How to Tell a Story
The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling from The Moth

Name: How to Tell a Story
Brand: Penguin Random House
Availability: InStock
Author: The Moth
ISBN: 9780593506288

Author: The Moth, Meg Bowles, Catherine Burns, Jenifer Hixson, Sarah Austin Jenness, Kate Tellers, Padma Lakshmi

Narrator: Meg Bowles, Catherine Burns, Jenifer Hixson, Sarah Austin Jenness, Suzanne Rust, Chloe Salmon, Kate Tellers

Unabridged: 10 hr 8 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Random House Audio

Published: 04/26/2022

Categories: Nonfiction, Self-help, Motivational & Inspirational, Language Arts, Public Speaking, Speech Writing, Performing Arts, Storytelling

Synopsis

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The definitive guide to telling an unforgettable story in any setting, drawing on twenty-five years of experience from the storytelling experts at The Moth

“From toasts to eulogies, from job interviews to social events, this book will help you with ideas, structure, delivery and more.”—CNN

LONGLISTED FOR THE PORCHLIGHT BUSINESS BOOK AWARD

Over the past twenty-five years, the directors of The Moth have worked with people from all walks of life—including astronauts, hairdressers, rock stars, a retired pickpocket, high school students, and Nobel Prize winners—to develop true personal stories that have moved and delighted live audiences and listeners of The Moth’s Peabody Award–winning radio hour and podcast. A leader in the modern storytelling movement, The Moth inspires thousands of people around the globe to share their stories each year.

Now, with How to Tell a Story, The Moth will help you learn how to uncover and craft your own unique stories, like Moth storytellers Mike Birbiglia, Rosanne Cash, Neil Gaiman, Elizabeth Gilbert, Padma Lakshmi, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Tig Notaro, Boots Riley, Betty Reid Soskin, John Turturro, and more.

Whether your goal is to make it to the Moth stage, deliver the perfect wedding toast, wow clients at a business dinner, give a moving eulogy, ace a job interview, be a hit at parties, change the world, or simply connect more deeply to those around you, stories are essential. Sharing secrets of The Moth’s time-honed process and using examples from beloved storytellers, a team of Moth directors will show you how to

• mine your memories for your best stories
• explore structures that will boost the impact of your story
• deliver your stories with confidence
• tailor your stories for any occasion

Filled with empowering, easy-to-follow tips for crafting stories that forge lasting bonds with friends, family, and colleagues alike, this book will help you connect authentically with the world around you and unleash the power of story in your life.

About The Author

The Moth is an acclaimed nonprofit organization dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. Since its launch in 1997, The Moth has presented more than fifty thousand stories and received the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions and a Peabody Award for The Moth Radio Hour, which airs on more than 570 stations nationwide. The Moth podcast is downloaded more than ninety million times annually.Meg Bowles, Catherine Burns, Jenifer Hixson, Sarah Austin Jenness, and Kate Tellers, along with The Moth’s artistic and workshop teams, have spent more than two decades helping people all around the world tell their true personal stories.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Teresa

I have a lot of mixed feelings about How to Tell a Story. I've read it three times because it was hard, at least for me, to see the advice between the "advice." Despite writing and telling stories for nearly my whole life, I had never heard of The Moth. I don't live in NYC or in a literary hub where......more

Goodreads review by Diane

I have a nasty little secret (for a book review blogger). I don’t like to read book blurbs. It spoils the surprise for me. Because of this possible flaw, How to Tell a Story was not what I expected. It is specifically discussing how to prepare to tell a true story from your life experiences to a Mot......more

Goodreads review by Glen

I won this book in a goodreads drawing. A book by an organization that holds events much like poetry slams, only instead of poetry, they tell true stories, required to be no longer than five minutes. The author tells you the most effective way to craft such a story, along with tips for toasts and eul......more

Goodreads review by Laura

I have fond memories of listening to The Moth podcast when I lived in China. It was like a window back into the states. This book was just okay, not sure what I was expecting, but it felt kind of all over the place. At times a bit repetitive, but probably good if you're trying to put together a stor......more

Goodreads review by Sharon

Outstanding book by The Moth regarding compelling storytelling that captures the hearts and minds of audiences. Excellent tips on story arcs, the critical introduction and ending lines, as well as the use of tenses. The book provides incredible examples. Highly recommend!......more

Quotes

Praise for How to Tell a Story

“Fans of nonprofit storytelling organization The Moth, which, since 1997, has presented 50,000-plus stories, won a Peabody Award for its The Moth Radio Hour and boasts a popular eponymous podcast, will be drawn to this guide to, yep, telling stories. From toasts to eulogies, from job interviews to social events, this book will help you with ideas, structure, delivery and more.”—CNN

“True to its title, How to Tell a Story is a wonderfully practical and thoughtful guide to turning your own experiences and epiphanies into engaging tales. The book is very Moth-centric—‘Moth stories are true and told out loud, in the first person’—but there’s also advice about telling stories during job interviews, business presentations and toasts. Everything here could be easily adapted by classroom teachers or (one can hope) by relatives you see once a year at Thanksgiving.”—The Washington Post

“Inspiring . . . This book . . . provides everything readers need to share their own personal narratives.”—Booklist

Praise for The Moth

“There are many reasons I feel compelled to tell stories. Without stories, the past starts to mush together. And that makes me very anxious. Creating stories is a way for me to make sense of life. The Moth will help you tell great stories.”—Roz Chast, New Yorker staff cartoonist

"The Moth changed my brain in the best possible way. Working with their amazing directors, I learned how to share my story in an authentic and powerful way that I now use almost every day as a teacher, author, and speaker. Now, that’s some brain-changing magic!”—Dr. Wendy Suzuki, author and professor of neuroscience and psychology at New York University

Awards

Porchlight Business Book Awards - Big Ideas and New Perspectives