Never Be Boring Again: Make Your Business Presentations Capture Attention, Inspire Action and Produce Results [Perfect Paperback]

Doug Stevenson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2004

Bronwyn Fryer, the senior editor at Harvard Business Review states, "There are two ways to persuade people. The first is by using conventional rhetoric, which is what most executives are trained in. That s not good enough, because people are not inspired to act by reason alone. The other way to persuade people and ultimately a much more powerful way is by uniting an idea with an emotion. The best way to do that is by telling a compelling story."

Other presentation skills books tell you to use stories, but they don t tell you how. Businesspeople who attempt to use stories recognize that there is an art and science to telling them, but they don t know where to go for instruction.

I wrote this book for business professionals, salespeople, entrepreneurs and executives who want to use stories in a business environment. Never Be Boring Again walks you step-by-step, through the process of choosing and crafting a story that makes a point, illuminates an idea or sells a product.

This is strategic storytelling for business using a systematic method. It is pragmatic theatricality to achieve a desired result.

In this easy-to-read book, you ll learn how to: use strategically chosen stories to sell your idea or product; use a nine-step formula for crafting compelling stories; get your point across to insure maximum buy in; brand your message with a Phrase That Pays; incorporate humor so people laugh while they learn; and make dull and dry technical information come alive.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The stories and examples in this book will make it easy for you to become a better business storyteller. You ll be inspired to take your stories to the next level so that you can in turn inspire your audience. Follow Doug s advice and you will never be boring again. --Jack Canfield, author Chicken Soup for the Soul books

This book reads like an intimate conversation that you d have with your speaking coach. It s not a bunch of theory and sketchy ideas. This is down to earth stuff you can use immediately to become a better speaker. I highly recommend it. --Howard Putnam, Speaker, Author, Former CEO Southwest Airlines and Braniff Airlines

Personal stories are the surest and most intimate way for a speaker to connect with the heart, mind and spirit of their audience. This book provides a roadmap for you to discover and develop your own personal stories. --Marianne Williamson, author Return to Love and many other books.

From the Author

Other presentation skills books tell you to use stories, but they don’t tell you how.

Businesspeople who attempt to use stories recognize that there is an art and science to telling them, but they don’t know where to go for instruction.

I wrote this book for business professionals, salespeople, entrepreneurs and executives who want to use stories in a business environment. Never Be Boring Again walks you step-by-step, through the process of choosing and crafting a story that makes a point, illuminates an idea or sells a product.

This is strategic storytelling for business using a systematic method. It is pragmatic theatricality to achieve a desired result.

In this easy to read book, you’ll learn how to: use strategically chosen stories to sell your idea or product; use a nine step formula for crafting compelling stories; get your point across to insure maximum "buy in;" brand your message with a "Phrase That Pays;" incorporate humor so people laugh while they learn; and make dull and dry technical information come alive.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 330 pages
• Publisher: Cornelia Press; 1st edition (January 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971344094
• ISBN-13: 978-0971344099
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,222,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended, February 10, 2004

By 

Harold McFarland (Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Never Be Boring Again: Make Your Business Presentations Capture Attention, Inspire Action and Produce Results (Perfect Paperback)

Doug Stevenson's book "Never Be Boring Again" makes a pretty bold claim. One thing that I learned in my childhood is if you are going to make a bold claim you had better be able to back it up because someone will call you on it. Then again you can get away with making a claim like that when you can back it up and Doug Stevenson does exactly that. If you've done much public speaking at all you know that it is easy to tell if you have an audience eating out of your hand or if you are losing them. The problem is finding a way to consistently keep your audience interested.

This is the same problem that has been around forever in the theater industry. How do you get your audience involved in the story? Well, actually that is the answer. People get involved in stories. Lists of numbers are useless unless they can be converted to an illustration that points out their effect. Using his "Story Theater Method" as the base on which to build, Stevenson takes the reader on a trip into the world of preparing powerful, effective presentations that lead people to action. Stories involve the audience and once it is involved the audience will pay attention. When the audience pays attention they remember the phrases you use and your "phrase that pays" has the effect you desire.

I had the opportunity over the last few weeks to try a presentation to various groups. So, I tried to redo part of it using the techniques in the book. The bottom line was that a great deal more of the people remembered much more of the presentation in the group where the techniques were used. They also asked more and better questions because they had been listening throughout the presentation.

"Never Be Boring Again" deserves the highest recommendation that I can give and should be required reading for anyone who is not a hermit because we are always speaking to an audience, even if it is just one person.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Power-Up Your Presentations, April 6, 2004

By 

Cathy Stucker "IdeaLady.com" (Sugar Land, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Never Be Boring Again: Make Your Business Presentations Capture Attention, Inspire Action and Produce Results (Perfect Paperback)

People love stories. That's why the 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' books are so popular. But even better than reading a great story is the experience of seeing and hearing a story performed by a skilled story teller.

Doug Stevenson knows how to make a story come to life, and in 'Never Be Boring Again,' he shows you how you can do it, too. He makes the process (almost!) painless, even if you are not a natural story teller.

This is not a book about how to give a speech. It is a detailed how-to about making powerful connections with your audience through vivid and engaging stories. And it's not just 'rah-rah.' Doug walks you through the nine steps of story structure to help you craft stories that will engage listeners and get your point across. He shows how to incorporate The Phrase That Pays-a message that your listeners will remember and take with them. Then, Doug helps you use your body, voice and emotions to deliver a presentation that will hold the attention of any audience.

If you have ever watched a gifted speaker hold an audience in the palm of his hand, and wanted to know how you could do that, too, this is the book you have been waiting for. Don't wait any longer. Put Doug Stevenson's powerful Story Theater Method to work for you.

Cathy Stucker
Author, Speaker and Consultant

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Shallow, repetitive, no great insights but plenty of fluff, December 31, 2006

By 

The Dude (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Never Be Boring Again: Make Your Business Presentations Capture Attention, Inspire Action and Produce Results (Perfect Paperback)

I am preparing a PowerPoint class for people who already know the mechanics of PowerPoint but need a class on how to better design slides and prepare a presentation. One of the topics will be preparing a script using story-telling techniques. I thought this book would offer some good advice, especially since the reviews were so good. I was sorely disappointed.

Ironically, this book bored me. I admit that I am a tough audience, but if you are a corporate trainer or speaker addressing a sophisticated, intelligent audience, the advice in this book may do more harm than good. The stories are not very interesting and I don't think it's good advice to tell readers they need to act out or pantomime parts of a story. That may work for some, but there are other ways by which a speaker can enliven a presentation or a talk. This book would be more appropriate for people doing info-commercials than for corporate speakers. In fact, as I was reading it, the book reminded me of the exaggerated gestures and pasted-on smiles that info-commercial people affect.

A great example of how stories are used to enliven a presentation and illustrate points is the book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. I am listening to the book on CD while I do my daily walks. (I checked it out at the local library.) Gladwell (not the most exciting person in the world) had to use stories to get his points across and he does a masterful job. You will learn more about using stories from Blink than from Never Be Boring Again. And you won't be bored!