Book Review: “Storyworthy” by Matthew Dicks
For a while now I have had the book ‘Storyworthy’ by Matthew Dicks on my ‘to read’ list. I finally read the book, which is about creating and telling stories. I was interested in it in terms of my career, as I often give talks and want to make them… well, storyworthy. In the end, however, I realised that this is not the right book for that purpose.
What the book is about
The author is a professional storyteller who shares his wisdom on how to tell a story in a compelling way. The book is divided into three parts: Finding Your Story, Crafting Your Story and Telling Your Story. The book is full of the author’s own stories, which he uses to illustrate various points about storytelling. In the beginning he gives some tips on how to find stories to tell and how to make them (and keep them) compelling.
What the author conveys quite well is how storytelling can be an entertaining tool. In well over 300 pages, Matthew Dicks explains his art, which he has obviously mastered, as he constantly reminds the reader. According to him, anyone can tell a compelling story, you just have to know how.
What I expected
Personally, I thought this book might help me improve my own presentations. At least that is how it was advertised. I remember recently giving a presentation in which I not only presented facts, but also told a personal story about how I collected the data I was presenting (it was more entertaining than it sounds now). The response was quite good, with students telling me it was one of the best presentations they had heard that day.
I also thought the book might help me become a better blogger, as this is obviously something I have been doing for a while now and will continue to do for some time. Maybe I can use his techniques to write better blog posts or make them more compelling.
What I got
The book did not live up to either expectation. The book is only for storytellers who want to create their own stories to tell. It barely touches – in one or two paragraphs – on how to use this skill in other situations. I feel that Storyworthy can be very helpful in writing a book about my own life. I can use its techniques to tell stories about myself in a compelling way. But I also have to say that it will not help me to give better presentations or write better blog posts, as these formats are different from what he teaches.
Still, this could be a good book if you are interested in telling stories (that are really stories). Also, the stories he provides are quite good and well written.
Matthew Dicks is an author, storyteller, and teacher, and has also his own blog.
