August Professional Development Luncheon: Connect Through Storytelling

People have been telling stories since the beginning of time. Today, we are going to learn how to tell better, more effective stories that connect to our participants. By the end of this session today, my hope is that each one of you finds at least one new story to add to your training programs.

Objectives: By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Tell your stories more effectively, more professionally, making connections to both your audiences and to your content.

• Use stories and analogies to open and close your training sessions, to emphasize key points, and to make seamless transitions from one topic to another.

out the steps to organize your own story. (This is optional, but I think you can get more out of the session by preparing your thoughts in advance.) We will cover that content together, then I’ll give you a little more time to tweak your stories before we go into breakout rooms. Please be prepared to share!

About the Facilitator:

Christine Kostic is the VP of Membership for the St. Louis Chapter of ATD. She has a long career in training, leadership development, and as a leader herself. After earning her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh, she started her career as an assistant store manager for Walmart, and spent the next 15+ years working her way up to store manager, regional trainer, and eventually as the director of Field Training for the Sam’s Club US Division.

Christine spent the next eight years as a store manager for Giant Eagle, a supermarket chain based in Pittsburgh, PA. She then spent over a year at Lowe’s corporate office in Mooresville, NC as a Sr. Program Leader in Leadership Development (supporting merchandising and women’s initiatives) before moving to St. Louis in February, 2020 to join the Centene University team. She is now a Sr. Learning Consultant specializing in the areas of Leadership and Professional Development. Christine has a passion for developing leaders, and enjoys helping others achieve success.