A Story is Worth 1,000 PowerPoint Slides
Photo by kennymatic
Beth Kanter wrote an incredibly relevant piece on the importance of story-telling in presentations. She cites Andy Goodman in her article:
Andy is a master at storytelling. In his workshops, he offers the following formula for a storytelling based on Hollywood script writing:
* Introduce the central character
* Inciting moment: something bad happens to the character that will prevent them from achieving a goal related to the goal of your presentation
* Barrier to resolution #1: Character tries to solve the problem, but can’t
* Barrier to resolution #2: Characater tries to solve the problem, but can’t
* Resolution: What you’re going to share in your presentation
* Widen the Lens: The bigger picture
Sounds simple enough…but not all of us are master story-tellers. How do you know if your story is good?
- Does your story give your audience an lesson they can use? – Give your audience the ability to apply a lesson from the experience of someone else
- Is the ending of the story an excellent beginning to your presentation? – It’s tempting to tell a joke, but don’t take time away from communicating your message
- Would your audience tell the story to someone else? – Don’t confuse this with simplicity; the point is to create a group who can spread your message to others
- Have you practiced telling the story to someone else? Don’t test your story on the audience; master the timing by practicing with a friend or colleague
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