How I got two screen-addicted teens to put their phones down

I looked across the restaurant table at my nephews — Silas scrolling YouTube Shorts, Levi deep in some mobile game — and made a decision that terrified me.

“Guys, put your phones away. I want to tell you a story.”

And I realized the second I asked to tell them a story, there was no going back.

I was worried the boys would think their uncle was just another boring old man.

Worse yet, I worried that if my story fell flat, the boys wouldn’t learn the important life lesson I wanted to teach them that night.

My nephews obliged. They put their phones away and gave me their attention.

And I started to tell them a story …

At the 8-minute mark my story ended. Silas and Levi gave me undivided attention the entire time.

I looked at both nephews. Both were smiling.

Spellbound.

Silas and Levi didn’t even realize the story was over.

They even forgot they owned a phone!

Through story, I captured the hearts, minds, and attention of my two nephews.

That’s the power of a story well told.

It was there, looking at my smiling nephews with no phones in sight, that I realized something …

Stories well told are an unfair leadership advantage. Whether you are talking to your own kids, your students, or your staff … STORY is the best way to influence, inspire, and move people to act.

In that moment, everything I'd been studying about storytelling suddenly made sense.

Story is one of the most powerful tools a Ruckus Maker has available.

And that’s why I’m excited to offer a brand new, 6-week storytelling workshop.

If you’d benefit from elevating your storytelling skills, all you need to do is hit REPLY and type in one word — STORY — and hit SEND.

I’ll follow up with program details within 24 hours.

And from there you can make an informed decision if this program is a great fit for you or not.

Keep Making a Ruckus,

Danny

PS … Want to become a better storyteller so that you make an even greater impact on your campus? Hit REPLY to this email and type STORY into the body and hit SEND. I’ll follow up with next steps.