Rating: 
Summary: This must be in your library
Review: After I ordered 10 books from Amazon I finially found this one. If you want to write a great speech and include story telling than this is a 'must-own'. So much more than the others that are very basic and all common sense. This has 'stuff' you can use!
Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: Doug Stevenson's book "Never Be Boring Again" makes a pretty bold claim. One thing that I learned in my childhood is if you are going to make a bold claim you had better be able to back it up because someone will call you on it. Then again you can get away with making a claim like that when you can back it up and Doug Stevenson does exactly that. If you've done much public speaking at all you know that it is easy to tell if you have an audience eating out of your hand or if you are losing them. The problem is finding a way to consistently keep your audience interested.This is the same problem that has been around forever in the theater industry. How do you get your audience involved in the story? Well, actually that is the answer. People get involved in stories. Lists of numbers are useless unless they can be converted to an illustration that points out their effect. Using his "Story Theater Method" as the base on which to build, Stevenson takes the reader on a trip into the world of preparing powerful, effective presentations that lead people to action. Stories involve the audience and once it is involved the audience will pay attention. When the audience pays attention they remember the phrases you use and your "phrase that pays" has the effect you desire. I had the opportunity over the last few weeks to try a presentation to various groups. So, I tried to redo part of it using the techniques in the book. The bottom line was that a great deal more of the people remembered much more of the presentation in the group where the techniques were used. They also asked more and better questions because they had been listening throughout the presentation. "Never Be Boring Again" deserves the highest recommendation that I can give and should be required reading for anyone who is not a hermit because we are always speaking to an audience, even if it is just one person.
Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: Doug Stevenson's book "Never Be Boring Again" makes a pretty bold claim. One thing that I learned in my childhood is if you are going to make a bold claim you had better be able to back it up because someone will call you on it. Then again you can get away with making a claim like that when you can back it up and Doug Stevenson does exactly that. If you've done much public speaking at all you know that it is easy to tell if you have an audience eating out of your hand or if you are losing them. The problem is finding a way to consistently keep your audience interested. This is the same problem that has been around forever in the theater industry. How do you get your audience involved in the story? Well, actually that is the answer. People get involved in stories. Lists of numbers are useless unless they can be converted to an illustration that points out their effect. Using his "Story Theater Method" as the base on which to build, Stevenson takes the reader on a trip into the world of preparing powerful, effective presentations that lead people to action. Stories involve the audience and once it is involved the audience will pay attention. When the audience pays attention they remember the phrases you use and your "phrase that pays" has the effect you desire. I had the opportunity over the last few weeks to try a presentation to various groups. So, I tried to redo part of it using the techniques in the book. The bottom line was that a great deal more of the people remembered much more of the presentation in the group where the techniques were used. They also asked more and better questions because they had been listening throughout the presentation. "Never Be Boring Again" deserves the highest recommendation that I can give and should be required reading for anyone who is not a hermit because we are always speaking to an audience, even if it is just one person.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!!! Breakthrough guidance for speakers.
Review: Doug Stevenson's book is superb! As a keynote speaker and author of the Amazon bestseller "How Great Decisions Get Made," I've read many books and listened to dozens of tapes. This is the best. Doug guides you through the steps that will take your speaking to a higher level. If you want to experience putting his guidance into action, be sure to sign up for his Story Theater Workshop. I read the book, attended the workshop, and now I'm conveying my message much more powerfully.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!!! Breakthrough guidance for speakers.
Review: Doug Stevenson's book is superb! As a keynote speaker and author of the Amazon bestseller "How Great Decisions Get Made," I've read many books and listened to dozens of tapes. This is the best. Doug guides you through the steps that will take your speaking to a higher level. If you want to experience putting his guidance into action, be sure to sign up for his Story Theater Workshop. I read the book, attended the workshop, and now I'm conveying my message much more powerfully.
Rating:
Summary: Lynda McDermott, Speaker, Author of World Class Teams
Review: I am a seasoned speaker with over 25 years of experience. The techniques described in this book and taught in Doug's Theater Story Workshop are in the "breakthrough category". You'll see immediate results!
Rating:
Summary: Thorough and precise advice
Review: I loved this book. Finally someone tells it like it is about speakers who bore us all to death with stilted language that sounds like they're trying to impress someone. Business people want to be talked to, not at. They want speakers to be themselves, to be conversational, especially in their storytelling. This author encourages authenticity over artifice while laying out, in a step-by-step sequence, how each of us can raise our storytelling skills to the next level.
In this book, Mr. Stevenson provides the most detail specific examples of how to write and present stories I have ever read. His approach to the crafting of a story is thorough and precise. His advice is practical. I found myself putting the book down numerous times and going to my keyboard to work on my stories. He inspired me.
If you can only afford one book on storytelling for a business application, this is the book to buy.
Rating:
Summary: This Book Helped Me Make Money!
Review: I've been waiting for this book for about four years, since I fist saw Doug Steveson tell a story from the stage. I was absolutely mesmerized and thought, "I'd sure like to learn to do that." So when the book hit the stands, I was among the first to read it. I'm glad I did because within weeks I made money by following the advice Doug offers. There were two sections of the book I found particularly helpful: the Nine Step formula for crafting compelling stories and the advice on how to develop and use "A Phrase That Pays." Not only did Doug's powerful examples and specific tips help me develop better stories in my presentations, I was able to blend his advice with advice I was already giving to my clients. As a professional media coach, I've taught hundreds of Fortune 500 executives how to handle media interviews and develop their own corporate story. Doug's book gave me some additional ideas, which I immediately put to use. Since implementing Doug's advice, I've seen an increase in the number of bookings I've received and my evaluations are the highest they've ever been. Already, I find myself referring back to the book as I develop new presentations. You don't have to be a speaker or corporate executive who gives speeches to benefit from this book. Read it and become more confident, entertaining and even profitable!
Rating:
Summary: This Book Helped Me Make Money!
Review: I've been waiting for this book for about four years, since I fist saw Doug Steveson tell a story from the stage. I was absolutely mesmerized and thought, "I'd sure like to learn to do that." So when the book hit the stands, I was among the first to read it. I'm glad I did because within weeks I made money by following the advice Doug offers. There were two sections of the book I found particularly helpful: the Nine Step formula for crafting compelling stories and the advice on how to develop and use "A Phrase That Pays." Not only did Doug's powerful examples and specific tips help me develop better stories in my presentations, I was able to blend his advice with advice I was already giving to my clients. As a professional media coach, I've taught hundreds of Fortune 500 executives how to handle media interviews and develop their own corporate story. Doug's book gave me some additional ideas, which I immediately put to use. Since implementing Doug's advice, I've seen an increase in the number of bookings I've received and my evaluations are the highest they've ever been. Already, I find myself referring back to the book as I develop new presentations. You don't have to be a speaker or corporate executive who gives speeches to benefit from this book. Read it and become more confident, entertaining and even profitable!
Rating:
Summary: Written by the creator of the "Story Theater Method"
Review: Never Be Boring Again is a solid, 352-page guide to spicing up business presentations in such a manner so as to fully captivate attention, inspire and motivate action, and bring about tangible, practical results. Expertly written by the creator of the "Story Theater Method", speech writer, and presentation consultant Doug Stevenson, Never Be Boring Again focuses on stories as power for getting and keeping the audience's full attention, peppered with tips, tricks, and techniques to keep 'em coming back for more. If you are charged with speaking in public, then Doug Stevenson's Never Be Boring Again is enthusiastically recommended reading for you!
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