Most of us were left to work out how to tell a story by instinct. So stories drift. We explain more than we need to, include too many details, begin too early, and finish too late, leaving people nodding politely without ever truly connecting.
Craft and structure solve this. The mechanics of story can be taught, learned, and practised. Once you hold a reliable framework, you never have to guess what to cut or panic about remembering your points again.
StoryLab is practice-based. Six weeks, the same cohort, the same Zoom room, and one story that you build from week one to week six.
You craft it in both forms:
Written: 1,000 to 1,500 words with sharp, memorable scenes.
Told aloud: 5 to 7 minutes spoken naturally without notes or scripts.
Same story, two shapes, real craft in each.
What everyone here shares: one moment from your own life that still carries heat. That is enough to begin. You can arrive with your story still unchosen: Week 1 is built for exactly that.
“Unpacking the structural process gave me a whole new level of confidence.”
grace s
Finding the Hook: Why this story, and why now. Opening with impact and identifying your core heat.
Stakes & Meaning: What is truly at risk for your character and listener so people feel something, not just nod politely.
Structure That Holds: The exact structural framework to eliminate rambling and hold your narrative together on every story after this.
Scene & Specificity: Moving from vague summarising to vivid specific scenes that create pictures in the mind.
Character, Voice & Presence: Developing your voice and speaking without notes while retaining calm confidence.
The Edit & Delivery: Knowing exactly what to cut so the story can live, followed by live oral sharing.
written at 1,000–1,500 words, and told aloud in 5–7 minutes without notes.
That prevents rambling and keeps audiences engaged from start to finish.
so your core message shines through without losing its emotional heart.
so every future story starts from a solid foundation.
You will write between sessions, practise aloud in small breakout rooms, and both give and receive feedback in a safe, grounded environment.
Teaching is recorded and stays available for seven days, so you can revisit anything you want to hear again. The learning itself happens live, in the room, with the people beside you.
I am Sita Brand, founder of Settle Stories, an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation. I have spent four decades telling stories in prisons, on stages, in funding rooms, and in the moments that genuinely count. I trained with Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estés and was ordained by Thich Nhat Hanh.
What I know for certain is that storytelling is method. The same techniques hold whether you are writing for the page or speaking aloud, whether you are shaping a memoir piece, pitching an idea, or telling the truth about your own life.
When: Wednesdays, 23, 30 Sept, 7, 14, 21, 28 Oct
Time: 6.30pm to 8pm BST, live on Zoom
Cohort Size: Twelve people maximum
Investment: £297
Enrolment Closes: 15 September 2026
How To Find And Tell Your Story is a two-hour online taster workshop (Session Zero). You meet the structural framework, experience how the teaching feels, and leave with a story worth developing.
Next Session: 3 September, 6pm to 8pm | Price: £16.50
Come with a moment that still has heat in it and week one will help you find the story inside it.
Teaching is recorded and available for seven days afterwards.
All three. You build one story in both written and spoken forms, using techniques that apply to stage pieces, proposals, and personal narratives alike.
Expect around an hour a week: writing, practising aloud, and reviewing feedback.
None at all. StoryLab teaches the structural mechanics from the ground up.
Twelve people maximum, ensuring everyone gets individual airtime and feedback.
Yes. Email info@settlestories.org.uk and we will raise an invoice.
“Insight into how I was selling myself short on my own story, and the courage to dive into those waters.”
Diane Wyzga
Twelve places maximum. Enrolment closes 15 September 2026.
