The single most important thing you can do to dramatically improve your presentations is to have a story to tell.
I don’t necessarily mean you need entertaining and educational stories or metaphors to intersperse throughout the presentation (though these can add colour, memory hooks, authenticity and more). I mean the presentation as a whole should be a story, with a beginning, a middle and an end. As with every good story, it should be descriptive and vivid, attention grabbing, and informative.
Stories follow natural patterns that accord with the way we think and communicate. The context will vary, as will the audience and the overall objective of the presentation (start with the end in mind), but even if it’s a business presentation I recommend you structure it as a story for maximum impact.
The good news is that telling a good story to an audience is a lot easier than making a “regular” presentation. It’s more engaging for you, as well as your audience, so it’s easier for you to remember and more natural for you to present.
Martin
I’ve heard this advice before. It makes sense.
Bert (alter ego- Mister P)
MisterP.org/blog
Story telling in speaches is also driven home in Toastmasters as well as in Kevin Hogan’s Professional Speaker’s Course.
Health, Fitness for Working People — Darryl Pace
A story is the best way to present information
Jose Escalante
http://www.joseescalante.com
Bravo…
Great stuff!
Scott Payne
http://www.scottpayne.me
Stories can be so interesting and keep your audience/customer focused on wanting to listen and hear the end. If you can get them to listen, there is a good chance they will act if you present choices/options.
Vicki http://www.bridal-threads.com
Stories give the audience a deeper way to relate to you. They get to know you which is either very good or not . . . depends on whether or not you’re good to know.
Katie
Stories are so compelling and can weave a new path in life
Kate
I remember the story of Sherezard and the nested stories that prevented the Sultan from killing her and over time mellowed his anger (after betrayal from a lover he took one new wife each day and then killed her, this continued until Sherezard who enchanted him over time so in order to find out the end of the story he had to keep her alive).
Keri Eagan
AlternativeHealing*Insight
Yes, story telling is a covert hypnosis technique to get your message understood and accepted.
John Ho
Numerology Expert Helps Understanding Personality for Better Influence & Persuasion