You Can Learn To Do That?

I didn’t know what to expect. I arrive at this place in the middle of Baltimore, running a little late. Once in the building, I walk into a spacious room.  I can tell the room is used for some sort of theater production; you can see where the stage, lights, and sound system are positioned. There is a circle of about 20 people sitting in chairs. They are in the midst of doing introductions as fill one of the last seats. This meeting wasn’t a clandestine meeting of people that rule the world. It is one of two storytelling workshops I attended in 2018. The one this day run by The Stoop Storytelling series. The other one I attend is run by Better Said Than Done at the Insight Shop in Virginia. Attending these workshops were among the best things I did for my storytelling experience in 2018. In 2019, I want that experience for you.

I started with the public speaking group Toastmasters in 2014. After some encouragement from one of my mentors, I went to my first Moth StorySlam early 2015. I’ve been telling stories on stage ever since. While I have done pretty well, I wanted to improve. Wining at the Moth again would be awesome! Winning in the classroom when I teach, is even better. Winning when I advocate for cancer awareness or mental illness is even more important. Story is a vehicle I can use to make that happen. Storytelling workshops are the place to tune up my vehicle.

There are a number of storytelling workshops in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. There are enough, in fact, that over the next few months, I will be doing blog posts about as many as I can find. From ones that I have attended, to interviews I have done with the folks that run the event. I’ll be talking about what they offer, where you can find them. And how to connect with the people who run them.

Why should you care about storytelling workshops? One possible idea is self-improvement. Not just as a storyteller, but as a person looking to improve your own life.  Then there is the idea of moving form story listener, to storyteller. There is also the idea of telling the story you want your family, your community, your work organization to know. 

Let’s be honest. It’s Jan 2019. I know dog-gone well many of you have made new year’s resolutions of some sort. And we know most of us will fail. Why is that? You desire change, but can’t keep that desire going. Unless your desire is reinforced by a habit, you won’t succeed. Storytelling Workshops can get you started into a great habit for life. If you’ve made the goal of speaking in public, to stand up for yourself, to stand up for others, then this is your chance to use the vehicle of story to do all of that and more. Subscribe to the blog. Stop by a Storytelling Workshop for your tune-up. Remember, tell your story, on purpose.