Workshops and trainings to unite your team and audience around your most powerful stories

So many teams and organizations get caught up in the day-to-day aspects of their work that they often lose sight of the big picture of what they’re working towards.

I offer workshops and trainings to help teams unify around the stories that define their purpose, culture, and values.

These stories inspire both internal teams and external audiences to reconnect with the impact the organization can create. This creates movement, community, and engagement.

 
 

Why Does Storytelling Matter?

As a coach, trainer, and former manager myself, I’ve seen the capacity for impact that can come from a collaborative, engaged, and high functioning team. 

In order to build such a team you need the tools and understanding to keep them motivated and engaged. 

The problem is you’re so often caught up in the day-to-day management of expectations and deadlines that you lose track of the bigger picture. 

This can make work feel like an exercise of “going through the motions” and can disconnect you and your team from the more meaningful impacts the organization can create. 

 
 

I believe that one of the most powerful tools we have for connecting with the purpose, value and impact of our work is storytelling.

 
 

Yet we’re often so close to our own work that we never pause to consider what stories we’re telling and how this shapes our attitude and worldview. 

I’ve seen first hand how storytelling can be a powerful tool for creating a culture and building meaning around our work. 

This is a big part of what inspired me to go down the path I’m on. Even after nearly ten years of helping people and teams tell their most impactful story, I’m still inspired by the transformations that storytelling can create. 

Here’s how we do it: 

  1. Discover the Stories: Find the stories that inspire and connect to the purpose, vision and goals of the organization. 

  2. Connect to the Stories: Explore what these stories mean to the team and how they can be further touchstones for connection to the mission. 

  3. Share the Stories: Get the stories out into the world to invite your audience to get engaged and connected with your mission on a level they never have before. 

Stop feeling like you need to squeeze work out of an unmotivated and unfocused team. Reconnect to the stories that are meaningful to the organization and develop a team that’s enthusiastic about the shared mission. 

Set up your initial consultation with me today.

 
 

What Does It Take To Do Great Things? 

In order to achieve anything great, we’re going to need to work together. 

Yet this creates a myriad of challenges around building the right teams, getting focused on a vision, and maintaining the motivation to get things done through setbacks. 

When a team loses track of what they’re doing and WHY they’re doing it, their motivation and team cohesion starts to slip. 

This can make everybody feel like they're “going through the motions” at work as opposed to doing something meaningful. 

Storytelling is the hidden superpower to keep your team focused and believing in their own success. 

Stories can bring a group together around a common cause. 

 
 

Stories can be a secret weapon when communicating a vision and bringing more people to your side. 

By sharing the right stories together as a team you can get focused on your purpose and values in a way that makes them tangible and real. 

These are stories that speak to your impact, purpose, and values. 

And with great stories, great things can be achieved.

 
 

How Can Storytelling Help You?

Many of the teams and organizations I’ve worked with have come to me with the same set of challenges.

Which of the items below sound most familiar to you?

  • You work with a team of passionate people that could benefit from more clarity and purpose towards the impacts they can create. 

  • You have a team or organization with a unique vision that needs storytelling to better communicate the impact they seek to make. 

  • You have big, community focused ambitions that you need help making a reality

  • You have a team or organization that is struggling with fundraising and need a tool like storytelling to make a stronger emotional case for support. 

  • You or your team are moving into new roles where they could benefit from more clarity and guidance on their goals and best opportunities for success. 

  • You have a lot of passion for your work but you’re getting slowed down by institutionalized challenges, such as fundraising or leadership with old ways of thinking. 

Through this work I hope to help you build out a high functioning and cooperative team that stays on track and believes in the vision despite the ups and downs. 

If you’re curious to know more, get in touch with me today.

 
 

How We’ll Work Together

1. Set up an initial consultation

We’ll talk about your needs and I’ll propose a training package to get us started. All curriculums can be customized specifically to suit your goals. 

2. Host the training

I’ll put together a custom curriculum and training package that will get your team talking to each other about their goals, purpose, and stories in ways that will help them connect with why they got involved in the first place. 

3. Ongoing Coaching

Each training comes with a series of follow up coaching sessions to help your team capitalize and build upon the insights from the training. 

I’ve worked with many clients, including some of the most influential organizations in the country, to talk about how they can leverage storytelling to: 

  • connect their team to what's important

  • get clear on their goals, purpose, and values 

  • and share their story out into the world 

I’d love to do the same for you. 

 

Partners and Past Clients

 

The Brookings Institute

World Vision International

 
 

Indiana University School of Medicine

UC San Diego Health

Kyriba

 

UC San Diego Blackstone Launchpad

Barona Tribe of Mission Indians

University of Texas System

 

Save the Children

High Tech High

Mingei International Museum

 

Novartis

San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program

Leichtag Foundation

 

Fleet Science Center

TEDxSanDiego

Planned Parenthood of Pacific Southwest

YMCA Community Family Services

 

Berry Good Food Foundation

San Diego State University School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences

Collective Impact Center

The New Narrative

UC San Diego Development

Alzheimer’s Association

Diversionary Theatre

Ziksana Consulting

Finest City Improv

USD Nonprofit Institute

Travis Manion Foundation

Soul Flow Studio

San Diego Writers, Ink.

Young Nonprofit Professionals Network - San Diego

So Say We All

“Nathan’s storytelling workshop was one of the most useful communication events I’ve ever attended. It has helped me tremendously in learning how to frame my research as a story for effective communication.”
— Jeremiah J Minich, PhD student, Scripps Institute of Oceanography
“Nathan has an engaging “learning-by-doing” approach to teaching storytelling; which is so artfully executed you find yourself learning without even realizing it.”
— Commissioner Alisha Wilkins, California Commission on the Status of Women & Girls
“What I loved about Nathan’s workshop was learning to personalize my message—to talk about myself and my research in a way that engages the audience in what I am sharing with them.”
— Mauricio Caraballo Rodriguez, Postdoctoral Researcher at University of California, San Diego - Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
“Nathan was an excellent facilitator who was considerate or our organization’s needs in preparing for the board retreat. He delivered on the expectations of the retreat, while at the same time maintaining flexibility to ensure the tone of the meeting was positive. He made real time adjustments to be inclusive of all of the group dynamics. All in our group were blown away with how much work we got done in a short amount of time. Nathan had the right touch, we could not have accomplished our goals without his facilitation.”
— Tana Lorah, Board Member, Berry Good Food Foundation
“In a world saturated with painful Powerpoints and meetings ad nauseam, this storytelling workshop is the ideal antidote on how to best capture hearts, minds, clients and markets.”
— Holly Smithson, CEO, Athena
“Nathan is fantastic! He was very easy to coordinate with as we were preparing for the Storytelling for Science workshop, and he tailored the event to be practical, hands-on, and relevant to our field. He was an engaging speaker with insightful strategies, and the workshop was a big success!”
— Brittany Lee, SDSU School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
“Wow! The Storytelling for Nonprofits workshop pushed me and my team to really dig deep. Nathan provided structure and direction without stifling individual creativity. We left left the workshop with stories we can immediately share with our donors and knowledge on how to take any future impact story to the next level to inspire support.”
— Sheilagh Carlisle, KPBS
“This workshop was chock full of ‘aha’ moments for me to use in my pursuit of funding for our nonprofit organization.”
— Joanie Ewing, San Diego Alzheimer's Association
“Nathan makes storytelling accessible and practical. I was able to start telling my story right away after his workshop.”
— Dawn Ressel, Next Leap Consulting
“Nathan is very knowledgeable about story-telling, public speaking, and how these factor into successful fundraising solicitations. For me, the most important part of the workshop was learning tips to develop a story’s context, conflict, action, and resolution. I plan to use these techniques to enhance the stories I include in grant proposals and grant reports. The conversations Nathan sparked among workshop participants were really helpful, too.”
— Carlos Medina, Father Joe's Villages
“I thoroughly enjoyed Nathan’s storytelling facilitation at our board retreat. He made us think about how we tell “our own story” as it relates to the theatre and had us express our thoughts out loud to our fellow board members. We were entirely engaged in this seminar.”
— Robert Granat, Diversionary Theater Board of Trustees Member
“Nathan takes the age-old art of storytelling and explains how it can be applied across a range of complex disciplines, using stories to engage the audience, keep them hooked, and help them better comprehend a new topic. His real-life examples and audience engagement demonstrated how stories were much more effective than a bunch of facts and figures strung together. This workshop was well-worth the time and can be applied to all aspects of life.”
— Jill McGrady, Senior Ecologist, Great Ecology
“Nathan’s approach is open minded, and accepting of each person’s aptitude and curiosity. He’s a natural teacher, discuss leader, and facilitator.”
— Renee Tourville Werthmann, UCSD Development Communications
“Nathan was creative, enthusiastic and inviting throughout the presentation which provided a welcome environment for our group to share their personal stories.”
— Albie Masland, Travis Manion Foundation
“The storytelling workshop with Nathan was awesome! I was finally able to gain a deeper understanding of the different elements of storytelling. Also, I loved that we listened to some stories and had hands-on experience during the workshop, which allowed me to spot the different elements and how they play off each other to create a story that is appealing, cohesive and flows naturally. Nathan is extremely gifted, easy to follow and a great instructor. I really enjoyed this and would take it again. ”
— Afrodita Deretic, founder at Freelance Fusion
“I thoroughly enjoyed Nathan’s storytelling workshop. It was an opportunity for me to grow and connect to my fellow board members.”
— Jodie Graber, Diversionary Theater Board of Trustees Member
“Nathan is very skilled at making people feel comfortable. He has the ability to bring a group of people together who may have never met before, and enable them to discuss personal experiences and ideas in a supportive environment. This environment makes it possible to start putting words down on paper, with the option of sharing with the group.”
— Emily Burke, Director of Curriculum, Biotech Primer
“Nathan is a gifted facilitator and communicator, and draws enthusiasm and confidence out of his audiences. He helps each participant know that their story is important, and worth telling!”
— Colin Richards, Environmental Rights Advocate
“Nathan has a very natural style of making you feel at ease whether he is instructing, facilitating or brainstorming new ideas. He is very accommodating to each participant’s questions and concerns. His experience in public speaking, writing and social media really adds to his vast repertoire of tools used. All in all, Nathan is a very pleasant fellow to be around. It’s been interesting seeing the various projects over the years that he has developed and/or improved.”
— TC Chesser, President, Armor Tek Services
“Nathan’s workshop was great! I love reading and journaling but have never written for a public audience until very recently. There was a wide variety of experience in the workshop but Nathan did a great job of making everyone feel at ease and included by initiating collaborative group discussions and with creative questions. I picked up a few very helpful points in learning how to write and definitely built my confidence. I recommend his storytelling workshops to anyone interested in storytelling but not quite sure how to begin.”
— Shawna McGrath, Yoga Teacher
“The workshop was a powerful reminder about the value of storytelling. It showed me that MY story has value and empowered me to SHARE while connecting with others as they shared too.”
— Leah Bethany Gage, Movement Therapist and PeaceBuilder
“Nathan’s storytelling workshop was both fun and intensive. Time flew by while digging deep with his straight-to-the-heart-of-it writing prompts. I feel that I’m walking away with a better understanding of where to look for, and how to develop, the stories that matter. ”
— Jennifer B.
“Nathan Young is very open and excited about writing. This is so important because his manner allowed me to open up and become excited about writing. During his workshop, I wrote about personal material from my past that I really wanted to write about but had been avoiding for a long time.”
— Jason Freeman, Life Coach
“The Storytelling for Art and Expression workshop was very informative and provided many useful tips for writing a great story. It was very helpful to learn that there is a reliable and tested method you can use to make readers connect with your story. Nathan is great at giving feedback and guidance. I highly recommend this workshop to all the storytellers out there!”
— Marta Manus
“As new to public speaking, I found this workshop to be just what I needed, filling in the blanks of structure and story arc. Thank you for the useful hints!”
— Randi Kolender-Hock
“I’ve attended several workshops led by Nathan, and they’ve always been good. He manages to keep things on track and on time while still maintaining a very relaxed environment. He keeps the class size small so it’s easier to ask questions and interact. This includes interaction with other students so we get multiple viewpoints.”
— Dave Barak, Malfunction Films
“Nathan created an environment where writers of different backgrounds could exchange ideas and encouragement. This really helped me to make progress on my project.”
— Neil McDevitt
“Ideas came to my head that I would never have thought of otherwise. I loved Nathan’s presentation, style, and ability to engage with all of us individually and together. The workshop gave me hope, tools, and lots of encouragement. Thank you!”
— Audra Sission
“Nathan is an instructor who gets to the meat of the matter quickly, efficiently, and even painlessly. He is kind and supportive. His teaching is straight-forward and accessible.”
— Valerie Sussman
“Nathan served as a gentle guide, allowing us to find our way through the writing prompts. He was positive and supportive as we shared ideas with the group.”
— Lana Davis
“Nathan had a very calming style to deliver his material and made each person that shared feel very comfortable - he’s very encouraging.”
— Cathy Dunn
“The writing workshops facilitated by Nathan are thoughtfully conceived and presented, with time to dig deep and excavate the gold that is within us all. Highly recommend.”
— Julia Holladay

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