It’s all about the story.

Story is how we connect one to another and understand the world around us. Research and science from Harvard, Princeton, Berkley and others support this claim. If you want to convince, convey, create action; story serves to make it so.

But, if you are like me, you will want to hear a Story…

Story is an effective tool across all sectors from business to health care to education to non-profits: at the World Bank I’ve witnessed projects stalled in negotiations finally come to fruition and signed agreements with the seemingly simple addition of stories from real world impact of their project rather than the typical complex data dump or death by powerpoint.
The story cemented action and a Yes.

Understanding the Story of your Clients, Co-workers and Boss = a Better Bottom Line for everyone

Everyone has a Story. Those Stories often hold the key to better understanding of what motivates clients, co-workers and bosses. If we take the time to actively listen and hear each other’s perspectives we can create a healthier workplace environment which translates into increased productivity and a better bottom line.

Set the Foundation with:

Steer Your Story: How to take control, reframe & reclaim so you can be more resilient and sail through challenges

Perfect for a team retreat, team building, retooling. The stories we tell ourselves about ourselves combined with the stories we consume impact our view of self, our interactions with others both on the job and in our personal lives, and our ability to navigate challenges as well as how we see the world around us. Without resilience, employees experience burnout, loss of productivity and the inability to communicate effectively with co-workers.

In this highly interactive presentation, the audience will:

Identify the stories they tell themselves and how those impact their stress levels, interpersonal relationships and the ability to be productive.
Understand how these stories can serve or stop them in being resilient and able to navigate challenges.
Create a new narrative to re-frame, be innovative, gain control over their own life/work story and shift their mindset from critical thinking to creative thinking.
Re-frame challenges from a stressful experience to an exciting adventure.

Format: 60 minutes keynote, 2 to 3 hours as highly interactive workshop.

Presentation Skills:

Speak So Others Understand: Translate Technical Jargon into a Relatable, Human Story to Boost Communication & Buy-In

Hans Rosling said, “It is never about the data, it is about human beings.” We crunch numbers and get lost in technical jargon that puts listeners to sleep. Numbers and boring facts are only part of the story. It is the human story that connects people and propels them to take action.

In this revealing and entertaining presentation, the audience will:

Learn to translate complex data, graphs and charts into a human story to show the bigger picture and value behind the numbers.
Understand why less is more when creating impact and getting buy-in.
Discover how to create clear key messages that connect on an emotional level so your listener can come to yes.
Create accessible, easy to understand information to share with clients, staff, stakeholders and prospects to increase sales, partnerships and productivity.

Format: 90 to 120 minutes workshop

Interpersonal Communication:

Cultural Sensitivity: Communicate Across Cultures

We are more diverse than ever, we need to be aware of cultural differences that impact how our message is heard and received. This highly participatory workshop focuses on:

Awareness and acknowledgement of how communication styles vary across cultures
How to communicate more effectively through interactive activities to practice cultural sensitivity to increase team productivity

Format: 90 minutes workshop

More than a Diagnosis/Patient Centered Care:
Every Story Matters:

Patients are more than their diagnosis or a coding number. Health care staff are more than their title. Are we fully hearing the stories of our clients and patients? Are we seeing beyond the diagnosis? Kristin shares a pathway to seeing our clients/patients as multifaceted human beings so we can provide better care with more positive patient compliance and outcomes. Partner activities provide participants with hands-on application. 60 – 90 minutes

A Bridge of Stories: How to Use Multicultural Stories and Legends to Teach a Guided Creative Writing Lesson:

Kristin shares the science behind how and why Story is an effective tool in our diverse classrooms and leads participants through a guided creative writing activity using multicultural legends to connect to dive`rse students. Application can be put into practice immediately post workshop. Based on her latest book which tells the story of her volunteer literacy project in which she donated storytelling/writing programs for 33,000 students and trained 800 teachers how to use their own cultural stories in their classrooms. 3 hours

Cross Cultural Communication through Storytelling:

Uses of story in cultures throughout the world: teaching tales, peace building through story, character education, social justice, cultural preservation, etc. Explore Panchatantra and Jataka stories as teaching tools as well as stories from the Americas, Africa, Australia, and Europe. 90 minutes.