A course for ministers in inspiring, teaching, and commanding attention through storytelling.

A telephone/web course led by Doug Lipman

Guaranteed to teach you to tell stories in your ministry effectively and with ease - or I'll refund your complete tuition AND pay you an extra $100 to compensate you for wasting your time! (You can't lose.)

To be sure, some (like Fred) learn to tell in their childhood communities. They are natural storytellers. But that doesn't mean that others can't learn. Or that you can't fully harness the power of storytelling.

What Will I Learn in This Course?

This course will cover a lot of ground, but there is no fluff in it. You can expect to learn the key practical elements of the following subjects:

• How oral storytelling works;
• How storytelling differs from and complements normal "conceptual talk";
• How to make a written story come alive;
• Four secrets for captivating your listeners;
• The five main ways to be boring (and how to avoid them);
• How to tell stories confidently and naturally;
• How to connect to your listeners and to your story at the same time;

Most ministers need to tell new stories nearly every week. So efficient story-finding and story-learning are vital to your success:

• How to choose a story that will amplify the message of a sermon;
• Three tools for making your stories meaningful;
• How to tell a story without memorization;
• The five key tools for accellerating story development;
• How to shape a story for maximum impact;
• How to practice a story without wasting time;

As a minister, you have problems particular to your job, whether you preach or not. And no matter how many new stories you need to learn, you also need to tell some of the same stories again and again. You will learn:

• The one question you must answer before telling any story from the pulpit;
• How to be vulnerable without losing your authority;
• Ten activities for getting a fresh take on a familiar story;
• The five main ways to transform any story, including a sacred story.

In addition, I'll show you special techniques for developing particular kinds of stories:

• How to find, shape, and tell a life-experience story;
• How to adapt and shape stories from history, newspapers and the internet;
• How to retell scripture so they'll never forget it;
• How to make exegesis as exciting as a story;
• How to tell a personal story—without it being about you.

I will help you with individual questions and problems with your storytelling. You'll have an opportunity to be coached in front of the group and helped to identify and build on your natural storytelling strengths, as well as to overcome any obstacles you face.

To insure individual attention, this workshop is limited to 8 participants.

This is a chance to boost your ability to inspire and teach through storytelling - a lifetime investment in more powerful communication.

What Will Happen In This Course

You can't learn about storytelling from writing. Therefore, the 5 lessons are given in one-hour telephone conference calls. (After you register, you will get a phone number to dial and a security code to punch in once you call.) Group calls allow you to hear my voice, tone, pacing, etc. Even better, they allow you to ask questions and to hear the questions of others.

But lessons aren't enough, either. You need to try out the elements of good storytelling. To accomplish this, I have created online tasks that are designed to give you the challenges you need, so that you can confront the difficulties you might have—and then be helped with them.

Five of your assigned tasks will involve telling an assigned story on the phone to a partner from the class. (I'll give you all the information you need in order to set up these appointments, etc.)

But, useful as they are, lessons plus the assigned tasks can't cover every need you might have. That's why I'm also including five coaching/question-and-answer calls. These are devoted to your individualized questions, including requests like, "I'm having trouble with the beginning of this story. Can I tell it and have you help me with it?" I'll be able to coach you right then on the call. Plus, you'll hear me coaching others. (In my in-person workshops, the greatest learning often happens while people watch me help someone else.)

To insure individual attention, this course is limited to 8 students!

The Course Website

When you register for this course, you will get access to the password-protected course website, which includes important aids to your learning:

• Profiles of the other course members, so you can get in contact with those likely to be the most helpful for you;
• Handouts and other teaching aids to assist your learning;
• Descriptions of the assignments for each lesson;
• A place to describe your results and read the results of others;
• The recordings of each call, available the day after it happens;
• A complete schedule of the course lesson calls and coaching/q&a calls (displayed in your time zone).

When Will This Course Meet?

The first call will be held on Friday, February 18, 2011 from 2-3pm Eastern Time. Our final call should be the week of April 29. (Don't worry: no call on Good Friday, April 22.)

Not sure when 2pm Eastern Time is? Here's the current equivalent in some other time zones:

*Please note: Eastern Standard Time switches to Eastern Daylight Savings Time on March 13, 2011. If you are not in the U.S., your time difference may shift by one hour on that date. But the course website will display the correct times for your location.

Need to miss some Fridays? Don't worry: all calls will be recorded and posted to the course website, usually within 24 hours.

Who is Doug Lipman?

Who am I? I am a professional storyteller who has performed on 3 continents and at venues like the Smithsonian, the National Storytelling Festival, and National Public Radio.

I have taught storytelling skills at Disney University, NASA, the World Bank, and the Center for Creative Leadership, among many others.

Since 1979, I have taught thousands to tell stories and personally coached hundreds, from rank beginners to internationally acclaimed professionals. I am the author of four books, including "Improving Your Storytelling" and "The Storytelling Coach: How to Listen, Praise, and Bring Out People's Best."

I have created innovative storytelling learning aids such as the Beginning Storytelling Toolkit and the Storytelling Workshop in a Box™ (among others).

For the past 10 years, I have written and published the free email newsletter, "eTips from the Storytelling Coach," which has thousands of subscribers, in over 60 countries.

Fred Craddock being interviewed by Doug

In 2004, I married a minister, the Rev. Pam McGrath. Through her, I've learned about the special storytelling needs of clergy, and have been fortunate enough to lead workshops exclusively for ministers, ranging from an hour or two to two full days. In the fall of 2010, Pam and I co-led a one-day conference for ministers with the revered preacher (and expert in using storytelling in sermons) Fred Craddock (shown "on stage" with Doug in the photo).

What Does This Cost?

I charge $195 for one hour of individual coaching, and $1800 for a one-day intensive. So ten hours of calls with a small group like this is a bargain at $347. That doesn't even count the course website and my responses to your online assignments.

Ministers are entitled to a $50 discount in the fee. So that brings the price down to $297. (To get your minister's discount, choose it from the menu near the bottom of this page.)

The Guarantee

I am so confident of how I have learned to teach the basics of storytelling, that I will guarantee that you are satisfied. If you listen to the lessons and do the online exercises, you will learn to tell stories. You will gain the benefits I have described.

If, at the end of the workshop, you don't agree that you've learned to tell stories, just tell me. I'll refund every penny you paid. And I will pay you an extra $100, just to compensate you for wasting your time!

Please send me a message using my contact form if you have any questions about this course!

Yours in storytelling,

Doug