Engage Your Audience, Elevate Your Organization, and Share Your Message Through Storytelling

Unleash the power of storytelling to transform your talks, speeches, and presentations— whether your audience is a boardroom of executives, a classroom of students, or an auditorium full of eager listeners. Everyone, regardless of their background and training, can improve their storytelling abilities. But what is a story? How can you tell it in a way that delights and informs your listeners? Take a journey into the keys to great storytelling with two of the country’s top experts on story presentation and speech writing. In The Art of the Tale, expert storytellers Steven James and Tom Morrisey team up and tap into their lifetimes of experience to show you how to prepare stellar presentations, tell stories in your own unique way, adapt your material to different groups of listeners, and gain confidence in your ability as a speaker. In this book, you’ll learn why: • practice doesn’t make perfect. • you should never tell the same story twice. • there is no right way to tell a story. • it’s best to avoid memorizing your stories. You’ll also find helpful hints on: • gaining confidence in your ability as a storyteller. • connecting with your audience. • matching your expectations with those of your listeners. • understanding what makes a good story. • drawing truth out of stories you wish to tell. • crafting and remembering stories. • shaping your memories into inspiring stories. Learn how to tell stories more effectively, lead and teach more creatively, and prepare your message in less time by using this unique resource provided by two of the nation’s premier communicators, who tap into their experience to share a lifetime’s worth of insights and expertise. Steven James is the critically acclaimed, national bestselling author of sixteen novels. His work has been optioned by ABC Studios and praised by Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, the New York Journal of Books, and many others. His pulse-pounding, awardwinning thrillers are known for their intricate storylines and insightful explorations of good and evil. When he’s not working on his next book, he’s either teaching master classes on writing throughout the country, trail running, or sneaking off to catch a matinee. Tom Morrisey is a mountaineer, aviator, shipwreck diver, and explorer, who holds a Full Cave certification from the National Speleological society - Cave Diving Section. He has launched, edited or contributed to numerous national publications and is an award-winning adventure travel writer. A popular speaker, he is also active in both youth and prison ministry. Morrisey earned an MFA in creative writing from Bowling Green State University, and his fiction has been featured in numerous anthologies and magazines. His previous novel, Yucatan Deep, was a 2003 finalist for the Christy Award. He and his family live in Orlando, Florida. KEY SELLING POINTS • The average human attention span is shorter than a goldfish’s—the average for humans has fallen from twelve seconds in 2000 to eight seconds today, while goldfish have a nine-second attention span. • Professionals of all types need to present to and capture the attention of audiences, from small teams to large events, but struggle to connect and feel authentic. • The authors are well known and have followings in the storytelling and speaking world. Steven typically speaks at dozens of conferences a year, and Tom is an internationally renowned authority on corporate speaking.

ISBN:9781400233113