Guest post by Rick Enrico
Storytelling 101: Turn a presentation into a fairytale
When you break it down, presenting to a huge crowd is just like telling a story. Throughout your performance, you need to keep your listeners tuned in by giving them something to care about, enough to want to stay until the end of your speech.
To best deliver your message, you have to get them to listen intently, and maybe even to be willing to spread the word about your message.
So why not treat your presentation like the fairytales of old?
Tale as old as time
When it comes to long-lived and recognizable stories, there’s one thing that binds most of them together: the three-act structure.
The secret?
All you have to do is include a clear beginning, middle, and end.
1. In the beginning
A well-crafted beginning introduces the main characters and hints at possible conflicts deeper into the story. These characters can come in the form of you and your products, while the conflicts could be the problems you aim to solve. Like a fantastical setting, this can pique your listeners’ interests while establishing your direction and tone.
2. Build suspense
The next step is to create excitement by adding a little tension to your story. Do this by portraying your problem as a villain. Become the charming prince (or warrior princess) to save your audience with a solution they never realized they needed. A strong midpoint keeps crowds hanging on to every word, while eliciting an emotional response to accompany your message.
3. Happily ever after
To wrap it up, use a convincing happy ending to highlight your offering’s benefits. Portray your product or brand’s features and strengths as a solution to the problem. Use the ending as an opportunity to create new connections, while ensuring your message hits home for your listeners.
Don’t look past the fairytales you’ve grown up loving. Instead, look to them for ideas on how to create an engaging presentation. Here’s an infographic from the PowerPoint design experts at SlideGenius, inspired by timeless stories of our youth.
Click image to enlarge:
About the author
Rick Enrico is the CEO and Founder of SlideGenius, Inc., a global presentation design agency. He regularly publishes expert presentation tips on the SlideGenius blog. He currently oversees an experienced team of designers, software developers, and marketing professionals that specialize in creating custom corporate presentations and cloud publishing applications. Connect with him on LinkedIn and Twitter.