Once upon a time, there lived a presenter. She was a very good presenter because she included many wonderful stories in her presentations. And, the people and the animals of the land loved her and always remembered what she told them.
Like fairy tales, presentations should be narrative journeys. Research shows that conveying information through stories makes listeners more likely to retain it. We are naturally predisposed to tell stories and interact with others through them as soon as we learn to communicate. Including stories in your presentation will make your message much more meaningful.
Creating a Path Through the Woods
Before plotting your presentation, consider your audience and message. Ask yourself:
- What is my story’s message or moral?
- Who is my audience and what do they know already?
- How much must I explain, and which data do I want to communicate?
- Why should the audience value my message?
After you answer these questions, you will understand where you are and where you want to go. If you were Hansel or Gretel, you might say, “I’m starting at this crazy gingerbread house, and I want to return to my own cottage.” Your presentation and story details should create a path like Hansel and Gretel’s (the path made of pebbles, not disappearing breadcrumbs). Include enough information to carry the audience with you and always head toward your moral. Your message should, above all, be meaningful to your audience. If you are leading them back to the wood-cutter’s cottage, they should see the benefit in coming along.
Princesses & Peas
All good fairy tales reveal their characters’ true natures. The Princess proved she was a princess by being unable to sleep on a pea. Although a bit absurd, this pea-phobia seems to be the one characteristic that distinguished her. Your personal experiences are akin to a bizarre pea-phobia because they make you different and interesting. So use them in your presentations.
When brainstorming a story subject, let your mind wander. Sometimes the most far-out thoughts reveal the most engaging stories. Think about your experiences, the people in your life and the stories you encounter. If you were to explain an entire presentation or a particular slide through a personal narrative, which one would you choose? This doesn’t mean that you need to reveal your deepest secrets or even star in your story. The neighbor who waters her lawn during a drought or the oddly successful lemonade stand child-czar could prove the perfect means through which to illustrate your point.
Put the Pumpkin Before the Carriage
When recounting a story, you need a logical structure. Tell stories simply and practice them beforehand to prevent loquacious wanderings. To begin, explain the problem or issue you will discuss. Then, walk the audience through the events that brought the issue to its crisis point. Finally, bring the audience along with you to your resolution. And they all lived happily ever after.
For the best flow, include narrative details in the correct order. If the Brothers Grimm told us that the carriage turned back into a pumpkin without explaining that it was a pumpkin first, we’d become confused and focused on the details rather than the big picture.
The Moral of the Story
What if your mother, before she began reading, said, “I will now read a story about a girl who took a muffin basket to her grandmother and was confronted by a wolf. After the girl out-smarted the wolf, she reunited with her grandmother and learned to trust her instincts?” Lame, right? Obviously, you want your audience to understand your presentation’s point, but don’t spoil the story by spilling the highlights before you begin. Your story’s purpose is to lead the audience through your presentation memorably.