Monster Baby: A Curious Romp Through the Worlds of Mindfulness and Improvisation

Monster Baby #93 Your Story, Well-Told: A Conversation with Corey Rosen, Part One

Jul 31, 2021

Join storyteller and author Corey Rosen, an improvisor who captivates audiences with his storytelling skills. In a lively chat, he shares that compelling stories don't require extraordinary experiences—just curiosity and reflection. Corey introduces a fun storytelling game, 'That Reminds Me Of,' to help uncover everyday anecdotes. He delves into the importance of emotional depth in storytelling and highlights a technique that enhances connection with the audience. Plus, learn why preserving family stories is essential and how tools like StoryWorth can aid in that journey.

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ADVICE

Start With Everyday Prompts

You don't need exotic experiences to tell good stories; being alive supplies ample material.
Use prompts and follow-on memories to surface stories you didn't know you had.

ADVICE

Mining Stories With 'That Reminds Me'

Play “That reminds me of a time…” to mine memories quickly and non‑preciously.
Use successive associations to move from surface anecdotes to deeper stories.

INSIGHT

Get Bad Ideas Out Of The Way

Treat first ideas as clearing debris, not final answers.
Better, more original stories often follow the obvious first idea.

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What’s more compelling than a well-told story?

For Monster Baby episode, #93, Ted and Lisa join improvisor, storyteller, and recently published author Corey Rosen for Part One of a super-fun conversation exploring the many facets of his new book, Your Story, Well-Told.

The episode kicks off with some musings on the old camp favorite “rest hour” and who Corey is (1:48) before the trio considers whether you need to have cool experiences to tell great stories (10:53). Ted wonders how you can help people uncover the stories they don’t even recognize that they have (12:30) and Corey shares a generative exercise called “That reminds me of a time…” (14:10). Corey echoes the structure of the Kenn Adams Story Spine that Ted and Lisa referenced in an earlier episode (#70, “What’s Your Story?”) (26:00) and then describes the storytelling technique of “going up and going down”—useful on stage and in life! (28:38) Lisa asks Corey why he finds storytelling so compelling (32:57) and explains how her family has dived into a new product called “Story Worth.” (39:12) The episode concludes with Lisa’s reflections on telling the story of her having given birth—a story you may have heard in the previous episode, #92! (44:42)

Make sure to listen to the next episode for Part Two of the conversation with Corey.

If you’d like to order his book—and we bet you would like to order his book, visit www.mango.bz and enter “monsterbaby10” to get a 10% discount on your order. Thanks, Corey, and thanks, Mango!

We hope the episode brings you a small measure of joy. If so and you’d like to share that joy—or if you’d like to raise a question—feel free to write Ted and Lisa at info@monsterbabypodcast.com.

To subscribe so you receive immediate notice of future Monster Baby releases, head over to: http://monsterbabypodcast.com.

And lastly, if you’d like a bit of Monster-Baby-inspired reading, visit www.playfulmindfulness.info to pick up a copy of Ted’s book Playful Mindfulness: a joyful journey to everyday confidence, calm, and connection. (Ted will surely sign it for you if you like!)

Lisa Rowland and Ted DesMaisons

San Francisco improvisors Ted DesMaisons and Lisa Rowland explore the beautiful, surprising and unruly intersections between mindfulness and improvisation as they seek to befriend that oft-hidden and sometimes scary part of all of us that can lead to a life well-lived.

The post Monster Baby #93 Your Story, Well-Told: A Conversation with Corey Rosen, Part One appeared first on Anima Learning.