Presentation and Storyteller’s Promises
When you pick up a book or go to a movie, you enter into an agreement with the author, the producers, the storytellers. It is a relationship and an agreement. What does it say? It says, “I’m here as a consumer of your content, and you won’t betray me. You will give me what I’ve come to see/read/experience. You won’t try to trick me, unless that’s part of what I’ve signed up to see.”
Let’s take a movie. When I saw Batman Begins, I expected an origin story (says so in the title), action (because Batman is a superhero), and I expected it to be fresh, engaging, and captivating. I expected to experience what Batman experienced, because all entertainment is part catharsis. What’s happening on screen should be happening in your emotions and your little fantasy dialogues. Believe me, when I leave a Batman movie, I AM Batman.
Presentations are the Same Deal
You, as presenter owe your audience a few things. If you title your presentation “The Impact of Wikis on Our Knowledge Management Software,” this presentation damned well better discuss impact. You can’t just tell them about wikis, how they work, and all that.
The Storyteller’s Promise
As a presenter, you are a storyteller. If you don’t agree, you’ve already failed. You’re no better than a live next button and a data chute. But, if you agree with this premise that you are telling a story via your materials and your presence before an audience, you have some responsibilities:
Finish Strong
By the end of your presentation, people should be nodding their head vigorously. They might be affirming your data presentation. They might be agreeing with the point you so masterfully made. But you should be looking out on a sea of nodding heads. Often, this isn’t the way presentations end.
Presenters, especially nervous ones, have expended a lot of emotional energy to get to this point. They are feeling exhausted mentally from keeping everything straight in their heads, and from reacting to the audience. You can’t stop now. Give them a strong finish.
If you’ve hit them with lots of product details, here’s a great chance to tell them the one most important emotional or story-based thing you want them to remember. Because most of the facts are seeping out of their ears, tell them: “When my grandmother first logged on and downloaded a video of my daughter, she cried. No, not because the kid is so cute. She said, ‘I’m on the internet.’”
Believe me, that image will far surpass the fact that your product can translate .avi, .m4a, eieio.
You are the Authority
As a presenter, you are a storyteller. You have the conch. You are the one standing before the fire while others watch. They trust you explicitly and implicitly to use their time well, but also to entertain them. Believe me, if you betray that trust, the fire’s not that far away.
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tags: presentation,storytelling,hacks
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The power of a good story is something everyone could stand to learn. It makes every aspect of communication work better, from casual conversation to business to the arts. I’m fairly convinced you’d have a better restaurant experience if both you AND your waiter, waitress or bartender knew how to tell a good story, and how to keep the other person’s interest, even if all you need is a water with lemon.
A book I read recently and dug more than I expected to was Robert McKee’s “Story” (link from my blog). I figured it would be a formulaic approach to communications, but it veers away from that concept and instead breaks down WHY stories work. It may still be a masculine viewpoint, whereas a feminine viewpoint may better suit your story, but it’s a good building block nonetheless.