I’m teaching an Improv class where everyone is doing an exercise called “Headlines”. We’re standing in a circle on stage, and one by one, we each share an outlandish headline we’ve made up on the spot.

But there’s a twist: each person has to start their headline with the last word from the previous person’s headline. So, for example, if the prior person says, “Life found on planet Pluto” as their headline, the next person has to start their headline with the word “Pluto”. It’s a hilarious exercise that has us holding our tummies from laughing so hard.

One week later, I’m meeting with a client who says to me:

“I’m thinking about the year ahead, and there are so many things I want to do and create. I don’t know where to start.”

In that moment, my mind goes back to the Headline game. So I ask her:

“What if we fast-forward a year? In your favorite publication, there’s a headline about you, your business, your life. What does that headline say?”

She loves the idea of doing this exercise! And I invite you to do the same in the first episode of a new podcast series I’m calling the Storytelling Seven, where you get bite-sized tools and tactics you can put in practice right now to take yourself to the next level.

Today on the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn about how you can use the Headline exercise to set goals and create a vision for the story of your future. You’ll get answers to questions like:

How can headlines be used as teasers for stories? How do you create a headline and reverse-engineer the actions needed to achieve it? And why is celebrating your success so important?

What you will learn in this episode:

How to influence your own story by creating a headline
What steps to take to create your headline when setting goals
Why celebrating success is a necessity

A little about me:

Hi there. I’m Kymberlee.

As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I’ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn’t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That’s why I’m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people’s lives.

Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You’ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teach my clients to do the same.

If you think business owners can’t tell stories or don’t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There’s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value.

Now it’s your turn... If you’re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you’ve come to the right place.

Links and Resources:

Associate Professor Laura Coates

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EULAR 2024 Review Podcast

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