Storytelling School

It’s 2016 and I’m putting on a high-stakes speaking and storytelling workshop. One of the attendees “Shawn” is the CEO of a tech company, and he’s not buying the idea of using storytelling to raise m…

It’s 2015, and I’ve just started training in Improvisational comedy. Every Wednesday night, I attend Alan Irwin’s Improv classes at Santa Barbara Improv.

Weeks turn into months, and my fondness for I…

I’m at the main TEDx event, sitting in the theater next to a lady who’s captured my attention. Her name is Carrie, and she’s impeccably dressed. I can’t help but fixate on her outfit!

So as I’m chatt…

I’m teaching an Improv class where everyone is doing an exercise called “Headlines”. We’re standing in a circle on stage, and one by one, we each share an outlandish headline we’ve made up on the spo…

I’m working with a new client who is getting ready for a huge keynote speech. He tells me that he felt like his last speech completely fell flat and the audience felt disengaged. So I ask him:

“Did y…

In a small village, a young shepherd boy is given the task of guarding the sheep. He’s the type of boy who wants entertainment and perhaps even attention. So he suddenly cries out, “Wolf!”

Hearing th…

It’s 1990. Five days after my moped accident with a cement truck, I wake up in my hospital room. The doctor comes in and says, “Kymberlee, you’re going to have headaches for likely the rest of your l…

I almost don’t do it.

Normally, a Storytelling School Podcast episode lasts around 30 minutes with a special guest (or myself) delivering mic drop moments and storytelling nuggets of pure gold. Yet, …

I’m sitting in the living room at eight years old when my mom walks in and says, “Kymberlee, I have a surprise.” It’s not a holiday or my birthday, so there's nothing particularly special about this …

I’m at a family gathering when a family friend remarks about the weather. 

“It’s cold outside.” 

Others agree. Someone chimes in about the wind. 

Then someone else mentions that it hasn’t rained in a…

It’s Saturday morning. I’m headed out for coffee with friends after a kickboxing class.

As I get out of my car in the parking lot, my phone starts blowing up with text messages. I look down and see t…

I’m getting a speaker ready to hit the TEDx stage. He has a completely unique take on what it means to be of service in the hospitality industry. So I ask him:

“What story are you going to tell to se…

“You should reach out to Joni.”

I’m reading a text from my step-mom and she is suggesting I contact a dear friend of hers because her focus on Musical Improv can take performances to the next level.

…

It’s the second round of selecting speakers for an upcoming TEDx event. I’m there with our committee on either side of me, facing a speaker standing in front of us. I ask her:

“Why are you the right …

I’m in a law class at Pepperdine, studying for my MBA. In our first assignment, we’re supposed to take this unbelievable amount of text and turn it into an outline using a very specific structure and…

I’m about to speak to a room full of CEOs. These CEOs know there’s a guest speaker, yet the topic has not been revealed.

Because I’ve been told that this group loves to be challenged and pushed outsi…

I’m in Los Angeles at the beginning of my Improv exploration. During an advanced class I’m taking, I go out on stage to do my scene.

As I’m sitting there, painting my nails in this scene, my scene pa…

It’s 2012. My software company is working with one of the largest advertising agencies in the world. They have tremendous expertise they can share with their clients. They’re so large, though, that t…

I’m preparing for my 5th-level Black Belt test. As part of the test, we have to create and perform a series of movements - with or without weapons - to show the Grandmaster and test board that we’re …

It’s 2016. I’m putting on a high-stakes speaking and storytelling workshop. One of the attendees “Shawn” is the CEO of a tech company, and he’s not buying the idea of using storytelling to raise mone…