Life is too short to tell tedious stories
What good is a story that goes nowhere?
Don't get caught in the weeds.
You've got lives to change.
Let's find the stories to change them
June 30, July 7, 14 & 21 | 6:30 - 8:30
in person in Northampton MA
Book Your Spot
Join a community of creatives, professionals,
entrepreneurs & change-makers ready to connect more deeply by telling better stories
Craft Your Stories
Learn a simple, flexible framework for shaping stories with clarity, confidence, humor, heart and meaning.
Change The World
Whether at a dinner table, on a stage, or in a meeting, you'll learn to tell stories that inspire, delight, and move listeners to action.
You already know how much stories matter.
The story of how you got here.
That risk you took. The moment everything changed.
The heartbreak that cracked you open.
The mistake you still cringe remembering.
The story you’ve been keeping under wraps because who would want to hear that story?
Yeah, that one.
Stories help us connect.
They help us make meaning of hard things.
They turn ordinary moments into unforgettable ones.
A well-told story can make people laugh, cry, rethink a tired idea, open up, lean in, remember.
It can transform a room full of strangers into a room full of friends.
And whether you're speaking on a conference stage, at a story slam, in a meeting, or at the dinner table, the ability to tell a good story changes the way people experience what you have to say.
And yet, most people still don't really know what makes a good story work.
You get lost on the back roads and lose track of the destination.
You ramble on and on ... then rush the ending.
You tell a story that makes your audience go, "huh?"
You don’t know which details matter so you just cross your fingers, hold your breath, and hope it goes well.
Or you think, "I lived it, so I should be able to just wing it, right?"
Well, yes....and....Not so fast!
There is an art and a craft to building a story that invites your listeners to travel with you through it -- so they feel it, see it, and stay connected from beginning to end.
That’s exactly what we’re going to do in this 4-week workshop.
You'll walk out knowing in your bones what makes a great story, how to tell it in a way that’s totally YOU, and that inspires your listeners to lean in til the end, take action and remember it long after the happily (or not so happily) ever after.
Bambi Wineland
Motherland Travel
Before taking Johanna’s class I didn’t know how to use story telling to connect with my audience. But participating in this class made all the difference in the world! I have now told the story I worked on in class many times. Every single time I tell it, I see tears in the eyes of the audience. It was Johanna’s insight and coaching that helped me hone the story that now sells my business. I am forever grateful!”
Jason Knoll
Leadership Consultant
Getting clear about the stories I want to tell, and how to tell them, has helped me have more confidence when speaking about my business, and has given me the ability to connect with people in a way that can drive business. I gave a presentation just a couple of weeks ago, and was able to be present and more connected through my stories. From that, two solid business connections have arisen.
Mitra Martin
Inti Spaces / Awaken Tango
Shannon Plumb
Purl Advisors, CEO
Before taking this class, I didn't know what story I had to tell and was terrified to speak in public. Shortly after completing the course, I had a wildly successful presentation at a conference in NYC where I both shared my story and learned again why storytelling is imperative in sales. I got 2 new clients and immense confidence from the event.
Here’s what we’ll do together, so you walk away with compelling stories to use on any stage, in any presentation or speech, or around the dinner table with friends & family
1. DIG:
Find your best stories
- Build a treasure chest of stories to tell anytime, anywhere
- Learn what makes a story a story, and which ones will pull audiences in and move them to action
- Uncover meaningful moments from your daily life that you might not even realize are worth telling.
2. DESIGN:
Craft the Narrative Arc
- Discover a fundamental framework behind great storytelling that you can apply to any story you tell, while keeping it uniquely yours.
- Learn which parts to keep, which parts to cut (because telling too much or too little can send your story down the drain)
- Shape stories with clear emotional stakes, momentum, and payoff so they land with listeners.
3. DELIVER:
Move Your Audience To Action
- Bring in the senses to build suspense, curiosity and engagement so audiences say “TELL ME MORE!”
- Bring more of your secret sauce to the stage so you can reach the people you’re meant to serve.
- Use pacing, pauses and vocal variety to make your stories feel more alive.
Who's Johanna anyway?
For the past 30 years I’ve been swimming in stories: as a theater maker and solo performance artist, then as a public speaking coach and producer & host of Boulder's Story Slam. I'm passionate about helping leaders & change-makers step past their fears and into thought leadership by telling better stories, and delivering them from any stage with confidence & authenticity. I’m a Moth Story Slam winner, and have presented for corporations, start-ups, community organizations, and on the TEDx stage. I believe that we've all got stories to tell that can change someone's life. (Yes! Including you!)
Here’s what you'll get:
📣 4 in-person Sessions with Johanna
Hands on, interactive sessions to learn the nuts & bolts of good storytelling, and support to put new tools into action right away.
📣 Expert Coaching and Feedback
You'll have the opportunity to get all your questions answered and the option to get your story workshopped in front of the group. Whether your story or someone else's, there's gold in witnessing a story-coaching session.
📣 Worksheets for the "Stories That Connect" framework
There's an art and a science to telling great stories. Here's the science part --> a framework for understanding just how stories tick. You'll be able to use this framework any time you want to tell a story.
📣 A community of other story-makers
You'll have opportunities to workshop your stories with other participants, and optional storytelling partners each week to hash out the nitty gritty in between our live sessions. (Trust me, your story will be loads better when you work on it in community)
📣 Savings on 1:1 Support
If you need more support with developing your story, you get savings on booking 1:1 support to dig into your unique story. Ask about 1:1 opportunities.
Alexis Miles
Johanna has experience facilitating groups in digging for and telling powerful stories, and has a strong contextual awareness. She knows and understands how to create a safe space and draw out a real story in people. It’s given me the power and confidence of knowing my own story, and knowing how to tell it with a lasting impact that can change lives.
Kit McGinnis
For Love of Earth
Johanna is a master at guiding you through your process to get to the story that you need to share. I ended up NOT telling the story I thought I needed to tell, but the story I actually needed to tell. What a powerful experience that was.
Let's tell some stories!
00
DAYS
00
HOURS
00
MINUTES
00
SECONDS
