Master the Art of Storytelling
Personal Coaching from a Sought-After Story Expert
You’ve got stories to tell.
You want to tell them with impact.
You want to tell them with meaning.
You want to tell them with art.
But you’re not yet sure how.
How can I tell if my stories are landing the way I want?
What should I include in the story?
What should I leave out?
What really makes a story work?
How do I get really good at this?
You’re in the right place.
Whether this is your first foray into storytelling or you’re looking to level up your well-honed ability, personal coaching will get you where you want to go.
Meet your coach—Michael McRay.
Michael's skills as a Storytelling Coach have earned him a spot on the Coach Foundation, one of the biggest names in the coaching industry.
Michael is Nashville-based facilitator, experiential life coach, and story-practitioner. He’s the author of multiple books, including I Am Not Your Enemy, which won the 2020 Best Book Award in Social Change from the American Book Fest. His writing has received praise from internationally acclaimed authors, like Ishmael Beah, Pádraig Ó Tuama, Raja Shehadeh, and National Book Award winner Colum McCann.
Michael’s work in storytelling has focused on everything from organizational storytelling, to storytelling for advocacy and social change, to narrative-driven strategy, to storytelling for empathy and connection, to storytelling for entertainment and community cohesion. Michael’s story experience and expertise are sought after by all types of organizations—from VMware and Cigna to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and even NASA.
During his graduate studies in Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation, he lived in Belfast, Northern Ireland and fell in love with the transformative power of telling our personal stories. Since 2013, he has produced and hosted Tenx9 Nashville, Nashville’s longest-running community storytelling event that has elevated over 1,000 local stories on stage.
Michael speaks across the United States on the themes of story, curiosity, and conflict, and was a featured speaker at TEDx Nashville in 2022.
Michael lives in Nashville, TN, pursuing his purpose: to use the power of story to make meaning, heal harm, and repair relationships.
RELEVANT STORY CREDENTIALS:
TEDx Nashville 2022 speaker, 100k+ views
Tenx9 Nashville Storytelling founder & host, Sept 2013-present
Certified Experiential Coach (Level 2 of 3), International Society of Experiential Professionals
Executive Certification, Public Narrative, Harvard Kennedy School, USA, Online
Master Practitioner, Narrative 4
Tent of Seven Doors Summer School with Dr. Martin Shaw, School of Myth, Devon, England
Storywork: A Summer School in Narrative Practice with Pádraig Ó Tuama, Corrymeela Community, Northern Ireland
“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
—bestselling author, prolific speaker, and producer of STORY Gatherings
Coaching Packages
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Getting Started - $300
30-minute introductory call
Receive a two-week email series on “The Craft of Storytelling” (see next section for a summary of content)
Access to pre-recorded, short teaching videos on the art of storytelling
1 hour wrap-up discussion call
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Hone the Craft - $600
All of “Getting Started” package
+ Send up to 15 minutes of recorded story content or 2000 words of written story content for feedback. (Feedback will be sent via email or voice text.)
+ 1 hour wrap up call to hear revised version and offer final feedback
-
Level-Up - $1250
All of “Getting Started” package
+ Free access to Storytelling Leader Master Class (valued at $500)
+ Send up to 30 minutes of recorded stories or 4000 words of written story for feedback. Feedback will be sent via video recording for recorded stories or via Google Docs for written.
+ 2 rounds of feedback
+ 1 hour wrap-up call to hear revised version and offer final feedback
-
TEDx Basic - $2000
Find the idea for your talk - 30 minute call
Craft the text - 30 minute prep call
Perfect the text - 4 rounds of feedback through Google docs
Rehearse the talk - 1 round live coaching feedback via Zoom, 1 round feedback off recorded video, 1 final round live feedback on Zoom
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TEDx All Access - $3000
Find the idea for your talk - 30 minute call
Craft the text - 30 minute prep call
Perfect the text - Up to 5 rounds of feedback through Google docs
Rehearse the talk - 3 rounds of live Zoom feedback
+ Round-the-clock voice messaging access through Voxer for one month
Content Summary
This is not an exhaustive list.
Email Series
You will learn:
Why Stories Matter
The Neuroscience of Storytelling
How to Change Someone’s Mind with a Story
The Four Mistakes Leaders Make Telling Stories
The Heart of a Story
The Ethics of Telling Other People’s Stories
and more!
Video Course
You will learn:
What Exactly is a Story?
What Makes a Story Good?
The Structure of a Story
What Goes In and What Needs to Go?
Storywriting vs. Storytelling
The Art of Oral Storytelling
and more!
Hear Michael speak
The importance of self-curiosity.
Here is Michael’s TEDx Nashville talk at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. In these 15 minutes, he:
explores the 3 pillars of self-curiosity
narrates the trauma of his own story that led to self-hatred and attempted suicide
and casts a vision for how our lives can transform through the power of relentless curiosity
It is in the shelter of each other that the people live.
Here is his talk at the 2022 STORY conference at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, TN. In these 15 minutes, he:
retells an old German folktale called “The Handless Maiden”
shares how such a story can hold the fullness of who we are and cast a vision for who we can be with one another
and offer a glimpse into some of the pain of his own story