<![CDATA[Matthew Dicks]]>https://matthewdicks.substack.comhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2F7n!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F898f9a91-e392-48e8-98f3-ce6bb52fdee0_1280x1280.pngMatthew Dickshttps://matthewdicks.substack.comSubstackWed, 04 Nov 2026 22:08:45 GMT<![CDATA[Advice from long ago]]>https://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/advice-from-long-agohttps://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/advice-from-long-agoWed, 04 Nov 2026 13:30:44 GMTI was teaching a storytelling workshop last month when a woman approached me and asked if I remembered her.

I did not and immediately felt bad.

She told me not to worry. It was a long time ago, and our meeting was brief. But it turned out to be more impactful than I could have ever known.

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]]><![CDATA[Monday advice]]>https://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/monday-advicehttps://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/monday-adviceMon, 02 Nov 2026 12:52:27 GMT

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]]><![CDATA[The “No Emotion” Zone]]>https://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/the-no-emotion-zonehttps://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/the-no-emotion-zoneSun, 01 Nov 2026 19:49:25 GMTI once had a client who, after hearing me tell a story during a workshop, said, “That’s all fine and good, but what if I don’t want to tell a story that makes people laugh and cry? What if I just want to give them the information they need to make a decision?”

When I told my 14-year-old son, Charlie, about this exchange, he immediately said, “So he wants to tell a bad story?”

Yes.

My 14-year-old son understood something that my adult, highly educated, presumably well-compensated client did not.

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]]><![CDATA[Three Kinds of Storytellers: Why Memorization Is the Enemy of Connection]]>https://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/three-kinds-of-storytellers-why-memorizationhttps://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/three-kinds-of-storytellers-why-memorizationSun, 01 Nov 2026 19:12:56 GMTA few months ago, I worked with the leaders of a tech company, helping them tell the stories of their work and their company.

I spent a lot of time helping these folks prepare to tell their stories live and on camera.

They all performed brilliantly, but they fell into three distinct types.

The differences between these three groups were striking. Even mo…

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]]><![CDATA[No more breaks of this kind]]>https://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/no-more-breaks-of-this-kindhttps://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/no-more-breaks-of-this-kindMon, 05 Oct 2026 16:36:35 GMTIf you’re running a workshop, speaking at a conference, or training employees and you tell attendees they may take a bio-break, they should carry you to the restroom and flush your head down the toilet.

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]]><![CDATA[Announcing your goals makes it less likely that you will achieve them, but what if you’re not an idiot?]]>https://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/announcing-your-goals-makes-it-lesshttps://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/announcing-your-goals-makes-it-lessSun, 27 Sep 2026 18:01:48 GMTReaders of my daily blog, Grin and Bear It, know that for more than 17 years, I have posted my yearly goals and my progress (or lack thereof) every month to hold myself accountable.

This is the latest update.

Oddly, these are often some of my most popular posts. People love to see me succeed and fail to achieve my goals, and I’ve certainly done my share o…

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]]><![CDATA[The shorter version is always the best version]]>https://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/the-shorter-version-is-always-thehttps://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/the-shorter-version-is-always-theThu, 24 Sep 2026 13:25:51 GMTI am, and always will be, an admirer of anyone who understands that the shorter sermon, the shorter meeting, the shorter training session, and the shorter story are almost always the best versions of those things.

Time is our most precious commodity.

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]]><![CDATA[Complexity be damned]]>https://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/complexity-be-damnedhttps://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/complexity-be-damnedSun, 20 Sep 2026 14:30:55 GMT

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A phrase that I say often and believe strongly is this:

“Nothing is as complicated as people think or want it to be.”

That second part of the statement is the one people don’t always realize, but it’s tragically true. There are people in th…

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]]><![CDATA[The Fonz can tell a story]]>https://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/the-fonz-can-tell-a-storyhttps://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/the-fonz-can-tell-a-storyThu, 17 Sep 2026 13:02:09 GMTWatch Henry Winkler answer this question from Graham Bensinger.

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]]><![CDATA[Get bored]]>https://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/get-boredhttps://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/get-boredWed, 16 Sep 2026 17:02:47 GMTOn an episode of WTF, musician and legend Aimee Mann said, “Being stuck in one place and bored out of your mind is the key to creativity.”

I couldn’t agree more.

image

My writing career began only because I was bored out of my mind, too.

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]]><![CDATA[Four strategies for doing long, hard things (including walking the hills of San Fransisco)]]>https://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/four-strategies-for-doing-long-hardhttps://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/four-strategies-for-doing-long-hardTue, 15 Sep 2026 13:33:00 GMTI finished dinner with a friend in San Francisco last week and pulled out my phone to call a Waymo when it occurred to me that I might walk back to my hotel instead of getting in a car.

I opened Google Maps and saw that the hotel was about an hour and 15 minutes away on foot.

Not a bad walk in most cities, but in San Francisco, it meant a lot of hills, and most of them would be uphill since I was down by the bay. I also had my backpack with me, which weighs more than 20 pounds.

I was a Boy Scout. I like to be prepared for everything.

It would be a tough walk, but I also knew I’d be spending the next day in planes, airports, and cars traveling home to Connecticut, so a walk, as hard as it might be, would do me some good.

“Walk as far as you can,” my friend suggested. “Then call for a car.”

“Never,” I said, and with that, my walk became a certainty.

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]]><![CDATA[A secret in an elevator]]>https://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/a-secret-in-an-elevatorhttps://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/a-secret-in-an-elevatorSat, 12 Sep 2026 14:02:21 GMTI delivered a keynote and conducted two workshops at the Connecticut Prevention Summit at Dunkin’s Park in Hartford on Wednesday, then headed to the airport and on to San Francisco to speak at a conference the next day.

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I was in a rush as …

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]]><![CDATA[Surprise is everything ]]>https://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/surprise-is-everythinghttps://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/surprise-is-everythingTue, 08 Sep 2026 15:30:57 GMTWhen I teach people about writing, storytelling, comedy, marketing, sales, or any other form of communication, I often say that surprise is the best thing you can offer an audience.

It’s why we wrap presents.

It’s why I’ve given my wife four surprise parties over the last 23 years together.

It’s why wedding proposals are often designed to surprise the person being asked.

Surprise is everything.

My definition of surprise is this:

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]]><![CDATA[My new book needs your help]]>https://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/my-new-book-needs-your-helphttps://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/my-new-book-needs-your-helpTue, 08 Sep 2026 13:15:23 GMTHello friends!

My next book, “Cardboard Knight,” is now available for preorder!

And if you’re a storytelling fan, this book might have a special appeal:

I took the stories I’ve been telling onstage for twenty years and gave them back to the boy who lived them.

The book is fiction, but if you know me and any of my stories, you’ll quickly realize that this b…

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]]><![CDATA[Substack Live coming up! ]]>https://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/substack-live-coming-uphttps://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/substack-live-coming-upSun, 06 Sep 2026 15:03:12 GMTTo my paid members:

Our next Substack Live is scheduled for Tuesday, September 8, at 1:00 PM EST.

Please bring your questions about anything I happen to know something about, including:

  • Writing and publishing — fiction and nonfiction

  • Storytelling

  • Stand-up comedy

  • Corporate consulting

  • Keynote speaking

  • Teaching

But don’t forget:

I also managed McDonald’s restaurants for more than a decade.

I was a wedding DJ for 26 years.

I still officiate weddings and work as a substitute minister at Unitarian Universalist churches.

I own and operate a company that produces online instructional conent related to storytelling and productivity.

My wife and I own and operate Speak Up — a company that produces live storytelling events throughout New England

I was once attacked by a monkey that escaped it’s cage at the zoo.

You can ask me about these things, too.

Or even things I don’t know anything about. That’s fun, too.

Your Zoom link is below. See you soon.

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]]><![CDATA[Resist the click. It is everything.]]>https://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/resist-the-click-it-is-everythinghttps://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/resist-the-click-it-is-everythingSun, 06 Sep 2026 13:03:26 GMTI wrote about my distaste for the word “provider” to signify a medical professional.

I have a few reasons for not liking this choice of word, but one is its lack of specificity.

I wrote:
________________________________________________

Many people are providers. In fact, most people are providers in one way or another.

My landscaper is a provider of lawn ca…

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]]><![CDATA[Reduced to an email address]]>https://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/reduced-to-an-email-addresshttps://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/reduced-to-an-email-addressSat, 05 Sep 2026 14:02:41 GMTI noticed this on my daughter’s phone while sitting in a coffee shop in New York.

Please note how my wife and my son are listed in her “Find My” app.

Then note me at the bottom.

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]]><![CDATA[A forgotten goldfish might just be gold]]>https://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/a-forgotten-goldfish-might-just-behttps://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/a-forgotten-goldfish-might-just-beFri, 04 Sep 2026 13:21:42 GMTWhile flying to Washington, DC, a couple of weeks ago, I heard this message over the intercom while sitting in the airport:

“Would the passenger who left their goldfish at security please return to pick it up immediately?”

If you’re not a writer of fiction, here’s what you probably don’t know:

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]]><![CDATA[“Meh” is a disastrous way to live]]>https://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/meh-is-a-disastrous-way-to-livehttps://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/meh-is-a-disastrous-way-to-liveThu, 03 Sep 2026 13:15:12 GMTI asked a friend — via text message — if he wanted to join my stand-up partner and me for an upcoming open mic night.

He said he’d think about it.

“Just say yes,” I texted back, as any supportive friend would.

His response:

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]]><![CDATA[A goldfish might just be gold]]>https://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/a-goldfish-might-just-be-goldhttps://matthewdicks.substack.com/p/a-goldfish-might-just-be-goldTue, 01 Sep 2026 13:32:21 GMTWhile flying to Washington, DC, a couple of weeks ago, I heard this message over the intercom while sitting in the airport:

“Would the passenger who left their goldfish at security please return to pick it up immediately?”

If you’re not a writer of fiction, you should know:

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