The Story Behind Powerful Presentations

• Capturing the imagination and hearts of a room full of “suits” is not too much different than that of a group of preschoolers. They can both be prone to wandering attentions, both can be fidgety with a need for action, and both can be hopeful for a “hands on” experience that is worth their while. One difference is that the “suits” can sometimes be less considerate – it is not socially acceptable for a preschooler to tune you out while they check their Blackberry!
  
  Often professionals who are totally immersed in their commitment to social causes forget that not everyone lives and breaths the same issues. For early years community developers, that includes the importance of child development, equitable access to quality childcare, support to families, homelessness etc. Remembering the basics of how to package your information into something that catches and holds tightly the attention of an audience is important.
  
  We appreciate PowerPoint – but it can be done VERY poorly; too much information, bullet points galore, disjointed clip art and/or no flow. Great presentations, with or without the use of visual aids, have stories to tell. Crafting your story has two benefits. It is a way to reflect on what’s going on with a project or in an organization and it is the foundation for a very effective presentation. In his book The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling, author Stephen Denning describes the art of creating and performing a well-made story that can help achieve a number of different outcomes:
  
• Sparking people into action
• Communicating who you are
• Transmitting values
• Sharing information
• Taming gossip
• Fostering collaboration
• Instilling a future vision
  
  There are different nuances that can be applied in the story making for each of these outcomes and different situations require different tactics. Sometimes we have a presentation to do and have 15 minutes to try to accomplish ALL of these things! Other times we have more flexibility and luxury in the design. Regardless of your presentation, here are the essentials to make sure there is a powerful story behind it.

1. Be very clear with yourself what you want to get from the presentation. For example if you are seeking some change - what exactly is the change idea you want to get across? Why? What's the purpose? If you can answer these questions for yourself before you try to change the world in 15 minutes - you will be much more effective.

2. Include a context for the story that speaks to all the senses. It’s the sights, sounds and perhaps even smells that can evoke emotions for people during a story/presentation. Use adjectives and adverbs – not to be flowery but to emphasize the key bits of detail that paints a strong picture.

3. Design your flow to include a beginning, middle and end to the story. You can help make this happen by limiting yourself to NO MORE THAN 3 messages in your story. More than that and you can easily become fragmented and hard to follow.

4. Be honest – to your audience and also to yourself. Any hints of exaggerations, untruths or a false lack of vulnerability will lower your credibility with the audience.

5. Practice, practice, practice. A story can be read – but its ultimate delivery will be that of a performance. A practiced story makes it easier for you to be relaxed and allows you to be more spontaneous with the audience. It will show that you KNOW this material, that you CARE about the content, and that it is something worth committing to memory – and for the audience, something worth paying attention to.


Village Raising Question

What are the three most important messages you want someone to know about your work? Now…where is the story to make these messages come alive?