How Surrender, Resiliency and Reconciliation Create Impactful Storytelling

Jun 12, 2024

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I’m on stage performing at Santa Barbara Improv. My scene partner and I are playing a game of He Said, She Said which goes like this: After every line of dialogue from one person, their scene partner will then narrate something physical for them to do.

For instance, let’s say that I say to my scene partner, “I’m so angry at you right now.” My partner then narrates something like, “She said while jumping up and down on one foot.” And I actually have to do the thing.

So we’re in the middle of a mob scene digging a hole, and my partner says, “She says while taking a cigar out of her back pocket and lighting it.”

Being a dedicated athlete my whole life, I never learned how to light a cigar. So when I pretend to do it, I fumble around with it which causes the audience to lose it so much that my scene partner keeps on narrating me lighting cigars.

Pretty soon, I’m losing it too, almost crying because I’m trying to hold in my laughter so much. It turned into a delightful disaster on stage, yet one that ends up being one of my funniest bits.

My special guest today can certainly relate. Polo Reo Tate is a comedian herself as well as an author, actress, keynote speaker, philanthropist, podcaster, and so much more. In this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll hear how she champions authenticity and resiliency through storytelling and beyond and get answers to questions such as:

Why do you have an innate Improv storytelling ability? How do the rules of Improv storytelling mirror the rules of life? How does reconciling within yourself the low points of your life impact your power as a speaker and storyteller? And what role does your physicality play in enhancing your stories?

What you will learn in this episode:

Why you have to get your story on paper, even if you never share it
How you can get unusual story inspiration from mundane situations
How craft and intuition interconnect when preparing and giving a presentation

Who is Polo?

As an author by soul, actor by trade, artist at heart, and uplifter to the core of her being, Polo Reo Tate redefines what it means to be a Renaissance Woman. From a myriad of life experiences, she intimately understands the transformational value in mindfully getting to know ourselves wholly and love ourselves unconditionally in order to live fully in the freedom of our own authenticity. Her supreme love for people, and the clarity with which she sees and celebrates the superpowers of those around her, allows her to help elevate the energy of any relationship or situation brought forth by a client.

Whether she is in front of a camera, a crowd, or the company of one, Polo revels in the kinetic web of creativity that is born from every interaction, every co-creation. She lives each moment to the fullest, lets no one take her joy, and avidly operates from the belief that we can do anything upon which we set our minds, hearts, and spirits. She welcomes and invites you to embrace your own infinite possibility, embody the loving being that you are, and feel the power and the pleasure of being fully present in your own life.

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