It won’t come as a shock when I say that stories are one of the most important elements of presentations and communication in general.

They help us connect with our audience, keep them engaged, share parts of ourselves that wouldn’t otherwise be known, be seen as a leader, drive home the points we want to make in our communication, the list goes on.

I happen to come from a long line of storytellers. Growing up visiting my grandparents farm in Michigan, my family members were constantly telling stories to pass the time especially while working, because there were no iPods or anything else to pass the time.

I was enchanted by the stories they would tell. If you’re anything like me at the beginning of my communication journey, I always wondered how to be a great storyteller.

I would hear the word storytelling all the time, and I would listen to my family and friends recount fascinating stories, so I knew that the topic was important. And it was also a challenge to...

Have you ever heard of the term ‘brain dumping’ before? Or better yet, done a brain dump yourself?

Brain dumping is an awesome technique that I learned a few years into my public speaking career, where you write down all of your thoughts – stream of consciousness style – in order to plan a successful presentation.

This technique can be used for a myriad of things. Today, we’re going to focus on how you can use the brain dump to your advantage. 

Whether you have a big presentation coming up that you have a million ideas for and can’t quite seem to nail or narrow them down, a sales pitch that feels like it’s missing the mark, or you’ve been asked to speak at a wedding and haven’t a clue what to say (been there, done that).

This post will walk you through some of the benefits of brain dumping, how you can apply this technique to other areas of your life, and the exact brain dumping process that I’ve used to plan some of...