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Speak Up Storytelling #17: Robin Gelfenbien

Episode #17 of the Speak Up Storytelling podcast is ready for your listening pleasure. We start by talking about finding and crafting stories in your everyday life using my strategy “Homework for Life.” We talk about the Homework for Life submitted by a listener, and I offer up three Homework for Life moments from the…

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An anonymous note about a possible murder

I arrived at Kripalu, a yoga center in the Berkshires, on Sunday night with a bag full of my novels, magazine columns, and comic books. I spread them on the table for my students to see, and then I stuffed them back into the bag and tossed the bag into the corner of the room. It…

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Listen to smart people plus me

I appeared on two podcasts recently that I really enjoyed. Both are hosted by people who I could talk to forever.  You can find both podcasts wherever you get your podcasts, or you can click the links below to listen online.  Slate’s The Gist with Mike Pesca  Mike and I speak about storytelling, film, Bruce…

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A celebration of so much more than just a book

On Saturday night, I took the stage at the release party for Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life Through the Power of Storytelling, and told five brand new stories to an audience of more than 200 friends and family. It was quite a night.  My friend, storyteller, and producer Erin Barker once told…

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A call to action! Please? Pretty please?

I’m writing to you today for a different kind of reason today. I hope you don’t mind. And it’s storytelling related.  I have a book coming out on June 12. It’s my first nonfiction title, and I’m excited and nervous.  Excited because I’ve wanted this book to exist for a long time. Nervous because it’s…

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How can you possibly have so many stories?

It’s a question I get a lot. Whether it’s stories that I’m sharing on the golf course or at the dinner table or on the stage, I always have a new story to tell. A small part of this is the unusual life that I’ve led, filled with chaos, bad luck, and at times, disaster.…

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Meditation and McDonald’s

I’ve spent this weekend at the world famous Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. With its silent breakfasts, farm to table meals, candle-lit shrines, and slow walking, contemplative guests, the place doesn’t exactly match my aesthetic. I’m sort of like a bull in a China shop here.A man without a country.A misplaced, misbegotten vagabond. I…

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Go to The Moth and tell a story. And not “someday.” Go soon.

Just this past week I heard from listeners who heard one or more of my stories on The Moth’s podcast, The Moth Radio Hour, and/or The Moth’s website in: Cape Town, South AfricaLondon, UKColumbus, OHHartford, CTWestern AustraliaHong KongNew HampshireNew York CitySao Paulo, BrazilBlackstone, Massachusetts The idea that people across the globe are listening to me tell…

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My son, the storyteller. I had no idea.

My three year-old son made up a story about traveling to New York to visit his cousins Ari and Zoe. If you listen closely, it actually many of the all of the elements of an excellent story. The story is concise.  The story is simple,. It contains mystery and genuine surprise (critical for creating an…

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Resolution update: March 2015

Each month I post the progress of my New Year’s resolutions here as a means of holding myself accountable. The following are the results through the month of February. PERSONAL HEALTH 1. Don’t die. Didn’t even come close to dying. 2. Lose 20 pounds. I remain just one pound down. At this pace, I will…

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