Standout Storytelling
20 years of storytelling knowledge… in one course, specifically for tour guides and tour directors.
Gone are the days when guides can slide by with disconnected dates, facts and tidbits. Tour guests today already know everything; what they want is to feel a connection to a place, through incredible narratives developed by the guide.
This kind of engaged, emotion-based storytelling that connects you with your audience is at the heart of the kind of experiential, transformative travel that makes a tour really stand out. We call it narrative travel.
Developing great stories is more than learning your information, it’s a craft and a practice. So come join us for our next storytelling clinic! For the first time ever, Mitch is offering to a class to the public in 8 powerful recorded modules that he’s taught privately for years.
What you'll learn
- TripSchool’s “secret sauce” for structuring emotion-based tour commentary that make an impact.
- A breakdown varieties of guide stories and techniques
- Toolbox of strategies for connecting with your audience, both students to adults
- Creating a Wow Story that your guests won’t forget
Taught by Mitch Bach
If you’ve ever heard Mitch speak at a tourism conference or company meeting, you know he’s obsessed with storytelling. He’s devoted his life to teaching others the skills for telling passionate, engaging stories about places around the world.
He’s written four guidebooks, has history and philosophy degrees from the Sorbonne University (Paris), and has led tours around the world for over 18 years. He speaks around the world at conferences and company meetings, and is the co-Founder of TripSchool.
Course Outline
- Why is story such an important concept for tour guides?
- What’s the difference between story and commentary delivery or information and facts?
- Introduction to the concept of Narrative Travel
- Where can you find great storytelling inspiration?
- How to develop your Wow Story
Scientific studies of the last 20 years have consistently shown how important our brains make storytelling.
- How long should your story be?
- How do we remember tours?
- How does the brain react to information vs. stories?
The research we share is eye-opening, and will help us sculpt our communications to our group effectively.
Today’s best storytellers are working in cinema, and our brains today are wired to think and remember cinematically: we remember scenes, with characters, driven by emotion and narrative arcs.
- What makes a good movie, and how can this apply to the way we structure our stories?
- Knowing your audience
- Using Emotion
- Crafting a Knowledge Gap
- Dates vs. Playing with Chronology
- Character Development
- Description and Scenes
- Pacing & Delivery
- Editing
Your commentary & stories are only as good as the material you discover.
- How to unearth the best stories
- Apps and Websites to enrich your material
- How to organize your material as you discover it
- How to make sure you’re telling the whole story of a place or person
You have your material, it’s time to craft it into a compelling story you’ll deliver in front of a group!
- How should you think about structuring your material?
- What are some different types of story structure?
- How should you start your story?
- What kinds of conclusions are there?
- Our “signpost” technique
- Pitfalls to avoid
Delivery is everything! It doesn’t matter how interesting your research or structure is, if you can’t delivery your story with impact.
- Body Language
- Tone
- Pacing & Timing
- Your Visual Field
- Tips for remembering your commentary
If you’ve made it this far, you have all the tools necessary to develop top-notch material that your guests will remember, delivering better reviews and better tips. But storytelling learning never ends. Let’s begin to take your craft to the next level!
- Interactive techniques
- How to use visual aids in a strategic and effective way
- Becoming a first-person character
- The second person
- Introduction to terms and concepts of Interpretation
In this final module, we’ll look at how these storytelling techniques connect with content that can make a travel experience truly transformative.
Transformation is the end goal: leaving your travelers changed by what you’ve shown them and told them, even on a very small level. We call this Transformative Storytelling, and we introduce you to these concepts and techniques to inspire you to continue on this journey.
- 6 Core Modules, 7 hours of video instruction by Mitch and Alan
- BONUS Videos of real guides delivering commentary + PDF Tips Worksheet
- Mitch Bach
Lifetime Access
Certificate of Completion
100% Online
Access to Community Discussion Group
Enroll Any Time
“What an incredible storyteller! Dare I say, one of the best.”
-Dorothea Henry, Worldstrides
