There are a lot of tips and techniques you can take advantage of to make a killer presentation. You can come up with valuable content, share interesting data, and make beautiful infographics. Nothing will engage your audience and drive it to action more than a compelling story. This article will explore the benefits of good presentation storytelling that needs to shine in your deck.
Storytelling Creates an Immersive Experience
There are a few reasons that presentation storytelling makes such a major impact. One big reason is that a good narrative will tap into the emotions of your audience and allow them to relate and empathize with the message you’re trying to convey much more than facts and figures alone.
That’s because, according to the New York Times, when we’re told stories, our brains often don’t differentiate fact from fiction; instead, we tend to immerse ourselves in the stories as though we’re part of them. This, in turn, makes it easier for us to connect to any given idea and empathize with both the message and the person telling the story.
Storytelling Inspires Audiences to Take Action
Humans have a tendency to be driven by their emotions. According to Jane Praeger, a strategic storytelling professor at Columbia University’s Strategic Communications and Communications Practice program, “[We] like to believe we are logical, but in fact we use data and facts to post-rationalize the decisions our emotions have already driven us to make.”
Therefore, using a strong narrative to tap into the emotions of your audience is a great technique for compelling action. And it’s one you can use in any presentation, no matter how dry the data or content is that you’re sharing.
Let’s say you’re presenting about a new product. Rather than focus solely on its features and capacities, walk your audience through how the product came to be. Discuss any setbacks, trials and tribulations, and the defining moments. This will allow your audience to feel more connected to the product and increase their desire to buy it.
Storytelling Makes Your Presentation More Memorable
You can put hour after hour into your preparations, but if no one remembers what you present, all of that time and effort is for nothing. This is where presentation storytelling can step in to help.
Weaving a narrative into your deck is one of the most effective presentation techniques. Ensure your time doesn’t go to waste and that your audience remembers your message. In fact, according to Jennifer Aaker, a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, “stories are remembered up to 22 times more than facts alone.”
Think about it this way: let’s say you watched two presentations about the benefits of meditation.
The first presentation shared health statistics, an analysis of what happens to the brain before and after meditating, and improvements one can hope to gain after practicing it.
The second presentation includes the same information. But the presenter gave a personal account of how their depression made them question whether they wanted to live at all. Meditation changed that completely.
Which one are you more inclined to remember? Of course it’s the one with the compelling story behind it.
Now that you know the benefits of good storytelling, are you ready to elevate your presentation game to the next, next level? Then check out this presentation training we’ve designed to help you do just that.