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Articles by Doug Stevenson

Browse published articles attributed to Doug Stevenson, with full-archive search.

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By Doug StevensonRecently published1 topic

Corporate Storytelling for Business - How to Choose What Story to Tell

I recently gave the luncheon keynote speech for a state association. In the program that I presented, Emotional Eloquence, I usually tell three stories, which I call: The Oscar Story, The Chicago CEO Story and the Dagger Lady Story. Because I was speaking after lunch, I knew I needed to keep the energy high and work in a little more interaction. I decided to take out the Dagger Lady Story and replace it with my Airport Story, because the Airport Story is funnier.

Primary topic: Business Coach and Business Coaching

Business Coach and Business Coaching

1,921 views3.3/5 (6)

By Doug StevensonRecently published1 topic

Strategic Storytelling for Business Presentations

People remember the stories! You can give a presentation that’s a dazzling display of your vast intellectual knowledge, but when all is said and done, people remember the stories. Studies about how adults learn show that memory is formed when a person’s attention is engaged over a sustained ...

Primary topic: Business Coach and Business Coaching

Business Coach and Business Coaching

5,045 views3/5 (1)

By Doug StevensonRecently published1 topic

Public Speaking Presentation Skills - How to Open Your Speech

At a recent corporate storytelling workshop for Microsoft, I was asked a question that I hear frequently: “How do I open my speech?” Several others in the room agreed that the first two or three minutes of a speech are often the most awkward. Is it that way for you, as well? Do you have a hard time getting started, but once you get going, you’re all right? If so – welcome to the club.

Primary topic: Business Coach and Business Coaching

Business Coach and Business Coaching

3,535 views2.5/5 (2)

By Doug StevensonRecently published1 topic

Corporate Storytelling - Engagement - How To Make Facts and Data Compelling

I once had a cat named Hermione. She got sick. So I went to the vet and he gave me some pills and told me to give them to her. That sounded pretty simple until I tried to do it. Hermione did not want to take her pills. She gagged and wiggled and scratched my hand, but she would not take her pill. I didn’t know what to do. A neighbor of mine also had a cat, so I asked her what to do. “Stick it in a piece of cheese,” she said. So I did. I got some soft cheese, wrapped it around the pill, and low and behold, Hermione took her medicine.

Primary topic: Business Coach and Business Coaching

Business Coach and Business Coaching

2,181 views3.5/5 (2)

By Doug StevensonRecently published1 topic

Life Skills - Success - Take the First Step

I can remember growing up in Chicago when the year 2000 was a long way into the future. And now, in 2010, as we enter the second decade of the 21st century, I’m taking stock of how far I’ve come and what it took to get me here. As a child watching movies, I dreamed of being an actor in Hollywood. And then one day…I found myself acting on a movie set at Paramount Studios.

Primary topic: Business Coach and Business Coaching

Business Coach and Business Coaching

1,662 views3.7/5 (3)

By Doug StevensonRecently published1 topic

Beware of the Speakers Smile Trap - Corporate Storytelling - Authenticity

One of the most common mistakes speakers make is to plaster a smile on their face and keep it there, regardless of what they’re saying. This is as true for my public speaking students as it is for my corporate storytelling students. I encountered this situation twice in the last month.

Primary topic: Business Coach and Business Coaching

Business Coach and Business Coaching

1,789 views3.5/5 (2)

By Doug StevensonRecently published1 topic

How to Add Humor to Your Presentations

Where did we learn that we have to be serious all the time to be taken seriously? In my experience, it’s just not true. As a speaker and trainer, I know that when people laugh, they learn. After coaching over 500 students on their stories and presentations in my two and a half-day Story ...

Primary topic: Business Coach and Business Coaching

Business Coach and Business Coaching

2,718 views3/5 (1)

By Doug StevensonRecently published1 topic

Corporate Storyelling in Business - Engagement - Persuasion

Recently, while providing a corporate training for the top sales agents in a large pharmaceutical company, I asked the following question: “Have you ever been speaking, and you look out into your audience and see ‘screen saver eyes’? You know – that glassy-eyed look that let's you know you’ve lost their attention?” They all laughed and nodded in agreement! If you’ve ever seen “screen saver eyes,” the two most important questions to ask yourself are: • What did you do to lose them? • How do you get them back?

Primary topic: Business Coach and Business Coaching

Business Coach and Business Coaching

1,619 views2.7/5 (3)

By Doug StevensonRecently published1 topic

Public Speaking for Powerful Women

There were three men and three women at the Story Theater Retreat in Colorado Springs last weekend – a nice balance of energies. Each of the six participants came to develop their stories for presentation to a business audience. Interestingly enough, two of the female participants shared a ...There were three men and three women at the Story Theater Retreat in Colorado Springs last weekend – a nice balance of energies. Each of the six participants came to develop their stories for presentation to a business audience. Interestingly enough, two of the female participants shared a common malady.

Primary topic: Business Coach and Business Coaching

Business Coach and Business Coaching

1,831 views3/5 (1)

By Doug StevensonRecently published1 topic

Inspirational Storytelling - Motivational Speech Training

Do you want to inspire people? Do you have a burning desire to share your life experiences and tell your stories so that other people can benefit? If so, there are a number of things to consider when writing an inspiring speech. This last summer I was inspired by what I witnessed at the Beijing ...Do you want to inspire people? Do you have a burning desire to share your life experiences and tell your stories so that other people can benefit? If so, there are a number of things to consider when writing an inspiring speech.

Primary topic: Business Coach and Business Coaching

Business Coach and Business Coaching

9,875 views

By Doug StevensonRecently published1 topic

Corporate Storytelling in Business - Third Party Storytelling Tips

How to Make a Third Person Story Personal I always advise my coaching clients to use personal stories whenever possible. Personal stories establish credibility by letting your listener know that your wisdom comes from your life experience, rather than from reading the latest book.

Primary topic: Business Coach and Business Coaching

Business Coach and Business Coaching

4,125 views

By Doug StevensonRecently published1 topic

Presentation Skills - Inspiring Speech - Eloquence and Change

I created my Emotional Eloquence program to encourage people to think of their presentations as opportunities to engage, influence and inspire, while simultaneously conveying important information. My research shows that speakers, leaders and audiences are hungry for a return to eloquence.

Primary topic: Business Coach and Business Coaching

Business Coach and Business Coaching

2,717 views

By Doug StevensonRecently published1 topic

Corporate Storytelling - Brain Science & The Story Theater Method

Why do you think Malcolm Gladwell is so successful? All three of his books, The Tipping Point, Blink and most recently Outliers – The Story of Success, are best sellers. The answer lies in the subtitle of his most recent book, The Story of Success. Malcolm is a synthesizer, a pattern recognizer. After he’s done his research and compiled lots of examples to illustrate the points he wants to make, he writes his books by telling stories. He’s a good storyteller.

Primary topic: Business Coach and Business Coaching

Business Coach and Business Coaching

2,525 views

By Doug StevensonRecently published1 topic

Motivational Public Speaking Tips - How to Avoid Being Boring

Last month, I gave a keynote speech in Chicago for a Fortune 500 Company. The theme of the conference was engagement. Over 200 human resource professionals from all over the world gathered to learn how to increase the level of engagement among their 80,000 employees in 23 countries. Their ...Last month, I gave a keynote speech in Chicago for a Fortune 500 Company. The theme of the conference was engagement. Over 200 human resource professionals from all over the world gathered to learn how to increase the level of engagement among their 80,000 employees in 23 countries.

Primary topic: Business Coach and Business Coaching

Business Coach and Business Coaching

2,383 views

By Doug StevensonRecently published1 topic

Corporate Storytelling Strategy - Fill In the Gaps

Moby Dick When I was in high school, in the sixties, a company called Cliffs Notes (aka Cliff Notes) published book summaries. (Remember the yellow and black striped covers?) These little books enabled you to read passages from the book in a summarized form so you wouldn’t have to read the whole book. We used them as study guides for books like Moby Dick.

Primary topic: Business Coach and Business Coaching

Business Coach and Business Coaching

1,850 views

By Doug StevensonRecently published1 topic

How to Close Your Speech - Corporate Storytelling Training

What’s the point? I ask that question of every private coaching client. The response is usually three or four sentences long. The answer to the question, “What’s the point?” needs to be concise and simple, not a lengthy explanation. Can you state the point of your story in five or six words? Sharpen the Point and Make it Stick

Primary topic: Business Coach and Business Coaching

Business Coach and Business Coaching

1,834 views

By Doug StevensonRecently published1 topic

Corporate Storytelling - Tips for Telling a Great Story

You can give a presentation that’s a dazzling display of information and your vast intellectual knowledge, but when all is said and done, people remember the stories. Why do people remember stories but no other information? Studies about how adults learn show that memory is formed when a ...You can give a presentation that’s a dazzling display of information and your vast intellectual knowledge, but when all is said and done, people remember the stories. Why do people remember stories but no other information?

Primary topic: Business Coach and Business Coaching

Business Coach and Business Coaching

1,749 views

By Doug StevensonRecently published1 topic

Inspirational Storytelling Power - A Leadership Development Tool

As the waiters cleared the dessert plates from the banquet tables, Joanne, the VP of Sales, stepped to the podium and began the annual meeting. The CEO, Jeff Carlson, could feel the heat building under his collar. He wiped his sweaty palms on the linen napkin and took another sip of water to wet ...As the waiters cleared the dessert plates from the banquet tables, Joanne, the VP of Sales, stepped to the podium and began the annual meeting. The CEO, Jeff Carlson, could feel the heat building under his collar.

Primary topic: Business Coach and Business Coaching

Business Coach and Business Coaching

1,742 views

By Doug StevensonRecently published1 topic

You Are Always in the Right Place - Trust the Process

My wife Deborah and I just returned from a month long trip to London and Germany. For the first 18 days we worked: a Story Theater Retreat in London, 2 Retreats in Munich, a keynote at the German Speakers Association annual conference and finally, a speech at a human resources convention in Cologne. It was a very busy, intense and absolutely wonderful time.

Primary topic: Business Coach and Business Coaching

Business Coach and Business Coaching

1,632 views

By Doug StevensonRecently published1 topic

Inspirational Corporate Storytelling Leadership Skills - Eloquence

I grew up with a father who was in love with words. His reverence for language, pronunciation and proper diction was an annoyance to me as a child, but a gift to me as an adult. I remember the way he would read aloud a passage from a book or a poem. He had a natural gift for rhythm and tempo. ...I grew up with a father who was in love with words. His reverence for language, pronunciation and proper diction was an annoyance to me as a child, but a gift to me as an adult.

Primary topic: Business Coach and Business Coaching

Business Coach and Business Coaching

1,389 views

By Doug StevensonRecently published1 topic

Give Yourself Permission to Become a Success

You are huge. You are enormous. You are magnificent! I’m not talking about your girth; I’m talking about your talent. I’m talking about your passion and depth of feeling. I’m talking about your potential to be an amazing speaker, communicator or leader. Have you given yourself permission to ...

Primary topic: Business Coach and Business Coaching

Business Coach and Business Coaching

1,211 views

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