Story Is Your SuperpoweR! Dive DEEP INTO THE ART AND BUSINESS OF STORY

A Workshop for Speakers Who Want Their Message to Land Deeper, Funnier, and Stronger

Great speakers don’t just deliver information. They create moments people remember. And story is the tool that makes that happen.

In this interactive workshop, Hall of Fame speaker and award-winning storyteller Kelly Swanson will pull back the curtain on how stories work inside a speech, not just as entertainment, but as strategy. Kelly will share several of her own stories, then unpack what makes them land, where the humor lives, how the emotional turns are built, and how each story serves the larger message.

From there, we’ll take a deep dive into your burning questions about story, speech structure, audience connection, humor, emotional pacing, openings, closings, transitions, and how to make a speech feel less like a collection of points and more like an unforgettable experience.

The workshop will also include live story and speech makeovers, where selected participants receive coaching on how to strengthen their stories, clarify their message, tighten their structure, and make their content more powerful from the stage.

Participants will walk away with:

• A clearer understanding of how story functions inside a keynote, workshop, or presentation.
• A practical way to identify which stories belong in a speech and which ones do not.
• Tools for shaping a story so it has stronger humor, heart, purpose, and payoff.
• Insight into how to connect story to message so the audience does not just enjoy it, but understands why it matters.
• Strategies for building stronger openings, closings, transitions, and throughlines.
• A better sense of how to turn scattered content into a speech that flows.
• Live examples of story and speech makeovers they can apply to their own work.
• A renewed confidence that their stories are not just extra material. They are the superpower that makes their message unforgettable.

Bottom line: This workshop is for speakers who want to stop sprinkling stories into their speeches and start using story as the engine that drives the entire experience.

Because when you know how to use story, you don’t just give a speech. You create a moment they carry with them." Kelly Swanson is an award-winning storyteller, comedian, author, and Hall of Fame motivational speaker known for blending clean comedy, Southern sass, and powerful storytelling strategy. For more than 20 years, she has helped audiences laugh, feel valued, and see their lives and work in a whole new story. As the author of The Story Formula, Kelly teaches speakers, leaders, and professionals how to use story to connect, persuade, inspire, and make their message unforgettable.