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Unlock the Power of Storytelling with Kevin Allison, Creator and Host of RISK!

Kevin Allison

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Kevin Allison is the creator and host of the popular RISK! podcast, where people share their true stories.

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Kevin Allison is a comedian, writer, and performer, best known as the creator and host of the popular RISK! podcast. He is also a member of The State, a renowned sketch comedy group from the 90s. In addition to his work in comedy, Kevin has also founded The Story Studio, a storytelling school that teaches people how to craft and share their personal narratives.

Why you should book Kevin Allison for your next event

  • Expert storytelling: Kevin has years of experience crafting and performing personal narratives, and he knows how to captivate and engage an audience. He can tailor his stories to suit your event and audience, making for a truly memorable experience.
  • Diverse audience appeal: As the creator and host of RISK!, Kevin has showcased a wide range of storytellers from all walks of life, which means his stories and performances have broad appeal across age, gender, and cultural divides. Whether you’re hosting a corporate event or a public speaking engagement, Kevin can connect with your audience and leave them entertained and inspired.
  • Creative inspiration: In addition to his storytelling expertise, Kevin is also a skilled teacher and mentor. Through his work at The Story Studio, he has helped countless people find their own voice and develop their own personal narratives. Booking Kevin for an event can be an opportunity to inspire creativity and storytelling in your team, helping them communicate more effectively and authentically.

Kevin Allison is the host and creator of the wildly popular podcast and live show, RISK!, where people tell true stories they never thought they’d dare to share in public. Since 2009, the weekly podcast has grown to have over one million downloads per month and has featured profound, surprisingly intimate, and often hilarious true stories from people like Trevor Noah, Bowen Yang, Jenny Slate, Marc Maron, Sarah Silverman, Margaret Cho, Maria Bamford, Kumail Nanjiani and regular folks from around the world. In 2018, RISK! released its first book through Hachette Books, called RISK! True Stories People Never Thought They’d Dare to Share, edited by Kevin, to critical acclaim.

Kevin is also a member of the legendary sketch comedy group The State, whose 90’s MTV series remains a cult classic. He has appeared on shows like Cobra Kai, High Maintenance, Flight of the Conchords, Reno 911!, Comedy Bang Bang, and more. In 2011, he created a storytelling school called The Story Studio, where he teaches performers and professionals from all fields how to wow a crowd or a boardroom with their own true stories.

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Keynote by Kevin Allison

How Stories Help Us Connect

  • Our society has an unhealthy fixation on the things that divide us, but we find fulfillment and flourish when we find common ground. For millions of years, nothing has helped us connect with one another like sharing and listening to one another’s stories. Fred Rogers was known to carry a quote from a Benedictine nun in his wallet that read, “There isn’t anyone you couldn’t love once you’ve heard their story.” Studies show that teams and partnerships of all kinds are strengthened when members have empathized with one another in hearing about one another’s lives. So personal storytelling not only helps us reframe our perceptions about people who are different, but also makes us more effective as communicators and collaborators.
  • The audience walks away with examples of breakthroughs that people achieved with storytelling, practical tips for telling compelling stories, and simple exercises they can revisit again and again for coming up with new, persuasive stories to share.
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Keynote by Kevin Allison

Storytelling Techniques To Use in Day-to-Day Conversations

  • Storytellers know how to grab your attention, keep you engaged, and help you to remember a clear, persuasive point. But just as the ingredients in a great recipe can be enjoyed all by themselves, some of the key principles of storytelling can add charisma to your everyday communication, even when you don’t have a story to tell. The methods storytellers use to focus on the human side of things, bring the senses, thoughts and moods into play, and create and reward curiosity are just as easy to use in any conversation. We’ll walk through many examples of techniques used in stories and show how they can be used right off-the-cuff at the next cocktail party or around the water cooler.
  • The audience walks away with guidelines and examples for many techniques to make their conversational style more engaging. Employing them here and there, little by little over time, they will soon become like muscle memory.
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Keynote by Kevin Allison

Creative Self Care

  • For more and more people dealing with stress and overwhelm in today’s world, mental health is just as much of a concern as physical health. But while most people make time to exercise a few times a week, far fewer block out 10-to-20 minutes or so on most days to do what is called “inner work.” That might be because it’s easier to consistently return to something that feels less like work and more like play. Self care that incorporates the inspiring fun we all get out of being creative is the key. There are simple, easy-to-remember ways to make meditation, self-hypnosis, or personal journaling less time consuming, less heavy feeling. There are easy ways to add breaks for play into your day, whether you get a kick out of singing, dancing, acting, writing, drawing, crafting or taking photos or videos. This is a fun and stimulating talk with a little something for everyone.
  • The audience walks away with lots of guidelines for easy-to-do, creative and meditative activities.
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Kevin Allison - “Ham and Samurai”

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References

Every person who attended your workshop personally told me that you gave them the tools they needed to find their courage. I’m not sure I could have done it without your help.

Shayna M., Medical Student, Alberta, Canada

Thank you so much for such an engaging and, frankly, useful workshop today! You were able to get our team thinking about how to craft our messages more carefully, and you’ve given us a lot to process

Cathy G., The Wiley Agency

Your visit left us feeling, inspired, energized and motivated.

Lauren D., Professor, NYU

My one hour Storytelling meeting with Kevin was more productive and supportive than many of the hours I’ve spent with my therapists or my journal. We effortlessly touched on everything I set out to (which was a tall order), he made me feel seen and heard, and he provided a wealth of resources and direction to move forward. Seriously, if you have the inkling, take the Risk!

Chelsea

When you are ready to engage with Kevin to share or learn, you will be met with someone that is authentic and truly interested in you as a person and the stories that you bring. Take an opportunity to learn more about yourself and how to express it to others.

Joe S.

RISK! gives a platform to stories rarely heard, to people rarely represented and their most insane experiences. This book pushes us to live lives that inspire stories like these.

Ilana Glazer, co-creator and co-star of Broad City

RISK! Will move you to live fiercely and share your wildest truths.

John Hodgman, New York Times Columnist, writer, author, actor and comedian.
2023-09-14

Change Your Life Through Storytelling

You’ve heard it a million times: storytelling gets results. It’s true that telling stories is the key to effective communication in your career, but why? Doesn’t a lot of your day-to-day work boil down just to facts, data, and procedures? Aren’t stories mostly for fun? They certainly can be fun, but stories are for so […]

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