See a photo of Rob, his bio, Part 1 of this Q&A, and Part 2.

Q&A with Rob Sullivan, Question 3:

Q: What people or entities have been most influential to you in your story work and why?

A: From a speaking perspective, the person whose storytelling work I admire most is Doug Stevenson, the creator of Story Theater International.

The workshop with Doug was a terrific investment that changed the way I approached my workshops and keynotes. First, I discovered the magic of truly being myself as a speaker without worrying about what the audience might be thinking. Having gone through a variety of popular speaking programs, I was under the impression that speakers were always responsible for their audiences.

Doug doesn’t believe that. Instead, he went as far as to say:

“Some audiences suck.”

I resisted at first. But later I realized he was right. Rather than worry about the audience, he says:

“Love yourself and let them watch.”

In other words, do what you know works and don’t worry about the people watching. If you have fun, they’ll have fun.

If that seems counterintuitive, look at it a different way. As storytellers, when we craft the message, we have to take the audience into consideration. But when we perform the message, we have to do what we know works.

Not long after the workshop, I proved to myself that Doug was right. I was doing a workshop for a crowded room of college students who, for the most part, sat there motionless. I’ll never forget how surprised and disappointed I felt at their lack of responsiveness. Had I listened to the voice in my head from my early training, I would have spent the rest of the workshop exploring different ways to get their attention. Instead, I heard Doug’s voice saying, “Love yourself and let them watch.”

So, I didn’t change a thing. I did what I knew worked and did my best not to think too much about the audience. I wasn’t feeling especially good about the session until three weeks later when the school called and said, “Everyone loved you. You are our top choice for commencement speaker.”

Had I changed my story or my approach, the commencement invitation would never have been extended. Thanks, Doug!