If this narrative sounds like your last presentation, and we have all been there, what might be the solution to your dilemma? Use illustrative stories to emphasize your key points. Story telling has been part of the human experience since the beginning of time. Telling stories should be part of any presentation, whether your audience is sitting in an auditorium, a small group meeting, or the board room. Great stories will make any presentation resonate with an audience and be long remembered.
There are many reasons to incorporate stories into your presentations. One of the most important is people will remember a well told story long after they have forgotten exactly what captivating information them gave them. Why? Because stories evoke emotion, create drama, create a visceral experience while providing implied information. And they prepare the audience for a call to action - the reason you are speaking at the front of the room.
The magic comes from the structure of a story. Think of theatrical plays. Their structure is often based on Act I, Act II and Act III. There is a hero, a villain, conflict and resolution. Your illustrative stories can have the same structure. They should have drama that can bring a presentation alive.
Here is an exercise you can do to understand more clearly how stories can be woven into your presentations. Write a short story that you might use in a presentation, teaching lesson or any important conversation. It can be short, perhaps around 60 seconds in the telling or a little longer if necessary. Next, write out the point of the story. The question is why are you telling it? Then finally, write out why an audience should hear the story.
You will be surprised to see that making the point of the story clear, and paying attention to why someone should hear your story can take some effort to think through. The focus is to get the structure firmly in mind. You will then be able to select the best illustrative story for any presentation, and know clearly why and for what purpose.
I have found that understanding the point of the story helps me, the story teller, sort through stories to find the right one to use. There may be several key points for any story, but one is the most salient. You may find several ways you can use a story, and in different contexts. That's great. Likewise, the reason people should hear your story is critical to your presentations. The audience is processing what they are hearing and are projecting where you are going next in your presentation. Keep them on track by being predictable. You can create high drama, on the other hand, if you take your story in an entirely different direction. The choice in yours.
Use stories in the context of a longer presentation to drive home your key points. Link stories together to help pull together an entire presentation. But make sure you get the structure right for each story you use. Stories can be similar to the general understanding of your audience, or for more drama, conflict with their thinking. I use Post-It notes plan out and order my stories for the most dramatic effect.
Inclusion of illustrative stories into a presentation will force discipline in your planning. For a 20-minute presentation, develop 10 minutes of material, then illustrate them with your stories. Chris Anderson, the president of TED, suggests getting it all done in about 18 minutes. You can say about 2,500 words in that length of time. This is a good rule to follow. To dig deeper, watch some TED talks on YouTube. You will catch some new tricks if you spend the time. You might even want to look up TEDx in your local area. These are local organizations oriented to helping people develop their presentation skills. Anderson talks about the emergence of a "Talk Renaissance." Public speaking has always been important, but according to Anderson to speak well and persuasively will matter even more in the future.
Make your time and preparation really matter to those who hear you speak. They will remember the illustrations of your key points by story-telling more than any hard facts you can provide. Use illustrative stories to catch their imaginations, allow them to feel your passion, and encourage them to take up your call to action.
No comments:
Post a Comment