Storytelling Delivery

9 posts in this series

Reading Order

1 of 9 — 8 min read

If You Keep Stumbling on a Line, the Script Has an Error There

I spent weeks trying to memorize a line that never felt right. The problem was not my memory. The problem was the line.

2 of 9 — 8 min read

The Pencil Exercise: A Radio Producer's Trick for Troublesome Words

A former radio producer's absurd-looking pronunciation drill changed the way I prepare for performance. It involves a pencil, your tongue, and the willingness to look ridiculous.

3 of 9 — 8 min read

The Box Exercise: How a Radio Training Technique Made Me a Better Performer

I pulled a stapler out of a cardboard box and had sixty seconds to make it the most fascinating object in the world. That drill changed how I perform more than any sleight of hand ever did.

4 of 9 — 8 min read

Two Ways to Script a Story: The Flexible Tale and the Fixed Tale

I used to think scripting meant memorizing every word. Then I discovered there are two fundamentally different approaches, and the tension between them taught me more about performance than either one alone.

5 of 9 — 8 min read

How I Took Someone Else's Routine and Made It Mine Without Stealing a Word

I bought a routine from a creator I admired, performed it exactly as taught, and it fell completely flat. The problem was not the routine. The problem was that I was wearing someone else's voice.

6 of 9 — 8 min read

Small Dog, Big Dog: How Vocal Pitch Controls Your Audience Without a Word

I learned that a higher pitch reassures and a lower pitch commands, and that switching between them is a performance tool hiding in plain sight.

7 of 9 — 8 min read

Beeeehold: Why Elongating a Single Word Can Change the Entire Mood

I stretched one word across three seconds and the audience held their breath. Then I clipped the next word to a single beat and they laughed. Vocal elongation is a tool most performers never think to use.

8 of 9 — 8 min read

The Silent Language: How Physical Theatre Cues Amplify Your Story

I spent months perfecting my scripts and forgot that my body was telling its own story the entire time -- often contradicting every word I said.

9 of 9 — 8 min read

The So What Rule: If Your Audience Would Think It, Cut It

I had a four-minute monologue in my show that I loved. My trial audience's feedback form told me -- in the politest possible terms -- that they did not.