About this item
Whether we realize it or not, we are always telling stories. On a first date or job interview, in a sales presentation or therapy appointment, with family or friends, we are constantly narrating events and interpreting emotions and actions. In so doing, we make choices about what to emphasize and what to leave out. We frame and explain in order to amuse, rationalize, or just plain vent. The author, acclaimed for his storytelling on stages, the radio, and in novels including Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, is also an award-winning teacher. His wonderfully straightforward and engaging tips and techniques for constructing, telling, and polishing any story show that anyone can learn to be an appealing storyteller; that everyone has something story worthy to express; and, perhaps most importantly, that the act of creating and telling a tale is a powerful way of understanding and enhancing one's own life.
About the Author
Matthew Dicks is the internationally bestselling author of the novels Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, Something Missing, Unexpectedly, Milo, The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs, Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling, and the upcoming Twenty-one Truths About Love, The Other Mother and Cardboard Knight. His novels have been translated into more than 25 languages worldwide. Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend was the 2014 Dolly Gray Award winner and was a finalist for the 2017 Nutmeg Award in Connecticut. He is also the author of the rock opera The Clowns and the musicals Caught in the Middle, Sticks & Stones, and Summertime. He has written comic books for Double Take comics. He is the humor columnist for Seasons magazine and a columnist for Slate magazine. He has also published for Reader's Digest, The Hartford Courant, Parents magazine, The Huffington Post, and The Christian Science Monitor. The Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists awarded him first prize in opinion/humor writing in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2019. When not hunched over a computer screen, Matthew fills his days as an elementary school teacher, a storyteller, a speaking coach, a blogger, a wedding DJ, a minister, a life coach, and a Lord of Sealand. He has been teaching for 21 years and is a former West Hartford Teacher of the Year and a finalist for Connecticut Teacher of the Year.Matthew is a 43-time Moth StorySLAM champion and 6-time GrandSLAM champion whose stories have been featured on their nationally syndicated Moth Radio Hour and their weekly podcast. One of his stories has also appeared on PBS's Stories From the Stage. He has also told stories for This American Life, TED, The Colin McEnroe Show, The Story Collider, The Liar Show, Literary Death Match, The Mouth, and many others. He has performed in such venues as the Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Wilbur Theater, The Academy of Music in North Hampton, CT, The Bynam Theater of Pittsburgh, The Bell House in NYC, The Lebanon Opera House, The Cutler Majestic, Boston University, Yale University, and Infinity Hall in Hartford, CT.Matthew is also the co-founder and creative director of Speak Up, a Hartford-based storytelling organization that produces shows throughout New England. He teaches storytelling and public speaking to individuals, corporations, universities, religious institutions, and school districts around the world. He has most recently taught at Yale University, The University of Connecticut Law School, Purdue University, The Connecticut Historical Society, Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, Miss Porter's School, The Berkshire School, and Graded School in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Matthew is the creator, producer, and co-host of Speak Up Storytelling, a podcast that teaches people to tell their best stories. Matthew is also the creator and co-host of Boy vs. Girl, a podcast about gender and gender stereotypes. Matthew is married to friend and fel
