Doug Stevenson

Attended the monthly meeting at NSA New England Chapter today. Doug Stevenson was our guest speaker. Doug presented the basic of the Story Theatre method and coached two lucky members from the audience.

When Doug got on the platform, my first thoughts were "Huh? I came to see this slightly built, guy with out-of-control grey hair? Where is the high-energy Doug that I have heard about?" The Doug on the stage looked like a tired banking clerk from the 1820's. I was waiting for him to pull out a ledger and start calling out the account balances for the townspeople.

Well, the first observation that totally blew my mind was Doug's incredible facial expressions, especially in reaction to events. I could almost hear his mind working as he acted out a call to his travel agent.

Then, as the stories and session progressed, Doug amazed me with his natural vocal variety. Totally congruent with his body gestures and facial expressions.

Within 30 minutes, I would not have left that room even if nature called. Doug Stevenson is an amazing story teller. If you ever get the chance to see Doug live, then be there.

Not only is Doug a fantastic story teller, he is also an honest and open person. He shared with us how he came to find his calling in life and now he is making a difference by teaching people how to tell their stories. We each need to find our callings in life and share it with the world.

Here is what I learned from this session: Doug Stevenson is amazing - get to see him and register for his retreat if you get a chance.

P.S. Doug did not use PowerPoint - he did however offer this insight that struck home with me "PowerPoint makes your presentation Predictable". One of my challenges is now to find a way to create flexible PowerPoint presentations.