The Art of Storytelling: Easy Steps to Presenting an Unforgettable Story (Paperback)

by John Walsh (Author) "It was a drizzly Sunday morning when my daughter Christie and her husband, Michael, were getting ready for church..." (more)
Key Phrases: Dry Fry

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Whether speaking in front of a small gathering or a large congregation, public speaking strikes fear into the heart of the bravest person. Plagued by stuttering and resultant school problems, John Walsh still found himself called to be a preacher. He has written The Art of Storytelling to encourage and teach anyone with a fear of public speaking how to speak successfully, confidently, and compellingly. Especially relevant for anyone preparing any form of weekly Bible teaching.

From the Back Cover

The Art of Storytelling will change the way you tell stories!

 

Some people are great storytellers, while others cringe at the thought of speaking before a group of people.  Yet, as John Walsh says,

 

We all have the gift of storytelling.

 

Whatever your ability, this book has something to offer you.  If you are an experienced speaker, you can sharpen your communication skills to a new intensity.  If you are just beginning to develop your speaking skills, The Art of Storytelling will enhance your ability, enjoyment, and effectiveness. 

 

John Walsh is president of International Learning Solutions, which serves churches, schools, and individuals.  John believes that storytelling can play a key role in ministry, education, and business.  He has been a sought-after speaker for many years, using storytelling in all his lectures.  Currently his most popular seminar is Making a Bible Story Unforgettable.  John and his wife, Jan, make their home in Bloomington, Illinois.  They have four grown children and five grandchildren. 

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Moody Publishers (January 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802433065
• ISBN-13: 978-0802433060
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #16,396 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Let's Balance The Last Two Reviews..., February 20, 2007

By	Michael J. Elliott "Aspiring bard" (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The preceding two reviews are each from opposite camps, and are both equally useless. One says the book is completely bad because of its religious bias, which I don't think is fair or accurate. The other review says that the first reviewer is wrong good without any discussion of why. This book is not useless, even to those outside it's target audience; neither is it particularly good even for that audience, and I dispute the implied claim that being written from a Christian perspective makes it inherently better than a similar secular book.

What this book suffers from is not bad writing; it's a bad title and description. This is NOT a secular book. While it's an exaggeration to say that God or Jesus are mentioned in every line, this is quite clearly written by a Christian, for other Christians, and the entire work is steeped in biblical references.

However, that doesn't make it a "piece of crap." What it does make it is a poorly-titled and (at least here on Amazon) -marketed book. This work should state its bias, if not in the title, then at least in the subtitle. It is NOT a general guide on storytelling, which is what both its title and ad blurb appear to indicate. It contains enough Christian references to distract even most Christians I know, never mind someone not from that religious tradition. And that is exactly what Christianity is; a religious tradition. It is NOT the one and only source of grace or divinity.

So, that statement ought to help you determine whether you can get any use from this book. If you read that and said, "blasphemy," or regarded the statement as a one-way ticket south for my soul, this is probably right up your alley. If you said, "hmmm. he may have a point," be wary of this book. And if you said, "right on," or any permutation thereof, steer clear.

That said, it's not badly written, although there's nothing here you won't find in a half-dozen other books on storytelling. In fact, unless non-biblical stories are patently offensive to you, I would say many of the others would probably serve you better (Ramon Ross' "Storyteller" is particularly good, as is Jack Maguire's "Creative Storytelling"). They contain more in the way of actual advice.

Basically, what this book has going for it is precisely what the marketing of it seems to have ignored; it's storytelling advice told from a Christian (and, while I don't know the author's background, I would guess somewhere far right at that; you know, the kind of folks who use the word "grace" regularly, and they're serious) perspective.

If that sounds like your cup of tea, you'll probably enjoy this book.

13 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly teaches the ART of storyt telling!, June 5, 2005

By	David Gaare (Chicago Suburbs, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I first learned of this book at a Sunday School convention. I was walking through the hallways looking for a class to attend during the workshop session. As I passed John Walsh's class I found it to be the only classroom in the building packed to standing room only. I had to find out what the attraction was in this class, so I came early to the next session to get a seat. Well- I found out why his class was packed. The material in this book covers just about everything John taught in the classes I attended. It will help you learn to tell a story without memorizing it. It is a great way to review the class material and will benefit anyone who wants to improve their storytelling skills.

39 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Piece of crap, January 10, 2006

By	Nib "Nib" (Sweden) - See all my reviews

I bought this book to learn to improve my storytelling skills but all I got was a book about jesus and god where I can't relate to at all.
Every sentence of this book is about God and priests.
Now I can see how storytelling could be a good thing for priests to learn, but in that case the book should still be objective and maybe at the end have a special chapter how this can be used for priest, but instead this is a book only for priests and fanatics which you can maybe translate into other uses.

So sure, if you are not a priest you may still be able to use this if you put extra much effort to think how this can be used in other ways than just telling the bible, but I would rather recommend you to get a real book written by someone how takes his time to think about the answer of the stuff he writes about instead of just saying it's gods will.