Once upon a time, a very lonnnng time ago, the only way to “get the message out” was to travel by foot, canoe, snow shoe, dog sled, etc. and tell the story ourselves. Our story-telling skills needed to be strong. We had no flash animation or synthesized sounds to enhance our performance; and the story itself needed to excite our listeners. Especially tribal leaders, if we wanted to survive.
Today, as technology brings the world to us and life becomes a myriad of sound bytes, our story telling skills are on the decline. Think “text” message and you’re in the ballpark. Think “tweet,” and you’ve hit a home run.
Confidence to stand in front of an audience, rather than behind an ipod in a corner some where, can be daunting. Now, more than ever, we need to strengthen our story telling skills and learn how to write compelling stories!
Think about it. Every time you speak to a friend, colleague, existing or potential client you are telling a story. And every time you interview for a job – you’re on!
How about the story you tell that helps sell your product, service, or message? At the core of every type and size of communication is a … story!
What came as a big surprise to me was that after years of creating and writing stories for print and broadcast ad campaigns, strategic branding, direct mail campaigns, web content, e-blitzes, press releases, newspaper articles/columns, speeches, videos, songs, plays, short stories, a novel, episodic sitcom, family adventure and animation television … and bringing that experience and skill to trade show presentations, conferences, live events and product launches … I would find myself in a classroom teaching how to do it!
Most of all, I love to teach how to write a compelling, well-structured story and see the excitement and confidence it generates.
Reviews include:
“…I thought Jerelyn did an excellent job. I enjoyed the class very much and am already starting to practice what I learned in order to get better at it…”
“What impressed me was her professionalism and the attitude that one of us may well write a screen play and she was there to give us this useful tool box to work from.”
“I cannot stress enough how enjoyable Jerelyn Craden’s workshop was to myself and the group – months later it is still what we talk about – it will continue to be the method used to create a story. I hope that Jerelyn has the opportunity to share knowledge and love of screenwriting in the future. I for one, will be at every class.” — Tammy Rea, Chair, Highlands Media Arts
And another …
“From January to May 2008, I coordinated an intergenerational program with the grade 5/6 students at Wilberforce Elementary School and 14 seniors from Haliburton County. Jerelyn participated in the project as a guest artist over a three week period, to guide the student/senior partners through the process of writing a story, based on the youth of the senior partner. Her workshops were very well received by both generations, and her approach was sincere, intelligent, and fun. She was well prepared and obviously very skilled and knowledgeable. She is an outstanding teacher!” — Shelley King, Workshop Coordinator & Facilitator
If you look to your right and up a bit, you’ll see upcoming teaching dates. Just click on it for more information.
And, if you have a group of children or adults who would benefit from a story writing, screenwriting, presentation or marketing workshop …
Contact Jerelyn Craden at: OneSmartMarketer@yahoo.ca.
OneSmartMarketer: Jerelyn Craden 