When you leave a presentation like this, you may have been given the information. But did you feel your time was well spent? Did it hold your interest? Were you inspired? Motivated? Probably not. 

Of course, a structured framework is necessary for a successful presentation, and there are ways to put one together that lead to action. At the same time, facts and figures are not what truly inspire us. The power of persuasion lies in telling stories that illuminate the meaning behind your words. That’s why Aesop’s Fables help us remember life lessons and why humor often drives home a memorable point.

Facts and data provide information; stories supply meaning. A good presentation needs a balance of the two. Stories make sense of complex or abstract ideas, and they bring life to a presentation. The great persuaders in our history have been great story tellers. Abraham Lincoln is a perfect example. Journalist Henry Villard noted that Lincoln could find a story “to explain a meaning or enforce a point, the aptness of which was always perfect.” He always used his stories to illustrate a point or make something more clear. 

Make It Personal  

Throughout my VoicePro^® career, I’ve noticed that workshop participants listen politely when we discuss theory. They’re interested in why things are the way they are, and they’re always attentive. It’s when I launch into a story from my own experience or give an example that applies to their own lives that their eyes light up. Your audience wants to hear about real people in real situations doing real things, and they want to hear it from your perspective. Your unique position colors the information with a fresh point of view. 

Add A Light Touch  

Humor keeps the audience on its toes and is a welcome addition to almost any presentation. For business purposes, I recommend you stick with humorous stories rather than telling jokes. When we introduce the idea of humor in our classes, people groan. “I can’t tell jokes,” is a common refrain. A joke requires a punch line, a stong sense of timing, and if nobody laughs you have a big hole to dig yourself out of. On the other hand, a humorous story from your own experience doesn’t rely on audience guffaws. The story has made your point. A hearty laugh, nods of appreciation, or a murmur of enjoyment—all can spur you on without a moment’s hesitation. 

Storytelling, particularly if the stories are humorous, requires preparation. 

• Start your own humor file.
• Be alert for the funny things that happen to you and people you know, and write them down.
• Save articles from newspapers and magazines that make you laugh, and if one fits, adapt it for use in your presentations.
• Develop the ability to take a lesson learned in one venue and give it general relevance. This is easy to do with stories from sports and athletics, as they have almost universal emotional appeal.  

Don’t Just Talk 

The neat thing about telling a story is that you can live it as well as reciting it. The mantra for a writer is: Show, don’t tell. This is incredibly good advice for the storyteller. Use your hands, your face, your voice, your entire body to create visual pictures for the audience. Practice telling a story without speaking; act it out as if you were entertaining a young child. Then incorporate those gestures that feel genuine to you into your real time delivery. The more authentically expressive you are, the more powerful your story—and its relevance—will be. 

I can’t say enough about practice. Telling a story requires a sense of timing you can’t get without repetition and rehearsal. So work through the awkward stage, and keep at it until you’re comfortable. 

The result? You will come alive and your audience will too. Your story telling—and the lessons they teach—will be motivating people for days, weeks, and even years to come.

Your Point of Power Is NOT In PowerPoint!

I often hear business people expressing the absolute need and expectation for PowerPoint in their presentations. That’s fine.  Just remember that slides don’t make presentations.  You do. The over-use of PowerPoint slides in recent years has greatly reduced the power of the presenter and the presentation.

Are you giving your power over to PowerPoint?

Do You:

• Read the presentation from the slides along with your audience, keeping your back to the audience while you look at or read from the screen?
• Overload your slides with all your information and presentation content?
• Sit, while you direct everyone else to follow along with a screen in front of each individual?
• Lose your enthusiasm toward your topic when you present with PowerPoint slides?
• Stand behind a podium in order to have access to the equipment?
• Need to have a slide presentation because they are the take-away documents for your audience?

Even one yes to the above questions indicates you’re losing powerful ground with your audience. You could, quite possibly be found guilty of “death by PowerPoint”.

More and more, the mere mention of PowerPoint triggers a low groan from most of our business associates, who are all too familiar with this type of painful experience. Heads nod in agreement that this tool doesn’t need to be a part of every presentation.

Where, when and how can PowerPoint be effective?  Keep these thoughts in mind:

1. Really look at your audience.  Reading from slides keeps your focus on the content – not your audience. No matter how well prepared your words and graphs are, they will not connect you with your audience. To engage people with you and your ideas make eye contact.
2. Have to turn your back to the audience? Stop speaking until you are facing them again, and be sure to maintain an open posture. Otherwise, you risk not being heard, losing your audience’s connection and their interest in you and what you are saying.
3. Leverage your slides as the “aha” factor. Think of them as a billboard and not a magazine ad. With a glance, your audience gets the message and turns their attention right back to you. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words, but a picture of a thousand words isn’t worth much at all.
4. Don’t be an anonymous narrator of a slide show. Although your slides are a vital component of your presentation, keep in mind you are the star of the show. Let your visuals support you – not the other way around.
5.  Sidestep the podium. Keep your body open to your audience for a more powerful connection. A podium blocks this connection and limits your ability to express yourself freely.
6.  Don’t use a PowerPoint presentation deck as a hand-out. It’s a tempting time-saver, isn’t it?  But don’t do it.  While the handouts need the written interpretation of the data and graphs, the slide show should let the presenter give the interpretation.
7.  Think twice before using PowerPoint. Some people (and their companies) think PowerPoint is a necessity for credibility. Not so. Will it really add to your presentation, or are you using it because everyone else does or because you want an outline on the screen to use for notes?  Try this process. First, plan what you want to say, organize and outline it, and be sure your message points have power. Then decide if and where visual clarification is necessary. Your presentation – and your audience – will be better for it.

Times are hard, so it’s particularly maddening to see a good opportunity squandered because of events seemingly out of your control. I’m talking about those situations where perfectly good presentations are destroyed by technical failures. Where all you can do is watch in agony as a golden opportunity flies out the window because the computer crashed just at the wrong moment.

But are you really at the mercy of cruel twists of fate? Absolutely not!

I was just at a conference where I watched this very scenario unfold. The speaker represented a software development company that produced computer generated graphics for marketing efforts. His presentation was heavily laced with complex graphic examples projected on screens all over the auditorium. His topic was fascinating, and his product of primary interest to many in the audience.

Unfortunately, several minutes into his talk that cruel twist of fate intervened, his computer bombed and he was left with nothing but himself and his audience. He completed his introduction, yet after fumbling around with the computer for a while, he left the stage unable to finish. What a wasted opportunity! Five hundred audience members, some of whom were high value prospects, interested and willing to listen, were left without hearing the message. The speaker eventually got the equipment working and came back after a break to deliver an abbreviated version of his original presentation, but his audience had checked out on him after the first attempt.

How could this scenario have played out differently?

Well, this speaker could have developed a presentation where he carried on a conversation with the audience, even without the supporting media. I suggest that, regardless of how graphically intense your product or service, you have the capability to describe, in vivid terms, the benefits your product or service can have on your audience—without the help of technology.

How can this be done?

As easily as forming a picture in your mind and then describing it to your audience. Build a dramatic image of what you are trying to convey. Treat your audience as if they were a friend. Have a conversation with them. Then, deliver your message with emotion, expression, and conviction. If you connect with your audience in conversation, you will bring them to a place of understanding that cannot be achieved through video or multi media. You will reach them through your experience—and through your human voice.