Becoming Storytellers

You know your story; you've lived it. But knowing a story and telling it are two different skills. You know your story; you've lived it. The family business, the restored building, the trail nobody else knows about, the reason you stayed. But knowing a story and telling it are two different skills, and the gap between them is where many good tourism experiences lose traction. Tourism is storytelling. It's what turns a stop into a memory and a visitor into someone who brings friends back next year. It's what a website, a tour script, a menu, a wayfinding sign, and a two-minute conversation at the front counter are all trying to do. In this half-day session, storyteller and performer Rob Malo works with you on the craft itself: finding the story worth telling, shaping it so it lands, and delivering it with confidence. Expect to be on your feet as much as in your seat; this is a working session with exercises, practice, and feedback, not a lecture on narrative theory. Who it's for: tourism operators, guides and front-line staff, attraction and museum interpreters, business owners, event organizers, and municipal and community organizations telling a place's story. You'll leave with: • A method for pulling the strong story out of everything you could say • Structure that works; in two minutes or twenty • Practical delivery skills: pacing, voice, presence, and reading a room • Your own story, drafted, tested out loud, and ready to use Tuesday, December 1, 2026 8:30 am — Welcome and check-in, light breakfast and refreshments served 9:00 am — Session begins 12:00 pm — Wrap-up Location: Stonewall Quarry Park Heritage Arts Centre, 166 Main StreetFree parking ITA Member: $40 per person Non-Member: $50 per person Includes light breakfast and refreshments Rob Malo / TiBert is a Franco-Manitoban storyteller, performer, and experience designer whose award-winning work spans graphic novels, AR audio tours, and VR language learning. He was Storyteller-in-Residence at the University of Manitoba and is behind Histoire cachée – In Plain Sight, a 2025 Winnipeg Tourism Award winner and 2026 Dare Innovation Award winner.