Max Dixon: Make Your Best Stories Better
At the recent National Speakers Association (NSA) Convention in Phoenix, Arizona, I had the opportunity to see Max Dixon give a talk on ways speakers can improve the stories they include in their talks.
In his presentation “Stepping Up from the Top: How to Make Your Best Stories Better,” Max discusses key features the most powerful stories have. These include:
- place and setting that support the action and ignite the senses
- characters we want to see survive
- puzzles we want solved
- conflicts we want resolved
- decisions whose results intrigue us
- discoveries that help unravel our problems
- insights that move our minds and our hearts as they feed our spirit
He enthralled the audience with his innate love and command of language – something that the audio quality of this video does not do full justice to.
An audio recording of the complete presentation can be ordered from the Softconference website.
Edited highlights of Max’s presentation are featured in the video I posted on YouTube (with his express permission).
3 Comments so far
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Thanks Ian.I like these videos.Keep up the good work,Jim
By Jim Cronin on 08.01.09 2:56 am
Interesting video. Just from watching this short clip, I rewrote my presentation opening. Also heard about Max Dixon from a speaker/consultant friend of mine in Arizona, Bonnie Mattick. After the conference, she called Dixon on the phone–and he coached her on the spot. Good guy! I’ll have to look into buying his tape.
Thanks for sharing!
By Jackie Dishner on 08.01.09 7:06 am
Great use of the YouTube videos on this blog. I always come here for new insights. The speaker is fun and very much appreciated how he endorsed public speakers using thesaurus! Over using the same word makes one sound so uneducated and not well read.
By Training Connection on 08.04.09 9:24 am
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