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Meet

Matthew Luhn

Former Pixar Story Artist & Animator
  • Over 25 years of Experience Creating Stories and Characters at Pixar Animation Studios, The Simpsons, and Beyond.
Speaker Fee:
$30,000 - $50,000
Virtual Fee:
$20,000 - $30,000
Travels From:
California
Matthew Luhn
Book Matthew Luhn
Speaker Fee: $30,000 - $50,000
Virtual Fee: $20,000 - $30,000

Matthew Luhn Speaker Biography

Matthew Luhn, Former Pixar Story Artist, is a writer, story consultant, creative writing instructor and keynote speaker with over 25 years’ experience creating stories and characters at Pixar Animation Studios, The Simpsons, and beyond.

Alongside his story work at Pixar, Matthew also trains CEO’s, marketing teams, directors and other professionals how to craft and tell stories for Fortune 500 companies, Academy Award winning movies and corporate brands.

Matthew’s “Story Seminars” and “Story for Business Workshops” run in New York City, Los Angeles, London, and other major cities worldwide. His “Story for Business Workshops” and keynotes train business leaders and entrepreneurs how to use storytelling to bridge the gap between heart and business to build brands and business communication, while his “Story Seminars” train attendees how to develop stories and write dialogue to create compelling stories and screenplays. His clients include Target, Procter and Gamble, Adidas, Sony, Mattel, Facebook, Charles Schwab, Microsoft, Warner Brothers, Google, Salesforce, Disney, and many more.

Matthew’s story credits include Toy Story (1995), Toy Story 2 (1999), Monsters Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003), Cars (2006), Ratatouille (2007), UP (2009), Toy Story 3 (2010), Monsters University (2013), Toy Story of Terror (2013), Toy Story That Time Forgot (2014), and other films and TV shows currently in development.

Matthew’s career began at 19 years old, as the youngest animator to work on The Simpson TV series. His TV credits on the The Simpsons include Kamp Krusty (1992), Lisa’s Pony (1992), Homer Alone (1992), Colonel Homer (1992), Homer Defined (1992), and Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk (1992).

Along with his seminars and consulting work, Matthew has a sustained interest in teaching and empowering children around the world how to draw, write, and make films. Collaborating with The General Pencil Company, the first pencil factory in the USA, Luhn has created a series of “how to draw” books and art programs for kids of all ages.

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Featured Videos

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The Art of Storytelling with Matthew Luhn
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Story Telling In Business – Pixar Story Teller Mathew Luhn at CIMC
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Creating a Feeling | Matthew Luhn | TEDxUCSB
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Speech Topics

STORYTELLING FOR BUSINESS

Storytelling is the #1 business skill necessary to connect, motivate, and lead people in today’s world. Stories compel us to engage in experiences, learn lessons, and define our values and ourselves within our organization. Matthew Luhn, a 20-year Pixar story veteran, brings his experience creating and developing 10 blockbuster films at Pixar, and provides practical strategies that teach and inspire people and teams to connect more effectively with audiences on an emotional level. Matthew uses the power of storytelling to bridge the gap between business and heart, driving your story toward one unforgettable selling point

 

INSPIRING CREATIVITY IN THE WORKPLACE

One of the most essential resources for any business to stay competitive is new ideas that spark innovation. As one of the original story creators at Pixar Animation Studios, Matthew Luhn participated in building and sustaining the creative culture at Pixar from startup to the most successful filmmaking group in the history of Hollywood. Matthew’s engaging and action-oriented talk will provide strategies on how to create a culture that encourages and nurtures new ideas, and embraces fear and failing as a necessary part of the creative process. He demonstrates how to empower relationships and build trust through authentic communication.

 

TO INNOVATION AND BEYOND

When your company’s product or service appears similar to your competitor’s offerings, how can you differentiate and get consumers to notice? In this enlightening and entertaining talk, Matthew Luhn, accomplished writer and Pixar story artist on the Toy Story films, Monsters Inc., Finding NemoCars, UP, and Ratatouille, will share his methods and experiences working with Disney/Pixar and advising other Fortune 500 companies. Audiences will learn how to innovate, differentiate and stay relevant in today’s business world, creating more value and winning customer loyalty.

 

EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP: HOW TO BE THE MOVIE HERO OF YOUR OWN STORY

Every story needs a great hero just like every business needs a great leader to inspire its people to achieve audacious goals. How can you become the hero of your own story? Matthew Luhn has more than 20 years of experience creating memorable and impactful heroes as a former Pixar storyteller and animator. In this entertaining and informative talk, Matthew shows you how you can develop your hero traits for leadership and business. By exploring and analyzing the characters of movie heroes and other great story protagonists, audiences will learn how to strengthen their likability, vulnerability, and vision to provide a model of outstanding leadership

 

VIRTUAL VISUAL STORYTELLING 

With working-from-home schedules increasing by 25-30% by the end of 2021, our ability to master visual virtual storytelling is essential to connecting with peers, customers, and potential customers online. In this interactive session, Matthew Luhn, writer, director, and former 20 year Pixar story artist, will share his 5 techniques on how to harness the power of visual storytelling to amplify your story and likability.

Visual storytelling compels us to engage in experiences, learn lessons, and define our values and ourselves within our organization. Research shows:

  • visuals are processed 60,000 times faster than words alone, 
  • and while people only remember 20% of what they read, they remember 80% of what they see
  • 90% of all information transmitted to our brains is visual. 93% of all human communication is visual
  • ads in color are read up to 40% more often than the same ads in black and white
  • 84.7% of consumers cite colors as the primary reason they buy a particular product
  • Research reveals people make a subconscious judgment about an environment, product, or person within 90 seconds of initial viewing
  • 52% of shoppers did not return to a story due to overall aesthetics
  • Using colors effectively, they can improve: comprehension by 73%, learning by 55-68% and reading by 40%

With 80% of our human experience filtered through our eyes, visual cues are vital to successfully getting a message across. From entertainment to business, visuals not only sell a product or service, but they also sell an experience around you and your story.

Each color has its own message and meaning, the more you learn about this critical design element, the more you will be able to leverage its powerful effects.

For example, once the consumer has overcome the issue of affordability, the visual appeal of an item is a major influence on a consumer’s buying decision. Learn about this and many more examples of how to use Virtual Visual Storytelling and the use of colors with your marketing and sales communications.

 

STORYTELLING AND BIG DATA

Big data is changing everything from content development to culture itself. Matthew Luhn, a 20 year Pixar story veteran will share how big data is being used to create great stories and characters in films like Toy Story 3, Inside Out and beyond. Matthew’s experience and insight will empower and inspire publishers, advertisers and innovators on how to forge stronger, more meaningful connections with consumers.

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Matthew Luhn has an incredible ability to captivate an audience through the art of storytelling. Unveiling some of the most insightful techniques used in Pixar films, he can effortlessly simplify complex ideas into concise messages – a valued skill in business. Matthew highlighted actionable tactics that sharpened my team’s storytelling skills right away.

President, VRBO

Working with Matthew has been great! Whether running a workshop or speaking at Dreamforce, his brainstorming techniques and boundless creativity have inspired many at Salesforce. With his guidance, we have found fun new ways to tell a richer and more meaningful story. Matthew’s journey and methods for creating story and memorable characters continue to resonate with me. I look forward to working with him again!

Senior Creative Director, Trailhead | Salesforce

We get many good speakers coming in talking about some very interesting concepts and ideas, we don’t get many ‘Matthews” though. This guy will take you on an inspirational ride of emotions that will blow any speaker out of the water!

Head of Learning and Development, Foster + Partners

Matthew spoke at a conference GV hosted for communications and marketing executives in the technology industry. His session was an empowering lesson about the art of building connections through storytelling. Matthew’s talk was inspiring, entertaining, and actionable, and many attendees told us that his keynote was the highlight of the entire day.

Communications Lead, Google Ventures

Matthew unpacks the secrets of what makes an impactful story and provides guidelines on how to become a master storyteller. His work has inspired us at adidas to focus on the power of story behind our products.

Head of Brands, Adidas