My grandfather, Morris "Smitty" Smith, was a great storyteller, and yet he didn't like to talk about himself. One day as we were walking on his beloved Atlantic City Boardwalk, I asked him to tell me his story, and he said something that changed my life: "My story, who would be interested in that?" I prodded him to share a bit about his time coming to America. And when he did? Smitty started talking and didn't stop for three hours. That moment was revelatory. I realized that everyone has a story, but we need to remember to ask for that story. I made it my mission to encourage and empower people to tell their stories and create environments ripe for listening and receiving stories. My expertise in the creation, curation, and storytelling and communications has powered a meaningful career as a writer, editor, content strategist, and speaker. I’m best known for founding the Six-Word Memoir Project (sixwordmemoirs.com), a short, inspirational, and inviting story format that has sparked millions of people to start telling their story. My expertise in the power of brevity to get to the heart of the matter has proven to be a valuable tool for communications, marketing, and engagement in corporate spaces such as Dell, Nationwide, Levi’s, Netflix, Turner Global Inclusion, JPMorgan Chase, OhioHealth, Dress for Success, and Zen Hospice Project. I work with teams to increase focus, break down biases and generational gaps among co-workers, and help hone a company’s mission, vision, and message. Whether working with the C-suite, admins, or entire companies, my communications approach delivers an accessible, positive, and genuinely enjoyable way for employees to celebrate one another and build teams and a way for brands to hone and express their story to the outside world. Oprah Magazine called me “on a quest to spark self-expression in everyone.” It is a quest, and a life’s work that I love. My work as an innovator in the storytelling movement has been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, LA Times, Washington Post, USA Today, The Guardian, Edutopia, NPR, and the BBC. I’ve spoken on storytelling at conferences including TEDx, PopTech, SXSWi, Summit Series, Promax Global Entertainment Marketing, AARP 50+, and Dell Marketing Leader Summit. See my speaker site, www.sixwordsmith.com, for more information and a short teaser reel.SPECIALTIES: Content strategy; communications; team building; ice breaking; diversity and inclusion workshops; live event and speech coaching; throwing spaghetti at the wall — and watching lots of it stick.