In late March I'll be speaking at
Hook: The Presentation Conference about The Art of Storytelling in Effective Presentations. As we lead up to that event, which you can register for here, I wanted to write a few articles about the different aspects of storytelling (in no particular order) that I'll be addressing.
I wanted to start with Connecting, which I believe is why including storytelling in your presentations is so important.
As Nancy Duarte said in her most recent book "Resonate" (which is a must buy):
Stories are the emotional glue that connects an audience to your idea.
As a presenter trying to convey an idea, whether it's to educate, persuade, encourage action or otherwise, it's imperative that you make a connection with your audience. Presentations, as nearly all of them exist now, consist of mostly facts, figures, and features, serving only the interest of the presenter. The information presented is stale, boring, and forgettable. We've all sat through these, and most of us can't remember anything except the misery we experienced. This structure doesn't allow the presenter to make any sort of connection with the audience, and thus the presentation is quickly forgotten.
If this was a sales presentation, and you are up against various other vendors, how are you going to win the business if they forget everything you said? Do you really think they'll remember how many years you've been profitable, or what awards you've won recently? They want to know what's in it for them.
Stories are different from facts, figures and features. They connect us. They form a bond between audience and storyteller that can actually be felt. That connection can be immensely powerful, and most importantly, memorable.
Stories come in all shapes and sizes, but the best ones create an experience that is not soon forgotten.