Backstage

Check out this amazing movie by Bart Majoor about the experience of participants:

We always ask the participants a few questions for feedback afterwards.

• How have you changed the way you present yourself? Did you reach your goal?
• In what practical ways do you see your learning during the storytelling applicable to your daily business life?
• How did you find working with the workbook Into the Light? Did you like the assignments?

Curious to what they answered? Below you’ll find a rough selection of their aswers.

How have you changed the way you present yourself? Did you reach your goal?

• Into the Light has given me the insight that every day has a story in it and that the possibilities are endless!
• I take my environment into account, but start from myself. In doing so, I remain authentic and do what I came for. Applying structure also helps me in my story.
• Certainly! Also defined new goals. This is an absolute must for every professional!
• Finding peace and tranquility. Pause to breathe and find confidence by having a story that I can relate to.
• Yes, great lesson. Express emotions!! Use of metaphors. Facts versus feeling.
• Yes! Learned more about silences in a story, the use of my strengths and especially knowing how to build a story. Thanks!
• More personal. More focus on how, than before (what). My objective was to experiment and become more conscious and able to present with more impact. I have certainly progressed.
• I talk more calmly, more confidently. I can vary more in different styles. Absolutely!
• Certainly! My main learning goal was to be less modest and to tell more convincingly. Funnily enough, that was also the theme of my last story, which I told with conviction.
• I have become more aware of movements, text use, but also social interaction. I have achieved my learning goals. I have a better understanding of social interaction and how people respond.
• I pay more attention to the “struggle” in my story and make sure that it comes more to the fore. I pay more attention to telling my story in a narrative way.
• I found some new goals in the process, that I’ve really made progress on! Speaking with gravitas, speaking beyond ‘’the wall’’ just before the audience, switching persona’s and styles! I feel consciously capable.
• Less flat – more variety in intonation, volume, emotion, etc. Confident.
• I allow myself to take more time at the stage, prepare a story, with more structure and a message which is well explained.
• Goals certainly achieved. I can now prepare a story better, faster and with more confidence.
• More grounded, more expressive, shorter and more concise, more effective learning goals achieved (can be faster and better able to exchange energy).
• More open, more energy / emotion, more peaks / troughs.
• I have progressed in many areas. More aware of the “how”, but also the “what”. Practice, practice, practice!
• I present with more courage and openness and am not afraid to enlarge myself. 
• I have learned to take the stage with more confidence and not be afraid to show emotion. I have taken great steps towards my learning goals. This training was a good basis.
• More variety, more tranquility, more intrinsic. Learning objectives not important: new insights are!
• I have learned how to build a story and experience directly how I can handle my body better.
• Much more aware of twists and turns and construction. More self-confidence in the use of voice, emotion and gestures. Learning objectives achieved: Yes!
• I have gained confidence and the courage to stand in front of others and ‘shine’.
• When I present, I am showing more emotions and feelings. I think it definitely helps me connect more/ create a link with the audience, so that it brought me closer to my goal (which was to be able to connect with even an unwilling audience, to be able to get my message across).
• I’ve began to use the space I speak in more actively.
• I’ve started testing out phrases and words.
• No longer afraid to take more time for personal stories, anecdotes and metaphors.
• More drama put in. Taking people into my personal experiences (emotions). Out of context, into the feeling.
• Yes, learned an awful lot. In particular, how to build a story and make an impact. Of course it remains exciting and gives me more stress than I would like.
• My learning goal was to include more emotion, more energy in my stories. That is gradually starting to work.
• Yes, open myself up more and show more of myself. Not so static and monotonous anymore.
• I’ve learned that exaggeration works. I’ve learned that a white lie is allowed. I have learned that connecting myself to the story makes an impact.
• Yes, I feel comfortable on stage.
• I have achieved learning goals. Do it differently now. That also works!
• Prepare better, more self-confidence. I certainly achieved my own goals. On to the next steps.
  Become more confident. More confidence in myself. I think I have definitely achieved my goal.
• Become more confident. More confidence in myself. I think I have definitely achieved my goal.
• From a little inconspicuous to powerful. I get to stand on stage and have something to say. What I have learned in particular is to build in moments of rest & to place accents. Learning objective achieved!
• I am a punkrocker and learned from Grainne to be more: ‘getto style’!!
• I changed my way by radiating more tranquility and using more space on stage. I think I have achieved my learning goals, but I still have to work on them.
• I have become more aware of the impact I can make. The training has given me more confidence in the way I present myself. My learning objective has therefore certainly been achieved.
• By analyzing the images and rehearsing I have been able to improve my presentation skills.
• I am more aware that I have to radiate tranquility, how I can present a good story & so that I come across more confidently.
• I have more pleasure and confidence in presenting. I dare to play with emotions and silences more, and can structure my story better and know better how to captivate my audience. I have certainly achieved all my learning goals.
• I learned a lot from the training, and was even able to apply it in recent weeks. Some sentences really stayed with me: “you can be there, you can be on stage”. As a result of which I now dare to take the rest during a presentation and try not to rush it so that I can get rid of it asap. Even playing the piano I now take my rest. It was also said on the first day “because you have not been in the spotlight in the past, you are not used to that”. How can you get used to that in 6 weeks I thought? Bizarre how you can get used to standing there in such a short time.
• Own learning goals achieved: yes! But I’m going to keep focusing to keep improving it.
• I dare to look at people and see their reaction. I am more relaxed on stage. I understand better how to make rapport.
• Learning goals certainly achieved! I go on stage with more conviction and know how to bring more emotion into it, so that I can really make an impact. Also the way in which, such as enthusiasm and structure.
• I put more of myself (values, myself outside of work, etc.) into the presentation. As a result, more impact. I was able to respond more to the audience by first naming what I saw. Because of the above I have achieved my learning goals. Now keep rehearsing a lot.
• More chronology involving the public through imagination. Rest – seriously – small – big – guts.
• More aware of what I do. More aware of how certain elements/behavior influence your performance. The spirit to further improve. Did I reach my goal? Not fully but getting there.
• I have “stage fear”. This training taught me how to control my emotions and tell my story in a controlled and impactful way. I now radiate more confidence on stage than ever before. Yes, I have achieved more than my learning goals!
• More theatrical, showing more emotions and better highlighting the struggle. Better structure of the story.
• Yes, I have more peace of mind when I’m on stage. I dare to drop more silences in my story / conversation.
• Yes, in attitude, story etc. on stage as well as preparation etc. more confident to be on stage.

In what practical ways do you see your learning during the storytelling applicable to your daily business life? 

• When giving training courses, presentations, proposals, but also just conversations with customers. Very applicable!
• In many ways. Business is about maintaining relationships. Into the Light / storytelling is a new tool in my toolbox that I can use to maintain relationships.
• I can now complete the preparation more concretely by making the start more concrete, defining struggles, making the profile public and formulating a bouncer / incentive.
• Make customer conversations more personal. Including storytelling elements in my workshops.
• I am aware of small techniques. I will use it in presentations, in day to day meetings.
• Making impact with emotions!!
• When telling a story / conveying a message. Both private and with customers.
• In all important conversations 1 on 1 and all presentations that I will be doing in the future.
• Client and internal staff presentations. As a tool for development of people/staff in my unit.
• Business: internal presentations. Private: go deeper into making rapport. See who is doing this right and learn from it.
• Spend time on each presentation in preparation. Pay attention to audience engagement during presentations. Importance of preparation and warm-up.
• Pay more attention to how I can tell a story and be more aware of my physical presentation. In private and work, as I am more aware.
• I will apply the “lessons learned” in all my future presentations and also in conversations.
• Overall believability & impression, NLP will be a big part in this. The right styles & face in presentations another.
• Describing and expressing feelings. Being able to speak more calmly while presenting. I have already used the “warm up exercises”.
• Think about the message at your story, put personal elements in your story.
• In introductions with small groups, social gatherings etc. I can now tell better stories, anecdotes.
• Decisiveness in conversations. I enjoyed practicing and presenting; do more often.
• While persuading messages + good / bad news conversations + work. So wherever possible.
• In press conversations and at parties, events and with customers.
• I think this is difficult to answer. You can take such an experience with you for a long time.
• Try to present in an enthusiastic way to the customer, to make even more connection.
• Prepare better for presentations, play with style and able to vary.
• While giving presentations for sure.
• It may not be directly applicable but it made me realise how important preparation is for each type of “event”, training, presentation or meeting and that working on how to deliver the message is important > client buy the “why” first then the “how” and then the “what”.
• Speaking / presenting in front of (large) groups of people. Certainly also during informal activities and conversations with the customer.
• Rehearsing, tweaking and testing story fragments while travelling with colleagues and / or friends.
• Presentations / sales pitches etc. Even done so already.
• Speaking at events and meetings.
• In various situations. Within our organization and in particular in guiding our “final presentations”.
• With the many possibilities that I have at my organization. Lots of presentations. I intend to choose the podium more often.
• Take more time for my conversations. More thinking about explanations, discussions, who is my audience and how do I take them with me.
• My plan is to prepare and present a story every week during the lecture cycle that I have to teach.
• For future presentations, but also for normal meetings with customers. Binding customers and making rapport.
• During all presentations, but also in personal conversations.
• In any case also privately as a football coach!
• During presentations, meetings, stories in the pub. Telling stories in proposals, to friends and family.
• To motivate teams. Ideas I have to spread. Including customers in change processes.
• Yes, I will use it in presentations, but also when I am in group processes.
• With every form of communication / presentation. Keep practicing, “continuous improvement”, non-verbal, making impact, voicing, rapport.
• Daily practice, from a short presentation to a personal conversation (rapport).
• Eye for detail. Sketching the situation. No longer afraid of presentations.
• During customer conversations and presentations I can use what I have learned in terms of structure in my story and I can use my knowledge about making an impact and my self-confidence.
• I can also use everything I learned in the course in the pub or at friends’ homes. My stories will be a lot more interesting now.
• Demonstrate tranquility, professionalism, and something ‘own’. Not just presenting about “lean”, or about financial models. But how can I show something of myself, and how can I convince my audience? In addition to these points, I have also developed myself on a personal level due to the very good ‘piercing’ questions.
• Private = telling stories and conducting conversations. Business = telling and presenting and conveying my main message clearly.
• I start to think more from “who is the other”. In a strange group, private or business, try what happens when I do something personal. When I have a presentation: visualize so that I have fewer nerves.
• Especially the use of tools such as drawing the graphs, and how you can best convey a story in your head to the audience through structure. Post-it method helped with this.
• In my work I conduct a lot of customer conversations on a daily basis. I can use the practical tips and techniques of the course a lot.
• Bringing presentations of often premature concepts to life more.
• Awareness – ability to change styles – taking myself more serious.
• I will present more often. Taking the lead in conversations. And dare to show more content and emotion in order to connect with the audience (= my customers and team).
• I found the warming up and grounding exercises very practical. I will use this for new customer contact.
• I can now convey my story better to my audience. Before I start, I try to find out who my audience is instead of sending it directly.
• Presentations at work! Lifelong during social events / conversations.

How did you find working with the workbook Into the Light? Did you like the assignments?

• The workbook is playful, inspiring and fun. Assignments are good, they give you structure in the preparation process.
• For me it is not a workbook, but an inspiration book.
• The assignments went well and I really did the homework. The stories it contains are useful for future situations.
• Brilliant book. Good assignments.
• Nice book, lots of inspiration. Nice as a reference book.
• I use this book as a ‘’ Storytelling bible.’ Many, many thanks.
• Yes! Not too much, not too little and the book is full of inspiring things.
• Nice book, a bit thick, but certainly a nice book to keep and look back in.
• Positive, fresh materials. Like to work with it,  Will serve as something to ‘fall back on’, going forward. Thank you!
• Fantastic book!
• Very good, accessible and convenient. The resources referenced in the book are also very helpful.
• Very good! Very useful reference book.
• Challenging in terms of time commitment, but useful to do this instead of during the course itself.
• The assignments were different from normal and stimulating.
• The book is truly beautiful and very inspiring and I will use it often. Good assignments, very extensive.
• LOVED IT!
• The book is a good addition to the training. I will certainly use it more often and the exercises will help prepare presentation in the future.
• The book is beautiful! The assignments were good.
• The workbook is great, very useful ‘homework’.
• Good, inspiring. Very nice assignments that encourage reflection.
• Excellent! Piece of art.
• Top! Nice book and useful assignments!
• Nice, good to read and repeat the techniques in the lessons.
• Fantastic beautiful book!
• The “compliment assignment” made me grow.
• Great, I will keep the workbook and re-read parts when preparing for presentations.
• The book is nice to work with. I don’t have specific comments or assignments which are relevant to the training and well designed.
• Very much liked, a very nicely designed book that I will certainly look back in.
• Assignments were great fun. Great experience, thank you very much.
• Valuable! Take a lot out of it, including tips for other books. Assignments challenge me!
• Fantastic, it keeps the course top of mind. At the same time it was a challenge to devote enough attention and time to it. Keep up the good work!
• A whole new experience. I make many enthusiastic about it. Even a little jealous.
• Very nice book. I had the feeling that we had not used it to the full. It says more than we’ve covered.
• The workbook helps you through the course, which also includes the documents from the meetings. Some assignments, such as looking at someone else, must be given the opportunity.
• Very pleasant; it is very uncomfortable to prepare assignments every week. The good thing about it is that you cannot escape it during the entire period.
• Very much liked, good handles. Also the way we’ve used it, more through practice and not theory stamping. Well done!
• Only course I did my homework for!
• Fun! Something different. The assignments were well proportioned.
• Good assignments – diversity. Good that homework was given and recordings were made.
• Worked really well. Didn’t know that there were so many stories to tell.
• Workbook is a real addition to the meetings.
• Nice book, very inspiring.
• Super! Nice book and cool fun and educational tips.
• Cool, educational, original, constructive.
• Very cool! Inspiring and proud to walk around and show it.
• Great, it is a very cool book. I also loved the inspirational assignment, which I immediately included in the guidance of my pupils.
• Workbook is great!
• I found the assignments fun and educational. Especially the assignment where you had to draw 6 different lifelines with peaks and troughs, that made me think about myself. In terms of storytelling, I learned a lot from the individual sessions and from presenting and watching other people’s presentations and the feedback they and I received.
• Fun!! And inspiring. Guiding and very instructive by how assignments are completed to really help you on your way and to get the most out of yourself.
• Nice book, nice assignments and help you through the training. Especially drawing the graph and using post-its worked great.
• Very creative and different, stays better.
• Great, but in practice you don’t always look at it. Most improvements were made through film and personal coaching.
• The workbook has helped me express my thoughts in words. The exercises helped shape my story.
• Yes, it was different from a book as we are used to. It was lively and a perfect tool to get started on your own.
• Loved it, very creative and engaging.

And more….

• Bis Bis, Bravo
• Scale it!
• Thank you! Great fun, informal fun atmosphere, positive and fun!
• A fantastic workout. Thank you!
• Keep up the good work!
• Great trainers. Thank you for your great learning moments.
• It was one big party.
• The best training ever!
• I think everyone should follow this. Applause!
• You guys are awesome!
• Thank you very much for this fun & interesting course!
• Thank you for the good tips!
• Many thanks for this opportunity and course !!
• Thank you very much for the educational and also relaxing moments. I have learned a lot from you that I can and will apply not only in business, but also in my personal life.
• You have inspired me. Thank you. Top training!
• Recommended to colleagues. Thanks a lot!
• Best training I had and great people????
• Incredibly well-designed training.
• I felt completely familiar with the environment so that I could tell my most personal story. Thanks!
• One of the best workouts I’ve ever had. Because people with real knowledge can transfer that knowledge well.
• Thank you for your support & creating the safe environment in which everyone could be open & personal.
• Thank you for the exciting, varied substantive & inspiring / stimulating training !!
• It was a very educational training in which I managed to develop a lot. Thanks for that!
• I recommend everyone in my team to do this course! It was a lot of fun / educational. Thanks.
• Grainne is a radiant person who has loads to give. Andreas is a gifted artist and listener. Very adept in teaching.