and intangible ideas, experiences, emotions, and memories into sounds or characters on a page … More ☛
Stuck in the Wrong Story? Need a Bigger Bucket?
Getting stuck in the wrong story can feel productive, but it traps us in conflict and prevents us from reaching our meaningful goals. I was sitting in the cockpit of my sailboat one evening when I spied a small … More ☛
Problem-Solving & Storytelling: Understand Their Story
Use storytelling for problem-solving. Think about the various stories involved in a conflict and plot a course for resolution. Seen through the StorySailing™ spyglass, a story is analogous to the voyage of a sailboat across the rocky, stormy seas of … More ☛
Tempest in the Lizard Kingdom: A True Christmas Tale
In 1989, as a 25-year-old sailing solo on a 26-foot sailboat, I spent a surreal Christmas weathering a North Atlantic gale, at anchor in a not-so-sheltered place in the central Bahamas. This piece was originally published in my sailing memoir, … More ☛