Episode #46: Storytelling

Storytelling Episode Recap

Amy Saidman, the storytelling maestro from Story District imparts wisdom on the art and challenges of storytelling, providing invaluable advice for anyone looking to captivate an audience with their narrative. Amy shares her accidental foray into the world of storytelling, beginning with a creative outlet to counter job dissatisfaction and evolving into an open mic storytelling night. Her early experiences paved the way for her current role at Story District—a thriving nonprofit dedicated to teaching and showcasing the art of storytelling and building a community of diverse voices within the Washington, DC region and beyond.

The podcast reveals Story District’s distinctive philosophy and methodology around storytelling, focusing on the visceral experience of the listener. Storytelling isn’t just speaking—it’s creating a captivating experience that emotionally invests the audience in the narrative.

Key Points:

• Storytelling as an Experience: It’s about creating an emotional and vicarious involvement with the story and its characters.
• Methodology: Story District’s coaching leans on both group and one-on-one training—asking probing questions to help find the story’s shape and meaning. They prioritize being yourself on stage, using your natural voice, and connecting to the audience. The stories can be funny, serious, poignant, shocking, thought-provoking, or all of the above at once. 

Overcoming Challenges in Storytelling

Common hurdles faced by storytellers include low self-esteem, insecurity and the misconception that one’s stories are not impactful, and shyness or fear of presenting in front of others. Amy stresses the importance of strength and humility in overcoming these challenges.

Crafting a Compelling Story

When discussing the essentials of good storytelling, Amy emphasizes the need for a cinematic quality—making the story so vivid and tangible that the audience is transported to the time and place where events unfold.

Key Elements:

• Visual Imagery: A story should be so descriptive that listeners can see it happening.
• Investment in Characters: A connection to characters is crucial for listeners to care about the narrative’s unfolding.

Top 5 Storytelling Tips

Throughout the episode, Amy dispenses wisdom that can turn any novice into a seasoned storyteller. The five tips she shares are rooted in vulnerability, honesty, exposure, and humility—all integral elements for engaging and effective storytelling.

Amy’s Advice:

1. Be Vulnerable: Admitting to personal weaknesses and failures can make your story more relatable.
2. Larger Than You: Honesty is key; sharing sincere desires or dreams can build a stronger narrative.
3. Courage to Suck: By accepting exposure, you allow yourself to learn and grow through your storytelling.
4. Open to Help: Recognize that some things are greater than us and that seeking help can refine your storytelling.
5. Serve Others: Always consider what the audience can garner from your story.

Benefits of Mastering Storytelling:

• Finding Your Unique Voice: Discover and hone a unique storytelling voice that stands out.
• Crafting engaging narratives
• Confidence Building: Publicly sharing stories boosts self-assurance and public speaking prowess.
• Personal and Professional Growth
• Leadership
• Community – It’s a community experience

Amy Saidman’s lessons weave compelling stories that engage, inspire, and resonate with their audience.

Storytelling Episode Transcript

Kelly Callahan-Poe

Welcome to the Two Marketing Moms Podcast. Today’s episode is called Storytelling with special guests Amy Saidman. Amy is the founder and director of Story District, which was named the “gold standard for storytelling” by the Washington Post. She has developed a unique curriculum to coach 1000’s of individuals, companies, and organizations with the support of a stellar group of storytelling coaches. In addition to producing hundreds of original storytelling shows at DC’s premier venues. Amy is also the host and creative director of the podcast Story District Presents. She is a five-time recipient of the Individual Artist Fellowship Award from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and a nominee for the DCW50’s 2020 Remarkable Woman Award.

Oh, my gosh, that’s a lot. Welcome, Amy!

Amy Saidman 

Thank you so much for having me. 

Kelly

Thanks for chatting with me today. I’m so excited to learn from you. I’ve obviously checked out all your website and your recorded shows, and I haven’t had a chance to attend a live event. But I want to learn more. Let’s start with your nonprofit Story District. Can you talk about how you came to start open forums for public speaking and storytelling and how your background led you down this path?

Amy

Well, it wasn’t something I planned on. I didn’t like growing up thinking I was going to run a storytelling organization when I grow up. But I was in a job I wasn’t that happy and I wanted to find a creative outlet. I was I was doing comedy improv. When I was a kid, if you did ask me what I wanted to be, I’d say a comedian. I wanted to be like Carol Burnett, if anybody out there, but way back. So, one day I stumbled upon this. I was in the Washington City Paper and this ad for the Blackhat clubs had open mic storytelling, and I was so intrigued. I’d never heard of such a thing. I go, I liked it. I went back and told a story about my hair. Because of how hard it was to be a curly girl and a non-curly era. And I won’t get into it. But I kind of fell in love with it. And it was a job opening. I applied. I got the job. And that’s how I ended up working for Washington Storytellers Theater. So that was sort of the beginning of my introduction to storytelling. But the real hard decision came in 2005. So that was 1999. And I was working for them as the program coordinator. And in 2005, that’s when the real hard decision came to me, which was that they were going to close. The EDA left and the board was kind of tired and didn’t have the gumption to keep it going. And I was like, should I do, but I didn’t know how to run a nonprofit. I’ve been learning. But in the end, I had been hosting the once-a-month open mic storytelling night, which, which was called the Speakeasy at the time. And it was, it was thriving, it was just we kept getting more and more people and more and more enthusiasm, and I got my fix of being on stage. So, I decided to take a leap of faith.

And, long story short, that’s how we got to where we are today, it builds little by little, I found a way to find funding, I built a board I built a team, a crew, and we created this curriculum for classes. Now we work with consulting. So, in 2015, we changed the name to Story District, and here we are.

Kelly

So, what is your approach to storytelling with Story District? I know you’ve got a unique approach that you teach people.

Amy

Yes, we do. Over time, we’ve really built a very distinct philosophy and methodology. So, our philosophy, I would say, for your listeners who are professionals and business people running businesses, one thing to keep in mind is that storytelling is, I believe, quite distinct. And people mistake other things for storytelling they might be doing. All of these things are valuable in a lecture or a speech, these things are valuable, but that’s not storytelling. There are rules to storytelling. And if you do it right, then you are clicking into the magic of storytelling and the magic of storytelling is that is experiential, that you’re inviting your listen to listeners into your world. And by doing that, they’re not just listening. They’re experiencing it. They’re living it and by living it, they’re connecting to you emotionally. They’re literally like vicariously invested and they care about you know what happens next in a way that there is no what happens next necessarily in a lecture.

I need to know what plays out I’m invested in this character, and I’m rooting for this character, what happens? And that’s really what makes it so memorable and powerful. So that’s, that’s a big part of our philosophy. And our methodology, when we’re teaching folks, we do group training to help get out all the basics of storytelling, narrative, arc, and scene and substance and style. But we also work one-on-one with people. And in those sessions, we ask a ton of questions, we help you find your story source material. And we start finding a shape and a meaning so that you can land that message.

Kelly

So, when you say experiential, do you mean standing up on stage and telling a story in front of people that you don’t know? 

Amy

Yes, it might be a stage in my big conference room. But the idea is that it’s happening in a place and time it’s unfolding in the moment. You as we don’t know what’s going to happen. So, our curiosity is piqued, and we want to know what happens.

And so, it’s very much it’s immersive.

Kelly

Absolutely. And of course, that’s got to be the biggest challenge for storytellers. In terms of those fears. What do you see as the biggest challenge for storytellers on your side as a coach?

Amy

Oh, I’ll go with three to my top three. Number one, so many people say, I don’t have a story.

Kelly

But they do have a story.

Amy

Everyone has stories, and people it doesn’t, it doesn’t have to be the biggest story. Sometimes small things are very meaningful. You know, you start to get good at identifying what has legs like what, what, what, what am I life experience, might I be able to turn into a story, which we can get into a little bit later. But one of the things we do is help people tap into their memories, help people think about, well, what were meaningful moments in your life. And really, you do have stories.

The second thing that comes up is there may be just basic stage fright, or people sign up for our courses, just because like, I’m shy, I need to get out of my, or I’m scared to get on stage. And what’s beautiful about storytelling is it’s your life you lived it. So, I thought about getting your material just right, you lived it.

And so at least what we do, when we work with clients and individuals is we, we really do create a very safe nurturing space, everybody’s in the same sort of in the same boat, like feeling vulnerable, sharing, sharing their, you know, stories and getting up on stage, but they’re all really rooting for each other, they see them, you know, we do the seven-week classes of storytelling one on one, or we do different versions of that, that we customize for businesses, whatever they want, but the group becomes very supportive so that by the time you do get up, you’ve worked on your story, you’ve practiced your story, and you’re in an environment where other people are there to support you. So that’s been, we have found that that’s been a great way to overcome stage fright. And then the third thing I would say that is super common is that people are all over the place that this sort of just incoherent and they want to do this, they want to do that. And sometimes they just they’re so knowledgeable, they don’t even know where to start or end they don’t know what choices to make about what to keep what to what to you know, put on the shelf for another time.

And we really help them give it a shape and make sure that their message is clear and on point.

Kelly

So, the coaches work with you and the coaches work with individuals in the groups to shape those stories or do they help each other a combination of both? 

Amy

We do a lot. The coaches play a very large role in helping each person get to a stage-ready story I say stage-ready again with stage being like a broad definition of what your stage is. But we do we do is to open the opportunity for the classmates and colleagues to help each other as well. 

Kelly

And when people get up on stage is there a time limit for them to speak?

Amy

Well for our shows, which happened around the DMV in DC mostly we have we say seven minutes, but they tend to be more like eight minutes. And that’s partly because every time we get on stage like time, you lose total sense of time. But usually, our shows have seven to eight, you know, people in the cast, and they’re telling a story, you know, true story on a common theme. So, it needs to contain within those 90 minutes. But if it’s for a company, if it’s for a company or an organization, then it really kind of depends on what the occasion is, who is their audience? What is their objective? What is the setting that they have? So that it can really, that depends? 

Kelly

So, let’s go back to basics. What are the elements of a good story? 

Amy

We stress three things structure, scene, and authenticity. So, my structure, I’m talking about the narrative arc. And when we work with businesses, we try to make that as simple as you can. There are multiple ways to break down the narrative arc. But one real simple way to look at it as you are every story. And people who are afraid of formulas get over it, there’s a way to do this. So, embrace it, you need a champion, a challenge. And a change is the simplest way that we talk about it. A champion is the protagonist. Now in our version of stage, you know, stories on stage, it’s first person, I’m the champion, I’m the protagonist, I’m a character that the audience is going to follow, which, by the way, is another distinction between when if you don’t have a protagonist, you’re not doing a story, that’s, that might be something that might be a speech or lecture, but you need a protagonist, I’m following this. So, you need that champion, and to really get in your job, is to make sure so let’s say I’m the storyteller, it’s my job to make sure you relate to my point of view. And to do that, I have to let you into my thoughts and feelings, you have to understand what matters to me, for you to know what to care about. So that’s number one, a change it and then you could also have a different protagonist. Like, if you’ve ever listened to something around story brand, the client is the champion. So, you have to understand, you know, the client’s

point of view. And then the you know, and then the, the storytelling coach is like the agent of change.

But anyway, the next thing is a challenge, if you don’t have a challenge is not a story, you have to be coming. Some of it has to be you want something and that there’s these obstacles in the way of the thing you want or the you know, and that’s the only because you need that tension for it to actually just have a shape without that. It’s just not a story. And then the last thing is a change. The story’s not over until something changes, it could be big, it could be small. It could be as small as it could be a huge life change. But it could also be so small like I thought this way, but now I think this way. I couldn’t, I couldn’t, I couldn’t do a thing. And now I can. It doesn’t have to be huge. But there has to be a before and an after. And something has to be different at the end of your story. Because why? So, what what’s the so what? Why did we listen to this? So those are three things. And then as far as seen, that’s kind of what I’m talking about with the experiential and making an immersive is, it has you know, you need to share your thoughts. You need to paint a picture, it has to be taking as much as you need to share your thoughts and feelings and I need to relate to the character I need to know where I am, if I can’t see, if I can’t see in my mind’s eye, a place. You’re not bringing us into your story. So, place — painting that picture and then be you going into the authenticity piece be as you as you can be, and be as honest as you can be. And sometimes that means being honest with yourself so that you can be honest with your audience. That’s where you really make those connections. Because we feel if you’re not being honest with us, if you’re not being honest with yourself, it just doesn’t work.

And that, you know, sometimes people are so worried about being funny or something but a lot of times like humor comes through just being radically honest. You know, so those are the things we stress the structure and scene and those are like a few like little insights to how we approach structure and scene.

Kelly

Did you come to this structure of how you do storytelling? Or is this based on research or based on experience in terms of how you structure your programs and what makes a great story that’s evolved?

Amy

It’s been a very organic process. Without telling my own stories — don’t look me up on YouTube, but I don’t want to pull it down. We started out where it’s we had this open mic, which was literally no mic you walk in this was when it was called Speak Easy — walk in and sign up and we wouldn’t have an idea what would come and then I was like, this could be better.

It’s very intimate. So, we started offering coaching. And then we started mandating coaching. And so just in the process of working with so many people, we evolved this curriculum, which started out, you know, just storytelling one on one was started in 2007. So now we’ve like had many, many years and 1000s of students to go through it and 1000s of people that like, you know, our shows also started out being curated. And, now we have like, months’ worth of rehearsals, who just like, over time, we’ve built this. 

Kelly

I love that. So, the people who listen to this podcast are mostly advertising and marketing professionals, and we have to sell for a living all of us in some way, shape, or form. And most of the listeners are used to storytelling, but they may not be used to giving compelling stories, right? So, what are the tips that you would give to professionals in the field that might help them be better storytellers?

Amy

Those are things I said, and I’ll maybe reiterate, again, the magic of a well-told story is that I’m in it, and I care about you, the protagonists are heavy, so that the trick to do that is establishing your point of view, creating a sense of place. Having that –I need to know what you want and care about what you want, or what your character you know, whoever that character is, that is compelling. And having that tension, having those challenges so that I’m waiting for it as it really makes a compelling story. And then the so what, why today, why, why this today? And no have been clear about what am I trying? what point am I trying to make? What is this universal theme that’s going to land at the end of my story, don’t you know, it’s not just for talkings sake. Like, it’s easy to like, if you’re talking socially, that’s one thing. But when you have an audience you need to know, the point you’re trying to make.

A couple of other tips about just making it entertaining, but there’s also voice. So, if you have care, and you do that, we all do this naturally, when we tell stories socially, you may say instead of saying, oh, my dad always told me, my, you give the characters in your story, their own voice, you let them speak for themselves. So, my dad always told me, he was proud of me. Instead, my dad looked me in the eye and said, I am so proud of you say I didn’t have to do I don’t have to act, but I let him speak for himself. That is very dynamic. And that goes back to the idea of scene making. That’s a scene, you know, so I’m learning I’m sure you’re showing me how my dad felt versus telling me how my dad felt. And it makes it so much more dynamic.

And I’ll give advice in terms of telling stories if you’re telling them to an audience versus writing them somewhere because marketers obviously have multiple platforms. But we get so many questions. Well, how do I actually tell the story and remember it, you know, and tell it in a way, we really, really encourage you to find a natural born natural voice. And to do that, you really you can’t read? No reading. And you really can’t recite. So, it’s not about memorization, it’s about taking your story, you can do all this writing, you don’t even have to write honestly, you can start with an outline. But you need to get that down to a list. So that when you’re telling your story, you’re connecting to the scenes in your story. So that I’m not thinking of the words, like the literal letters I wrote on a page, and trying to remember them. I’m just trying to go to that place. If I want to take you my listener to that place, I need to go to that place. And when I see it in my mind’s eye, the more you’ll see it in your mind’s eye. And the more you connect with your audience, you’re like with each other. And then the other thing I would say is keep it tight, stay on point stay on point, you can hop off, you can do tangent, but do not forget your main thread. You have one main thread and one main object and not multiple.

So, you can come back to it but you cannot leave it and then go to another tangent and another You can’t leave it and never come back. Got to come back. And then the last thing practice get a buddy don’t think you can do it great. Just by thinking it and doing it is actually hard work. It is hard work to do it well. So, if you can do a little bit of practice saying out loud if it’s going to be you know a verbal to somebody or even to yourself on a recorder. There’s really no way around to make yourself a great storyteller. There’s really no way around practice.

Kelly

Well, what about people pushing stories out these days on social media, which is really the most important way to get them to spread and to go viral. And, working in advertising, our spots are 60 seconds most and :30 seconds. How would you recommend reshaping that narrative? Is it the same narrative that you would do for a short :60 Clip? Or do you tell a larger story? And do you pull clips? What are your recommendations on that? 

Amy

Yeah, you can tell a full arc. And in a minute, you can have scenes, you can use these tricks in a minute. You can have it spoken, you can also apply this to a video, like use these tools when you’re creating a reel, or some kind of video or even. Maybe you have a photograph, and with some texts like these are able to build a matter how long as it is. And if you if you do it, if you don’t have the arc, and you don’t have scenes, you don’t really have a story, you have something else. But it’s not a story. So, if you’re if you want to practice storytelling, those elements need to be there. 

Kelly

Well, what are the key benefits of learning storytelling and actually doing public speaking?

Amy

Oh, wow, it’s so exhilarating. It’s like one of the fans will get energized by it, and I can see you get energized by it. I get stressed until I start speaking well, then when I am speaking, I’m completely fine. And when I’m done, I’m happy as a clam. But you know, different people have different personalities. Absolutely. No, I don’t mean that. It’s without fear. or trepidation. I don’t mean that. But I will say one of the benefits, I mean, the biggest benefit is that you, okay, let me explain what I mean by its exhilarating, when you feel ready, right? So, if you’ve practiced it, and you feel confident about your content, you get up on that stage. And when you are there, and the audience is responding, and they’re with you, that is exhilarating. That connection to your audience is exhilarating and rewarding. It’s very rewarding.

And, you know, so that’s what we aim to do is equip people with the power to be a storytelling star for 10 minutes, you know, and to feel confident on stage and to be able to, you’re not just you’re connected with that audience, if you’re not connecting, if you do well, with everybody with a common humanity, you know, that is what it is you’re up there trying to be real. And that’s feeding and fueling your audience and let alone just like actually pulling it off where they’re listening, right? They’re like leaning in, and they want to am Andrew and laughing at third or gasping is one of my favorite things when an audience is like, oh, you know?

But we have so many people, that come through. They’re like, there’s no way I can do I can do it. And then they get up and they’re like, wait, so I’m not saying everybody overcomes their stage fright at all. But even people with stage fright can do it, and still find it rewarding and exhilarating. Though, ultimately, it builds confidence and helps you find your voice. 

Kelly

What are the other benefits?

Amy

One of the benefits, I don’t think people realize it, it’s extremely cathartic. It’s, there are there aren’t that many things we do that, that we carve out time and space to reflect on our past. And that’s what this is, you have to dig into your past to find the source material for these stories. If you’re doing the kind that we do, which is first person again, there’s other ways to apply these tools doesn’t have to be that way. But but if that’s what you’re doing, and it could be professional paths, it doesn’t have to be there’s a lot of professional situations that that storytelling. You know, there’s a lot of professional content that fits on but certainly for marketing, it could be based on the product or the cause or something, but having the time and space and a coach for you to explore your past and think of it in a new way. And frame it based on whatever it is you’re kind of trying to put together is extremely, extremely cathartic. And it’s experience it’s very hard to find in other situations.

Kelly

And you could use the same principles of storytelling and writing, right, obviously, because you’re absolutely on the same story. So, using thinking about that or even starting with writing and then moving to speaking is a good way to get that out.

Amy

Absolutely, or speak, and then turn that into a blog or part of it or turn that into a series of reels or something. But you’ll see a lot of overlap, if any, if you read, things about screenwriting or even fiction, right, there is overlap. There are certain things that are distinct just because it’s first person, and its nonfiction and all that. But there’s a lot of overlap with those things. 

Kelly

All right. So, you have a podcast as well called Story District Presents: I Did It for the Story. Can you tell us about the podcast?

Amy

Yes. Our podcast is such a great place for us to highlight our best talent. You know, we do shows throughout the year, we used to do you know, pre pandemic, we were at, you know, like 30 shows a year we record them.

And I love the opportunity to showcase our best work. So, on our podcast, you’ll hear stories that were told live on our stage. In our first couple seasons, we have interviews with the storytellers. So, you get to know their process a little bit more about their story, and how they, you know how they put together a story and that it for those. So, it’s kind of like, we have two audiences, you might just want to hear a story. And that’s entertaining. And then we have another audience, which is like you want to be a storyteller. So, you will learn about storytelling through our podcast. Also, if that is something that interests you, in the most current season, we’ve pared it down. So, we’re not doing interviews, but we do one story. And then I find something that’s a teachable moment. So, if you are interested in telling stories, wait till the end. And I talk about what you might take away from this particular story. So, you actually have a concrete like some of these things I’ve mentioned.

of these things I’ve mentioned today are points I bring up but it gives you a concrete example of what I mean. You know what I mean? Like scene building, or whatever it is.

Kelly

So how can listeners learn more about Story District? And how does it work? If someone who isn’t in the Washington DC area and can attend your classes in person? Do you offer things virtually? How do we learn more?

Amy

A website is a great place to go storydistrict.org We you know, we have an active Instagram, and Facebook but Instagram more than Facebook. And those would be the best places right now we have a YouTube we actually we post a new story every week on YouTube. Story District live is the you know the channel, not everything safe for work. So, know that you know that our audiences for adult is not for children. So, if you’re going to listen to it, don’t do it in the car or at work, both the podcasts and the YouTube but those are great places to keep in touch with us you get if you go to our website, you can sign up for our newsletter. And we have a couple shows coming up and the DC show.

Kelly

I would like to attend one of your storytelling one-on-one classes. I’d love to make my husband do it with me and maybe one of my teenagers –will see if I can make that happen. 

Amy

It’s a great idea.

Kelly

Exactly, multigenerational storytellers because my husband is a storyteller as well. And my son is a journalism major, so the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Well, thank you, Amy. This is really great to learn so much about you and about storytelling. 

Amy

Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Learn more about Amy Saidman and Story District. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-saidman-story-coach

https://www.storydistrict.org

https://www.storydistrict.org/our-team

https://www.instagram.com/storydistrict

https://www.youtube.com/c/StoryDistrictLive

@storydistrict

https://www.facebook.com/StoryDistrict

https://www.storydistrict.org/media