Michael McRay
“One of nashville’s leading story experts”
- TEDX
“ONE OF THE BEST STORYTELLING FACILITATORS IN THE BUSINESS”
— David Hutchens, internationally-regarded storytelling trainer
Michael McRay is a nationally recognized voice in storytelling, experiential coach, and keynote speaker who helps people and organizations become better stories. He’s the founder of Becoming Restoried, a life-story coaching practice rooted in experiential healing, and the founding host of Tenx9 Nashville, the city’s longest-running monthly storytelling event with over 1,100 stories told across 12 years.
Michael is the award-winning author of I Am Not Your Enemy and his newest release The Wild Way: Navigating the Space Between the Old Story and the New (October 2025). Michael holds a master’s in conflict resolution and reconciliation from Trinity College Dublin, certifications in Public Narrative from Harvard’s Kennedy School and Conflict Coaching from the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding.
He has brought his work to places like NASA, TEDx, Cisco, Accenture, and beyond. He lives in Nashville with his son and a deep love for wonder, words, and the wild.
OUT October 21, 2025
the wild way
navigating the space between the old story and the new
The Wild way podcast
Coming 2026
The Wild Way Podcast is the ultimate next companion for those who found comfort and challenge in the book.
Hosted by the author, Michael McRay, the podcast continues the exploration of the wild way to healing, with personal stories, folktales and myths, insights, deep conversations with guests, and an ongoing engagement with the remaking inner work of rewilding ourselves.
Trusted by leaders at:
Watch michael’s 2022 TEDx.
With over 120k views, this is his most personal, vulnerable talk. It’s his story of how relentless self-curiosity has helped him heal from trauma. He shares how he went from being voted “Best All Around” in high school to journaling self-hatred messages to finally attempting suicide. And he shares the realization he had in 2019 that explained it all.
“I get the privilege of curating one of the world’s premier gatherings for storytellers. After 6 years of events and 100+ speakers, Michael remains one of our top-rated and most-loved speakers. That’s why we have continued to partner with him not only as a speaker, but a go-to coach for our community.
He’s quite simply one of the best there is.”
— HARRIS III @harrisiii
FOUNDER OF ISTORIA COLLECTIVE, DIRECTOR OF STORY GATHERINGS
Work with michael
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BOOK A KEYNOTE
See Michael’s signature talk and his most requested topics.
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BECOMING RESTORIED LIFE COACHING
Experiential in-person solo intensives. 12-week cohorts. Private online coaching.
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STORYTELLING COACHING
Level-up your storytelling intelligence and skill with private, personalized coaching.
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WORKSHOPS & TRAINING
Explore organizational offerings around storytelling, resolving conflict, team building, and experiential learning.
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STORYTELLING MASTERCLASS
Enroll in Michael’s masterclass in leadership storytelling with David Hutchens.
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BUY A BOOK
Shop Michael’s books, including his 2025 release The Wild Way Way and I Am Not Your Enemy (2020 Best Book Award in Social Change, American Book Fest)
Raise your narrative intelligence with Michael’s email series.
In this three-week email series, Michael shares crucial story learning that will level-up your narrative intelligence, cultivate a story mindset, and increase your potential for impact and influence.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes. I’m a Nashville-based keynote speaker and facilitator who helps teams and conference audiences explore how story shapes leadership, culture, trust, and change. My keynotes blend compelling storytelling with practical insights people can apply immediately—whether they lead a company, a classroom, or a community.
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Of course. Though I’ve become the most popular storytelling voice for groups holding offsites in Nashville, I travel frequently to deliver my services—both across the United States as well as internationally. Location is not an issue if my calendar is available.
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I offer interactive storytelling workshops designed for teams, leaders, and conference breakout sessions. Common workshop themes include:
Storytelling for leadership and influence
Storytelling for communication and trust
Storytelling for culture and team connection
Crafting your origin story (personal or organizational)
Storytelling as a tool for meaning-making and resilience
Using story to navigate change and challenging conversations
Most workshops can be adapted for your audience, time constraints, and event goals.
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Absolutely. Customization is one of the biggest reasons planners hire me. Before your event, I’ll learn your theme, audience makeup, key challenges, and the “moment” your organization is in—so the keynote or workshop feels like it was made for your people, not pulled off a shelf.
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Pricing depends on format (keynote vs workshop vs facilitation), audience size, customization level, and whether we’re stacking sessions across a full day. Most events fall into one of three categories:
Keynote only
Workshop or breakout session
Keynote + workshop + leadership session / coaching add-on
If you share your dates and your budget range, I’ll tell you what’s possible and propose the best-fit option.
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Yes. I offer half-day and full-day workshops, especially for leadership retreats, team offsites, and professional development days. These longer formats allow us to move beyond inspiration into real practice—so participants leave with skills they can use immediately.
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Yes. In addition to keynotes and workshops, I’m available as a retreat facilitator and group facilitator for leadership teams, staff retreats, community gatherings, and strategic offsites.
My facilitation style is highly experiential—structured enough to keep things moving, but human enough to make space for what actually matters.
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I love a great keynote—but my work isn’t just “be inspired and go home.”
I bring a blend of:
storytelling craft
narrative intelligence
experiential facilitation
trauma-informed insight (without doing therapy)
practical tools leaders can actually use
My goal is always transformation and traction: a powerful experience that creates real movement afterward.
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Not necessarily. While storytelling can be performance, most of my work is about storytelling as a leadership and communication skill, and for coming into a deeper relationship with oneself.
This is great for:
executives and managers
teams who need better trust and clarity
organizations in a season of change
educators, nonprofits, and mission-driven teams
people who don’t think of themselves as “good storytellers”
You don’t need to be charismatic—you just need to be a person.
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Yes. One of my most requested sessions is storytelling for leadership and influence, because leaders are always shaping culture—whether they intend to or not.
This keynote/workshop helps people understand:
why story drives buy-in more than information
how to communicate with clarity and conviction
how to lead in complexity without becoming performative
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Yes. I provide corporate storytelling workshops for organizations who want stronger communication, deeper alignment, and more trust. This can include leadership messaging, internal communication, values storytelling, and building a culture that people actually want to belong to.
These workshops are especially helpful for teams navigating growth, burnout, fragmentation, or change.
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Yes. If your event includes a storytelling showcase, leadership presentations, or employee speakers, I can coach individuals or small groups ahead of time.
This often includes:
story selection
structure and clarity
emotional integrity without oversharing
delivery support and confidence-building
It’s one of the highest-impact add-ons you can include for a conference.
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Yes. I can facilitate:
story circles
audience connection exercises
guided reflection experiences
curated storytelling showcases
interactive breakout experiences
If you want a conference session that feels alive in the room—this is one of my favorite ways to serve.
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Workshops work beautifully for groups ranging from 10 to 300+, depending on the format.
For deeper interaction and practice: 10–40 people
For high-energy engagement with structure: 40–150
For conference audiences with interactive elements: 150–500+
I’ll help you choose the best format based on your room setup, audience, and the outcomes you want.
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Easy. Fill out the form directly below this and I’ll promptly. I aim to respond to all inquiries within 24 hours.
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Book Michael
On Michael’s Writing
“I encourage us all to listen.”
— Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, from the foreword to Where the River Bends
“Michael McRay gets poignantly to the heart of the matter. [I Am Not Your Enemy] is incisive, smart, and acutely necessary for our times.”
— Colum McCann, bestselling author of Apeirogon, winner of National Book Award
“[I Am Not Your Enemy is] important, timely, and needed.”
— Ishmael Beah, bestselling author of A Long Way Gone, from the foreword
“Where the River Bends … offers depth of insight and perspective that is rare yet essential if we are going to move to higher ground.”
— Michelle Alexander, bestselling author of The New Jim Crow
“[I Am Not Your Enemy] is a muscle, an ache, a practice of asking the troubling questions at the heart of peace.”
— Pádraig Ó Tuama, host of Poetry Unbound with On Being, author of In the Shelter
“Michael McRay brilliantly weaves stories … Read [I Am Not Your Enemy] and be moved to tears yet also inspired by hope.”
— Raja Shehadeh, critically-acclaimed author of We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I, National Book Award nominee
I am here to accompany people eager to transform their lives and work. HOw? Story. And the good news is—it’s easier than you’ve imagined.
The conversation is just the beginning.
Location: Nashville, Tennessee.