We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Doug Stevenson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Doug, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

For many years, I studied acting and acted in plays, including GREASE, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Of mice and Men. I played leading roles, supporting roles and Shakespeare clowns. I learned the craft of acting, how to be present in a role and how to make my character come alive.

Along the way I joined an avante-garde acting company. One night we were asked to leave the theater and go out into the community and doing something that was a risk. My acting partner and I went streaking and got arrested naked. I tried turning that story into a stand-up comedy act but didn’t know how to tell the story. No one laughed.

Many years later, after I left Hollywood and moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, I was giving a presentation and out of the blue I said, “Hey, do you guys want to hear a funny Hollywood story?” And I started telling my streaking story, only this time I acted it out. I didn’t just stand still and tell it, I did it. I acted out running down the street naked and getting arrested naked.

This story became the foundation for a new form of storytelling called Story Theater. When people started asking me to teach them how to tell a story by acting out parts of it, I did a series of retreats where I evolved the methodology.

I became well-respected as a master storytelling teacher, coach and storyteller. As a keynote speaker, I was hired time and again because of my stories. I eventually wrote the book, Doug Stevenson’s Story Theater Method for Strategic Storytelling in Business.

I didn’t make it as an actor on Hollywood. However, I found a way to repurpose my acting skills in a new way. The skills that didn’t pay off as an actor in Hollywood, made me a celebrity among my fellow professional speakers and trainers. I also realized that a 60-minute keynote speech is basically a one-man show.

Doug, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My coaching clients describe me as a word ninja, a master storyteller and an intuitive story and speech coach. For 25 years I gave keynote speeches and delivered corporate training programs to Fortune 500 companies in 18 countries. My area of expertise is strategic storytelling for leaders, salespeople, marketers, fundraisers and entrepreneurs.

I host a podcast titled: The Storytelling That Sticks for Business and Life Podcast where I impart my how-to wisdom about speaking and storytelling skills. Now that I am retired from the road, the podcast is a way for me to repackage the tools and techniques I taught in ballrooms, meeting rooms and conference centers in front of large and small audiences.

I began my professional life as an actor in Chicago and Hollywood. I was the original Danny Zuko in the world-premier Chicago production of GREASE. I won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Acting award for my portrayal of Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I was an artistic success, but like most actors, I did not make it big in movies and TV.

After escaping Hollywood, I relocated to Colorado Springs, Colorado where I changed gears. I got my Real Estate Brokerage license and for a decade, helped people find their dream home. While in real estate, I discovered that people got paid to give speeches. I pursued a career as a professional speaker and became a very successful speaker, trainer and coach.

I am the author of Doug Stevenson’s Story Theater Method for Strategic Storytelling in Business.

I have given two TEDx Talks, and have coached hundreds of people on their TED Talks, keynote speeches and stories. I am most proud of my intuitive ability to meet people where they are and to help them realize their full potential.

You already have the stories. You may have told them already. And I bet you know they could be much better if you only had the proper skills and guidance. I can help make your stories come alive to that you can make a difference in the lives of others.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I always knew I wanted to be an actor in the movies. I dropped out of college and started studying acting in Chicago when I was 19. This was in the late 60’s and early 70’s and it was hard to make a living as an actor in Chicago at that time. After 3 years, I decided to head out to Los Angeles, but I didn’t have much money or a car. So I hitchhiked with a duffel bag full of clothes and $250 dollars. I was scared but determined. Eight days later I arrived in LA.

Making it as an actor in Hollywood is hard. The odds are that you will fail. If you don’t believe deep in your soul that this is your destiny or something close to it, it’s just too painful. And still, I believed. I did plays, showcases, stand-up comedy, improvisational theater.

You have to have an agent to get anywhere. But how do you get one when they don’t want to talk to you? But I got in my car and went cold-calling from agent after agent. First day, five agents, no takers, Second day, another five, no takers. On the third day, an agent said yes. That’s determination. That’s resilience.

Over a period of thirteen years, I auditioned for TV pilots and small movie roles. I was in 6 movies and 2 movies of the week. You wouldn’t know from watching them that I was even there. That’s how insignificant the roles were. It was painful and eventually, soul crushing. I tried everything and nothing seemed to move the needle. So I packed my car and my dog and headed east.

I was determined to be a success somehow. I just didn’t know how. It turned out that the first success was in real estate. I could get clients. I could market and sell myself. I learned how to do that in Hollywood.

I translated that success into a professional speaking and training career. I just wouldn’t give up on myself.

I learned to accept that the same skills and talents that didn’t work in Hollywood were the same skills and talents that made me successful in business. The most powerful lesson I have learned is to go for it or to aim high, but to know when to cut your losses and move on.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I knew that in order to achieve my big dream of acting in movies, I had to leave everything and everyone I knew behind in Chicago and move to Los Angeles. That was a life pivot and one that was very scary and fraught with uncertainty.

After thirteen years in Hollywood, I was angry, resentful and depressed because my dream, my identity and my purpose in life had become a nightmare. I felt that my soul was in danger and that I had to leave. I didn’t even have a destination or a job. I just packed my dog in my car and left.

I knew I needed a fresh start where I could find my joy and happiness again. I wanted to find my one true love and get married and have kids. I wanted to own a house. I found financial and business success and stability in real estate. But it wasn’t enough. I was an actor, a performer. I had too much talent for it to lay dormant for long. And then I discovered professional speaker.

I found my true love and got married at the age of 44. Deborah and I have been married for 29 years.

After ten years in real estate, I made one last pivot. I left real estate behind for a full-time professional speaking career. Once again, I had an audience and I could tell my stories and make people laugh, cry and think.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.storytelling-in-business.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougstevenson1/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DougStevenson