Speak Up at CMCH: Beginner Storytelling Workshop with Speak Up co-founder Matthew Dicks

Speak Up co-founder and 27-time Moth StorySLAM winner and four time GrandSLAM champion Matthew Dicks will be teaching a day-long workshop on the art of storytelling. This is a workshop designed for people with little or no any previous storytelling experience and seeks to meet the goals of a wide range of participants. While many workshop graduates have gone on to tell stories on stage for Speak Up, The Moth, and other storytelling organizations, most students take this beginner-level workshop with little or no desire to ever take the stage. People want to learn about storytelling for personal and professional development, to meet new people, to improve communication skills, to develop their writing ability, to challenge themselves, to finally get the attention of grandchildren and colleagues, and to try something new.
Included in this workshop will be:
• Methods for generating ideas for stories from your life experiences (you have more stories than you realize!)
• Games designed to generate new story ideas, develop the ability to speak extemporaneously, and apply the skills taught in the class
• Structuring an effective story
• Stakes and lies in storytelling
• Development of humor
• Performance techniques
• The 16 Most Important Rules of Storytelling

This is a no-risk, low stakes introduction to storytelling that does not require students to speak in any way. If you’d like to dip a toe into storytelling and learn some of the most effective, easiest applied strategies to the finding and crafting of stories but you’re not yet ready to stand before an audience and speak, this workshop is a safe place for you to learn. Due to the amount of information presented, there is very limited opportunity for participants to present stories of their own.

$85 CMCH members, $95 non-members. Space is limited and pre-registration is required.

REGISTER ONLINE HERE.

Questions? Contact Natalie Belanger at (860) 236-5621 x289 or by email at natalie_belanger@chs.org.