Put your hands on your ribs.
Every great speaker is a great storyteller. Today you learn to find the “heart” of your story and tell it like a pro!
Athletes stretch before a game. Singers warm up before a concert.
Your voice and body are your instruments — treat them that way!Reach for the ceiling on tip-toes, stretching as tall as you can.
Then drop and hang like a ragdoll, arms dangling loose. Shake it out!
Put your hands on your ribs.
Inhale for 4 counts (feel your ribs expand outward).
Hold for 4 counts.
Exhale for 8 counts on a long “hisssss.”
Start at your lowest comfortable pitch on an “ooo” or “aaa” sound and slide smoothly to your highest note and back down, like a fire truck.
Wheeee-ooooo!This stretches the vocal cords and increases range.
Pick a simple sentence: “Public speaking is a superpower.”
Say it at Volume 1 (whisper), Volume 3 (conversational), and Volume 5 (speaking to the back of the room).
Practice “throwing” the sound to a specific point on the back wall without shouting.
Even if you’re using a “storytelling voice,” maintain that Level 5 volume practiced in the warm-up!
Audience members: raise your hand if the speaker’s volume drops too low to hear clearly. This gives the speaker real-time feedback!
Timer will beep at 15 seconds, 10 seconds, and 5 seconds remaining. An alarm sounds when time is up!
A story isn’t just a list of things that happened — it needs a “heart.”
“The audience doesn’t remember what you said. They remember how you made them FEEL.”
Drop us into the action immediately.
Don’t start with “So one day...” — start with a moment that grabs attention!
The “uh-oh” moment.
What went wrong? What was scary, hard, or unexpected?
This is the heart of every story.How you fixed it — or what you learned.
The audience should walk away with something meaningful.“So, um, one day last summer my family went on vacation and we went to the beach and it was really fun...”
“The wave hit me so hard I didn’t know which way was up. My feet couldn’t find the sand. And the only thing I could think was — I should have listened to my mom.”
Draft a tiny narrative in just 3 sentences to practice brevity and structure.
“Last summer, I decided to...”
“But suddenly, I realized...”
“Because of that, I now know...”
After drafting, volunteers stand up and share their 3-sentence story with the class using their Level 5 volume.
Audience feedback: “What was the heart of their story?”
Stand up tall. Feet shoulder-width apart. Hands on hips or fists raised above your head like a superhero. Hold for 30 seconds.
Research shows that “power posing” for just 30 seconds can make you feel more confident before you speak. End every session feeling like a hero!
“You are the hero of your own story. Stand like it. Speak like it. Own it.”