What This Game Teaches This exercise builds layered listening skills by helping participants move from simply hearing words to understanding meaning and emotion. Group Size Pairs Time 15–25 minutes Energy Level Low How to Play Partner A shares a story for 1–2 minutes. Partner B responds in stages: Level 1: Repeat key facts or details Level 2: Summarize the story in their own words Level 3: Reflect the emotion or meaning behind the story Switch roles. Variations Add a fourt

What This Game Teaches This exercise helps participants quickly generate meaningful stories by anchoring them to clear, memorable categories. Group Size Individuals, pairs, or small groups Time 10–20 minutes Energy Level Low How to Play Give participants a prompt category such as: First, Last, Best, or Worst Add a topic (e.g., job, trip, performance, mistake). Participants choose one combination (e.g., “worst job” or “best trip”) and tell a story based on it. Share stories in

If you’ve ever been in a leadership program, you know the feeling: hours of slides, exercises, and “best practices,” all designed to shape you into a better leader. But somehow, it often feels flat. Like something’s missing. That’s where storytelling comes in. I’ve seen it countless times. Teams struggling to connect, leaders who know what to say but can’t seem to reach their people. And then we introduce a storytelling workshop. Suddenly, something shifts. It’s not magic. I

You’re not stuck because you “don’t have a story.” You’re stuck because you do have one. It’s already living in your head. It has weight. History. A thousand tiny decisions you made about it, and a thousand more you haven’t made. You’ve told it to friends. You’ve told it to yourself in the shower. You’ve told a version of it at 1:00 a.m. that made you think, “Oh my god. That’s it.” And then, somehow, the next morning, it’s back to feeling like a box of loose wires. This is th

Ever feel stuck when given a storytelling prompt? You hear something like “out on a limb” and your mind immediately jumps to the obvious or literal ideas. Maybe you think of climbing a tree, taking a risky bet, or doing something crazy. The method I use to generate multiple story ideas from a single prompt is called “Exploding the Prompt.” Step 1: Start with the Obvious Begin by writing down the first few ideas that pop into your head, even if they seem boring, cliché, or “b