The latest brilliant person to join the ranks of MasterClass teachers is none other than LeVar Burton: actor, director, podcast host, Reading Rainbow icon, and upcoming Jeopardy host (for a week in July). Burton’s class, The Power of Storytelling, will “help you connect authentically with any audience.”
As Burton says in the promo video, “Storytelling is one of the primary building blocks of civilization. Everything that is important to us as a species has been contained in stories.”
Though “the power of storytelling” sounds like a class for writers, Burton’s casting a wider net, explaining that he will help people learn to tell their own stories, and to use storytelling to be better communicators. (He also talks—endearingly—about how it relates to nervousness about public speaking.) “Learn how to find intention, use your voice, and mine your experiences to be a more effective and dynamic storyteller,” is how it’s explained in the course description.
Burton is the latest SFF icon with a course on MasterClass’s streaming education platform; you can also learn about Fantasy & Science Fiction from N.J. Jemisin, and about The Art of Storytelling from Neil Gaiman. MasterClass hosts courses from luminaries across a wide range of fields, from Annie Leibovitz teaching photography to Serena Williams teaching tennis. The platform runs on a subscription model, so if you sign up for one, you can try ’em all.
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