What's the Secret to Great Storytelling?

KPBS | By KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published February 10, 2009 at 6:00 AM PST

This story was published more than 15 years ago.

What's the secret to good storytelling? Can anyone be trained to tell a story well? We'll talk with Jay Allison, the creator of the NPR series "This I Believe" about the art of citizen storytelling.

Maureen Cavanaugh : It's said that everyone has at least one story that will stop your heart.

If that is the case, my next guest, journalist Jay Allison, is lucky to be alive. He's spent 25 years collecting people's stories, compiling them in anthologies and broadcasting them in documentaries.

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It's fair to say that anyone familiar with public broadcasting has heard something Jay Allison has produced. He's been behind projects such as "Lost and Found Sound" and the series of essays "This I Believe" for National Public Radio. And he produced documentaries for the ABC News show "Nightline."

You can hear Jay Allison speak on Tuesday, February 17, 2009, at 7:30 pm, at UCSD's ArtPower .

Guest

Jay Allison , journalist, and host and creator of the NPR series "This I Believe." He is also co-producer of "Lost & Found Sound" and "Hidden Kitchens."