In this talk, Matthew Dicks, an awardwinning and nationally recognized storyteller and internationally bestselling novelist, will review the basic elements of a great story, moving past the ridiculous "beginning, middle, and end" paradigm and into a practical, actionable explanation that can transform anyone into a better storyteller almost immediately.

Matthew is a 45time Moth StorySLAM and 6time Moth GrandSLAM champion and the founder and Artistic Director of Speak Up, a Hartfordbased storytelling organization. Matthew Dicks is an awardwinning elementary school teacher and an internationally bestselling author. He’s also the humor columnist for Seasons magazine and an advice columnist with Slate magazine.

Matthew is a 45time Moth StorySLAM and 6time Moth GrandSLAM champion and the founder and Artistic Director of Speak Up, a Hartfordbased storytelling organization. In addition to performing, he teaches storytelling and communication strategies to corporations, nonprofits, religious institutions, universities, hospitals, public schools, advertising agencies, and many more. He has most recently worked with Yale University, MIT, the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council, LEGO, and the Mohawk Nation of Canada.

Matthew is also a wedding DJ, playwright, minister, standup comic, life coach, and Lord of Sealand. Matt loves ice cream cake, golf, tickling his children, staring at his wife, and not sleeping. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx