Matthew Dicks is a bestselling author, a professional storyteller, and a teacher. He is a 52-time Moth StorySLAM winner & a 7-time GrandSLAM champion. He’s recognized as one of the greatest storytellers in the world. Matthew is also the co-founder and artistic director of Speak Up, a Hartford-based storytelling organization that produces shows throughout New England.

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  • Every great story is about a five-second moment of our life. The purpose of every great story is to bring a singular moment of transformation and realization to the greatest clarity possible.
    • “Let me tell you about my vacation to Europe” is not the beginning of a story, despite what many seem to believe. This is merely an attempt to review the itinerary of your previous vacation
    • But if someone said, “While I was in Europe, I met a taxi driver who changed the way I think about my parents forever,” that is potentially a great story.
  • “People are not attracted to people who do easy things. They are attracted to people who do hard things. It’s hard to be vulnerable. That takes courage. And that’s why we are drawn to it.”
    • Being vulnerable opens people up.
  • The beginning and end of a story:
    • Beginning – Promise that what I’m going to say is worth your time
    • End – The fulfillment of that process
  • How to put a great story together?
    • Start at the end… The five-second moment. “What are you aiming at?” You have to know that to craft the beginning.
      • Use a thesis statement — “I used to be… and I realized…”
  • Jurassic Park is not a movie about dinosaurs. It’s about love.
  • How to open a story:
    • Try to start your story with forward movement whenever possible. DON’T start by setting expectations (“This is hilarious, “you need to hear this,” “you’re not going to believe this.”)
  • Requirements of a personal story:
    • Change – your story must reflect change over time. It can’t simply be a series of remarkable events. Stories that fail to reflect change over time are known as anecdotes.
    • Your story only –  not that of others
    • The dinner table test – Be human
  • Homework for life — 5 minutes at the end of each day. “If I had to tell a story from today — a 5-minute story onstage about something that took place over the course of this day. What would it be?
    • Homework for life slows time down…
  • Humor — It keeps your audience’s attention. “The goal is not to tell a funny story. The goal is to tell a story that moves an audience emotionally.”
  • “A written story is like a lake. Readers can step in and out of the water at their leisure, and the water always remains the same. An oral story is like a river. It is a constantly flowing torrent of words.” — “To keep your listener from stepping out of your river of words to make meaning, simplification is essential. Starting as close to the end as possible helps to make this happen.”
  • During a talk at a school in Brazil, Matt was asked why he shares so much of himself? (Writing novels, stories, teaching, blog posts, podcasts). And he thought for a while and then said, “I think I’m trying to get the attention of a mother who never paid me any attention and is now dead and a father who left me as a boy and never came home.”
  • Your first job as a speaker (at home, on stage, or at work) is to be entertaining…
  • Advice: When you graduate college, it’s the end of your assessed learning. What do you want to study next? It will be on you to track. It won’t be assessed by others… What do you want to learn next?
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