Storytelling is not a talent. Storytelling is a skill anyone can learn and master. In this presentation from the Woodstock Story Festival, Doug O’Brien breaks down the craft of storytelling using music, performance, and real teaching examples. This video shows how stories work, why structure matters, and how great storytellers keep audiences listening. You will learn what makes a story powerful, why conflict is essential, how voice and timing change impact, and how stories connect people. Doug also demonstrates how music reveals the same structure that lives inside great narrative storytelling. This session also includes a special bonus. Doug created a six-week online storytelling course that comes free when you purchase his book. Any format applies. Hardcover. Kindle. PDF. The access code is included at the back of the book. 00:27 – Why This Training Exists Doug explains his background in teaching hypnosis, NLP, Havening, Sleight of Mouth, and piano, and how it led to building a six-week storytelling course (available free with the book). 01:26 – How to Access the Complete Storytelling Course Details on how purchasing the book unlocks the full six-session online course. 01:39 – Opening of the Live Woodstock Presentation Doug begins the live session by showing how everyone is a storyteller and why storytelling is a universal human skill. 02:26 – Not All Storytellers Start Skilled Doug demonstrates that storytelling, like music, can be learned with practice—not talent alone. 03:33 – Storytelling Through Music Doug uses piano to show how performance and storytelling follow similar development paths. 05:01 – What Makes a Story a Story Doug defines key elements of storytelling: events, goals, challenge, and transformation. 07:06 – The Hero’s Journey & Emotional Transformation Doug explains how separation, struggle, trials, and return shape compelling stories, referencing Joseph Campbell. 08:42 – Music Theory as Story Theory Mozart’s sonata becomes a metaphor for building tension, leaving “home,” and returning transformed. 10:14 – Discomfort Creates Movement Why dissonance in music is the same as conflict in narrative—and why both are needed to keep audiences engaged. 13:05 – Freytag’s Pyramid Introduction to classical story structure: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. 15:10 – The Universal Story Form A structure used by modern storytellers and Broadway performers: setup, long rising action, irreversible dilemma, sharp climax, and fast resolution. 16:28 – Example: The Wizard of Oz Doug breaks down why The Wizard of Oz is a perfect example of the Universal Story structure. 19:18 – Why Stories Need Conflict The emotional and structural necessity of challenges, tension, and stakes. 21:06 – The Big Mistake New Storytellers Make Beginners overexplain everything—Doug shows how brevity and rhythm keep stories moving. 22:53 – Why Tonality and Delivery Matter In communication, tone and body language carry more meaning than words alone. 26:01 – How Humans Read Emotion Doug shares research showing how people subconsciously mirror facial expressions—essential for live storytelling. 27:38 – Two Ways Music Teachers Communicate Emotion Doug shares contrasting lessons from two piano professors—one rigid and one expressive—and why true mastery blends both. 30:28 – Rhythm, Timing, and the Pause How pacing, silence, and emphasis shape comedic timing and narrative emotional power. 35:01 – How Musicians Create Emphasis Without Volume Doug demonstrates rhythmic accents and timing applied to both piano and spoken storytelling. 37:11 – The John Cage Lesson: Listening to Silence Doug recounts the history of Cage’s 4’33" and the insight that emotional presence matters. 39:01 – Storytelling Has No Fourth Wall Live storytelling is not scripting—it is connection, vulnerability, and shared emotional space. 41:34 – What Chopin Teaches About Momentum Doug performs Chopin to demonstrate emotional pacing, phrasing, and narrative flow without words. 49:57 – Full Performance Live performance of Chopin with human connection, emotion, and storytelling at the instrument. 52:19 – Final Thoughts & Call to Action Doug closes the episode with thanks and encouragement to explore more at EssentialCoachingSkills.com. ### 🎁 Free Course Get Doug’s complete six-week online storytelling course free with the purchase of “The User’s Guide to Storytelling.” Details and enrollment instructions are inside the book. https://www.essentialcoachingskills.com/users-guide-to-storytelling ### 👇 If you enjoyed this video Like the video. Subscribe to the channel. Share it with a fellow speaker, coach, trainer, musician, or storyteller. #Storytelling #PublicSpeaking #DougOBrien #CoachingSkills #CommunicationSkills #HeroJourney #StoryStructure #PresentationSkills #WoodstockStoryFestival #Havening #PodcastHost #PersonalDevelopment #SkillBuilding

Tony Burgess could be accurately described in many ways. He is a trainer, coach, therapist and firewalk instructor. He's an author and a professional speaker. He is a husband and a parent. And the description he likes best, which applies to all of these roles, is that he is a 'human treasure hunter'. He sees the unique treasure in everyone he meets and, when invited, helps unearth these priceless gifts with all the tools at his disposal.

What if changing your thoughts could change your life? In this episode of *The Essential Coaching Skills Podcast*, Doug O’Brien sits down with **Tony Burgess** — trainer, coach, therapist, and author of *Beliefs: And How to Change Them for Good* and *Pink Bucket Thinking.*

Tony shares the story behind his “Pink Bucket Thinking” model — a simple yet powerful framework for separating helpful from unhelpful thoughts — and explores how *belief change*, *informational havening*, and *self-awareness* can transform both personal and professional growth.

Together, Doug and Tony dive into the neuroscience of thought, how to use curiosity and language to reframe limiting beliefs, and why sometimes the best change work starts with giving yourself permission to *do it imperfectly*.

*** You can feel free to download free pdf versions of the two books Tony mentions! ****

Beliefs and How to Change Them … For Good! https://www.aha-success.co.uk/beliefs-book/

Pink Bucket Thinking https://www.pinkbucketthinking.co.uk/the-book/

0:00 – Introduction: Doug welcomes Tony Burgess 0:30 – Who is Tony Burgess? “The Human Treasure Hunter” 2:10 – How Doug met Tony through Havening 4:00 – Finding balance in life and work 5:00 – DISC Profiling explained: understanding people through behavioral filters 8:30 – Keeping things simple in coaching and writing 9:40 – The origin of Informational Havening 11:00 – The What-If Pattern for belief change 13:00 – Turning “What if it goes wrong?” into “What if it goes right?” 15:15 – Combining Havening with NLP and Sleight of Mouth 17:00 – The birth of *Pink Bucket Thinking* 18:30 – Sorting helpful vs unhelpful thoughts 21:00 – Using buckets as a tool for awareness 23:20 – How to shift thoughts between “unhelpful” and “helpful” 25:00 – The power of neutrality: “It just is.” 27:50 – Why awareness precedes transformation 29:40 – Practicing Pink Bucket Thinking in daily life 33:30 – Using it in families, teams, and organizations 35:30 – The art of self-responsibility: response-ability 38:30 – Ownership vs blame in change work 40:00 – Pink Bucket Thinking in action: community and Uganda project 43:00 – Co-authoring with Julie French

**Tony Burgess** Trainer, Coach, Therapist, Author

📘 *Beliefs and How to Change Them for Good*

📗 *Pink Bucket Thinking*

🌐 [aha-success.co.uk](https://aha-success.co.uk)

Listen to more episodes**Visit [EssentialCoachingSkills.com](https://essentialcoachingskills.com) coaching skills, NLP techniques, belief change, havening techniques, informational havening, sleight of mouth, Tony Burgess, Doug O’Brien podcast, pink bucket thinking, mindset shift, personal development, self awareness, coaching psychology, disc profiling, nlp coaching, emotional intelligence, cognitive reframing, the essential coaching skills podcast, nlp for coaches, healing through belief change, nlp practitioner #EssentialCoachingSkills #DougOBrien #TonyBurgess #PinkBucketThinking #BeliefChange #NLP #Havening #MindsetShift #LifeCoaching #PersonalDevelopment #SleightOfMouth #NeuroscienceOfChange #SelfAwareness

What if basketball was reimagined to include everyone — not just the tall? In this thought-provoking and hilarious conversation, Doug O’Brien sits down with his brother Tim O’Brien to explore an unconventional idea: creating a height budget for basketball.

They dive into:

🏀 How height bias shapes sports and opportunity ⚖️ The “total height budget” concept that could make basketball more inclusive

🧠 What this says about how we structure competition and fairness in life 💡 How this parallels modeling excellence in NLP — and what coaches can learn from it It’s a light-hearted yet deeply insightful talk on innovation, fairness, and thinking differently.

0:00 Introduction – Basketball and brotherly rivalry

1:00 Why height matters more than skill in modern basketball

3:00 The idea: integrating basketball by height 5:00 Explaining the “total height budget”

7:00 How teams could balance tall and short players

9:00 Real-world examples from the NBA and high school sports

11:00 What coaches can learn about fairness and innovation

13:00 Modeling athletic excellence – the NLP connection

15:00 The value of diversity in skill and size

17:00 Closing thoughts – opening up the game to everyone

To read an artilce on this subject by Dr. Tim O'Brien, go here: https://ericksonian.com/height-budget-for-bball-by-e-timothy-obrien-phd

👉 essentialcoachingskills.com #NBA #BasketballPodcast #DougOBrien #EssentialCoachingSkills #BasketballInnovation #HeightBudget #SportsMindset #NLPForCoaches #PerformanceCoaching #MindsetMatters

Kevin Allison is the creator and host of the hit podcast, RISK!, which has been where people tell true stories they never thought they’d dare to share for 16 years. Kevin is also the founder and lead instructor of The Story Studio, a storytelling school which offers classes and corporate workshops around the world and online.

He is the editor of the book adaptation of RISK!, published by Hachette Books in 2018. As an actor, writer and comedian, Kevin began his career as a founding member of the legendary sketch comedy group, The State, whose cult classic show aired on MTV from 1993-96. More recently, Kevin has appeared in shows such as Flight of the Conchords, High Maintenance, Cobra Kai, and the films Alma and the Wolf and I'll Take the Hamm.

On Twitter and Instagram, I'm at TheKevinAllison and RISK! is at RISKshow.

Denise Manning Keyes Page began storytelling when a dear friend in her last months of living with ALS urged her to do so. Denise excavated a story she had written about her mother’s family, edited it and shared it at a community story event. She did so to honor two people she loved. Her mother deceased at the time and her friend. Her friend delighted in the feedback and encouraged Denise to keep telling. Ms. Page is convinced this entry into the art of storytelling ignited a passion within her because it began in so much love. That was 2019. She tells stories to heal, challenge, inspire, inform and connect.

She is also founder of Ubuntu Storytellers and “Women Tell by the Decades” with Jen Munro. She is currently working on a trilogy “Legacy of A Wealthy Slave” … a headline from the New York Times that references her great – great- grandfather. He patented an invention in 1866, and with its resultant revenue sent two sons to Yale University.

www.ubuntustorytellers.com

www.denisekeyestells.com

Lewis Mehl-Madrona, MD, graduated from Stanford University School of Medicine and trained in family medicine, psychiatry, and clinical psychology. He completed his residencies at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. He has been on the faculties of several medical schools, most recently as associate clinical professor of family medicine at the University of New England. He has worked with Indigenous communities to explore how to bring their culture and healing traditions into health care. He is interested in what Indigenous cultures and practices can bring to contemporary medicine and psychology. Barbara Mainguy holds multiple degrees, including a Master’s in Creative Arts Psychotherapy and an M.S.W. from the University of Maine. She is a psychotherapist at Cornerstone Behavioral Health in Bangor, Maine. With a strong background as an artist and a psychotherapist, she specializes in working with individuals diagnosed with psychosis, chronic pain, and exploring the connection between art and healing. Barbara is certified in hypnosis and has taught for several organizations, including the American Psychiatric Association. She has authored numerous papers and co-wrote the book Remapping Your Mind. Currently, she is finishing her M.F.A. in documentary filmmaking. Discover more at https://www.coyote-institute.org/ COME to the Woodstock Story Festival 2025 October 24, 25, 26 @‌woodstockstoryfestival and #woodstockstoryfestival

Shelley Stockwell-Nicholas, PhD., is a renowned hypnotherapist, author of over 25 books, and President of the International Hypnosis Federation. A member of the International Hypnosis Hall of Fame, she has dedicated her life to helping individuals master their own mindset for greater health, happiness, and success. As a trainer and dynamic media personality, Dr. Stockwell-Nicholas brings decades of experience and wisdom to every conversation. www.hypnosisfederation.com

WOODSTOCK STORY FESTIVAL #woodstockstoryfestival

Full Festival (3 days): $195 general / $125 seniors & students

Single day tickets: Friday $45 | Saturday $105 | Sunday $75

Get tickets here: https://woodstockstoryfestival.com/tickets/

Mountain View Studio
20 Mountainview Ave, Woodstock, NY 12498

Source:: https://woodstockstoryfestival.com/

In this week’s episode of the *Essential Coaching Skills Podcast*, Doug O’Brien sits down with transformational storyteller **Jim Brulé**, whose life’s work weaves stories from around the world into paths for healing, spiritual growth, and transformation.

@woodstockstoryfestival and #woodstockstoryfestival

From Ericksonian hypnosis to AI, healthcare, and his role as a **death doula**, Jim has lived many stories of his own—and now teaches others how to tell stories that awaken, heal, and connect.

Together, Doug and Jim explore: * Why transformational storytelling is about **questions, not answers**. * The difference between *telling a story* and *writing one down*. * How Jim’s work as a **death doula** uses story to help people and families navigate grief. * Ancient tales like **Madam Whitesnake**, Jewish folktales, and myths of healing monsters. * The importance of lineage, source, and permission in storytelling.

* What to expect at the upcoming **Woodstock Storytelling Festival** (October 2025).

Plus, Jim shares a powerful Jewish folktale about a thief-turned-fake-rabbi who discovers the transformative power of authentic prayer. This is a conversation about the heart of storytelling—not just performance, but presence, healing, and compassion. 00:00 – Welcome & intro to Jim Brulé, transformational storyteller 02:06 – Woodstock Storytelling Festival & global storytelling traditions 04:57 – From therapist & AI pioneer to spiritual storyteller 07:16 – Ordained as a Jewish storyteller & teaching worldwide 08:15 – Why transformational storytelling opens questions, not answers 11:01 – Death doula work & using stories at end of life 16:19 – Strong women & “healing monsters” as storytelling themes 22:05 – Ghost story: a gift from a dead sister 23:29 – The story of Yitzhak, the incompetent thief turned rabbi 42:02 – How to connect with Jim + Woodstock Storytelling Festival details **Resources & Links:** *

Jim Brulé: [TransformationalStorytelling.org](https://transformationalstorytelling.org) | [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) *

His book *Stories of the Heart* (with colleague in Spain) * Woodstock Storytelling Festival: [woodstockstoryfestival.com](https://woodstockstoryfestival.com) * Essential Coaching Skills Podcast: [essentialcoachingskills.com](http://essentialcoachingskills.com) Jim Brulé is a transformational storyteller, death doula, teacher, and mentor, drawing on a unique background that encompasses advanced degrees in both clinical psychology and artificial intelligence. For the past seven years, he has directed Transformational Storytelling, an online school accredited by the National Storytelling Network. This global community trains spiritual storytellers from diverse traditions to craft narratives that inspire healing and foster spiritual growth. Co-authored with Rebecca Lemaire, his book 'Stories of the Heart' presents 18 global tales for navigating life and death. https://StoriesOfTheHeartBook.com/ He is the founder of Transformational Storytelling Community, a 501(c)(3) devoted to using storytelling with communities to heal wounds and build new resilience - and resistance. You can learn more about his current project at https://transformationalstorycommunity.org/a-new-story-for-syracuse/ Jim is the recipient of the 2025 Oracle Regional Service & Leadership Award (Northeast Region), and participated in setting the Guinness World Record for the longest continuous oral storytelling at the 2025 Marrakech International Storytelling Festival. Jim's classes, workshops, and communities embody his dedication to multicultural wisdom, grounded in the belief that true abundance arises from interconnected generosity and gratitude. You can learn more here: https://TransformationalStorytelling.org/

LAURA SIMMS is an internationally acclaimed storyteller, writer, and educator, advocating engaged storytelling as compassionate action for personal and community transformation. In these unprecedented times of Covid, climate change and increased aggression, she offers in-depth classes coaching, and powerful performances of stories that address the most pressing issues of our times with dignity, and joy. https://www.laurasimms.com/