Long Story Short: The Only Storytelling Guide You’ll Ever Need

This is a practical storytelling guide from comedian, winner of multiple Moth storytelling competitions, and founder of the Upright Citizens Brigade storytelling program Margot Leitman.

Did you ever wish you could tell a story that leaves others spellbound? Storytelling teacher and champion Margot Leitman will show you how! With a fun, irreverent, and infographic approach, this guide breaks a story into concrete components with ways to improve content, structure, emotional impact, and delivery through personal anecdotes, relatable examples, and practical exercises.

“When you watch Margot Leitman telling stories onstage, you find yourself laughing hysterically and somehow feeling less alone in a world where it seems everyone else got some kind of instruction manual. And now she’s literally gone and given you an instruction manual.”—Dan Kennedy, author and host of The Moth storytelling podcast