Unleash the power of storytelling in your presentation

Speaking
Written By Liam Sandford

Are you tired of delivering lackluster presentations that fail to captivate your audience? There are ways to deliver your presentation that don’t leave your audience checking their watches for an early exit. Your easy answer is telling stories. Incorporating storytelling into your presentations can take your delivery from ordinary to extraordinary.

Stories capture attention. Humans resonate with stories because they combine your message with every day experiences they can relate to. When you start your presentation with a story, you will grab your audience’s attention from the get-go.

Telling compelling stories is what makes your message evergreen — something that sticks around long after the event. People love it when you tell a story. You take it to the next level when you can tell their story. This is how you unleash the power of storytelling.

Open with a story

Most presentations open poorly. It begins with an agenda, warning people what is coming. Doing this is boring and warns the audience that you have no intention of keeping their attention throughout. But you can use a different approach.

Open with a story related to the topic of your presentation. Something that is easy to relate to. If you can capture the attention of your audience straight away you will be off to a good start.

Tell stories from every day moments

You might think a story has to be extraordinary. But the funny thing is, everyone has similar experiences most days, and usually they are ordinary. Ordinary makes for the best stories because you are telling the audience their story — they can see themselves in it and relate to what you are saying.

When you tell the audience their story they feel like you understand them, like you are a relatable speaker and just like them. This is what you should go for. Use every day moments that people can connect with easily and your ordinary story will achieve extraordinary connection with your audience.

Inspire action that lasts a lifetime

Every presentation should end with a call to action. If that can be accompanied by a story, you really have got something powerful. Talk about the change you have made, or a journey you have gone through to get from A to B.

When listening to stories, what resonates is transformations, struggles and overcoming challenges. It’s the inspiration that you have done it so maybe your audience members can too. This is how you take a presentation from one that lasts an hour to an impact that lasts a lifetime. Give people some actionable items and a clear call to action with your journey or experience at the heart of it. When you do this you can unleash the power of storytelling.

Actionable takeaways

  • Stop opening presentations with an agenda. Instead tell a story that is relevant to what you have to say.

  • Craft your stories based on every day moments, not extraordinary ones. People relate to stories where they can see themselves in it.

  • Talk about a change, transformation or a journey you have been on. Combine this with your call to action and you might just inspire the audience to take that first necessary step on their journey.

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Liam Sandford
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