Antonio Meza: Storytelling is important for everybody

Antonio Meza is a consultant, trainer and coach, specialized in Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and therefore in storytelling. He is also a cartoonist and illustrator, currently involved in live sketching. Member of Toastmasters International since 2012. He is lately organizing webinars too. His stage fright moment When he was a kid he had to deliver a poem in a school festival. He couldn’t speak at all, got paralyzed. He believes that in order to overcome stage fright, we must look at the stage as a meeting place, not as an exposure place. Storytelling is important for everybody Absolutely yes. Storytelling is one of the things that makes us humans. Stories are vehicles we use to convey beliefs to other people. Our brains work thanks to our beliefs. How to make storytelling effective First of all you need to know yourself as a speaker, what you want your story to be effective for, what is the purpose of the speech. Empathy and paying attention to the values of the audience are the most important things to make storytelling effective. How to create good personal stories Not to be judgemental with your own stories. Collect all your stories, be aware of them. Ask for feedback. Choose the right one for a specific audience. Favorite quotation “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.” — Samuel Beckett Recommended book Resonate by Nancy Duarte Routine to Shine Play “Make another choice” with yourself by the end of the day, every day. * “Make another choice” is an Improv comedy’s excercise. Links Akrobatas Antoons (Antonio’s page as cartonist) Antonio at Twitter   P.S. If you liked this episode, you might enjoy subscribing to our mailing list. Don’t miss any of our upcoming episodes with our amazing guests! Sign up here.