Jenny Riddle

I Had One Thing On My Mind…

April 14, 2020 Jenny Riddle Leave a Comment

Almost a month ago today, on the evening of Thursday, March 12, I had ONE thing on my mind.

I hadn’t been home too long from my evening speaking gig, and I’m lying on the couch watching Kelly Clarkson and John Legend on The Voice, when at 9:30 P.M. my husband walks through the front door and announces: “The grocery store is completely out of…TOILET PAPER.”

I do a mental checklist of how many rolls of TP we have on hand. Like 4 or 5. For some reason, we had forgotten to buy toilet paper … [Read more...] about I Had One Thing On My Mind…

The Most Important Story You Will Ever Tell

December 5, 2019 Jenny Riddle 1 Comment

I often tell people that I have the best job in the world because stories have the ability to inspire and change people’s lives. That’s the power of storytelling.
But there can be a dark side to storytelling, too. Those stories we tell ourselves that keep us from being who we really want to be or doing what we truly want to do.
Case in point.
I was five days out from doing my new talk for the first time, and I was having a moment of doubt—my stomach knotting up a bit. Would what I have to … [Read more...] about The Most Important Story You Will Ever Tell

Charismatic Speakers VS Storytellers

October 28, 2019 Jenny Riddle Leave a Comment

I knew I shouldn’t have done it. The minute I walk through the sliding doors of the Baltimore airport I hand over my suitcase to a well-dressed gentleman in a button-down shirt and grey slacks, who says in his beautiful South African accent, “Looking for a cab?”
Next thing I know I’m gliding in a black town car toward Baltimore where I am to speak about strategic storytelling and best public speaking tips at a leadership conference.
Yep. I fall for the the oldest trick in the book, getting … [Read more...] about Charismatic Speakers VS Storytellers

The Trouble With Rules

September 23, 2019 Jenny Riddle Leave a Comment

I hate making word and grammar mistakes. I can still vividly remember when I was 17 visiting my sister at the University of Chicago where she was a graduate student and playing Trivial Pursuit with her friends. They were REALLY smart, needless to say, and I read aloud a card mispronouncing the word “municipal.” I thought it was munincipal, with a second “n,” so that’s how I said it, and, I mean, I can still hear the laughter and all of them correcting me. Her friends, not my sister.

Missed Opportunities and a Lesson from Toy Story 4

August 20, 2019 Jenny Riddle Leave a Comment

I was talking with a woman named Mary after my dramatization of Sally Field’s memoir this past May. As she looked around the room, she bemoaned the fact that their beloved organization was having trouble recruiting new members.

Mary’s not alone. Last year I heard from businesses struggling to convert new prospects, churches seeking to expand their membership, non-profits trying to stay afloat, and people of all ages interviewing for jobs trying to stand out from the crowd.