3 Powerful Ways to Create a Memorable Presentation

Create a Talk That People Remember Long After the Lights go Down

Living a meaningful life matters, and creating a meaningful presentation that resonates and ignites your audience matters too.

Why do you think TED Talks are so popular? Their "ideas worth spreading" tagline embodies the exact definition of meaningful. And, as a result, TED Talks are just that: meaningful and memorable.

What you have to say--your message--is already important. Your task is to transfer the weight of that message to your audience in the moment and leave a lasting impression. Your goal is to evoke deep seeded feelings that rise to the surface energizing emotions and igniting action.

The unfortunate news for most is that, despite all your planning and preparation, most of it goes in one ear and out the other. Researchers once ran a test to measure how much of a presenter’s message sticks in the minds of their audience. They found that immediately after a 10-minute presentation, listeners only remembered 50% of what was said. By the next day that had dropped to 25%, and a week later it was 10%.

Since very little of your message will stick, you must be absolutely clear in your mind which 10% you want them to remember, and then design your presentation to make sure that happens. The first step is to distill your message down to one compelling theme, In effect, you first write the headline and then craft your content to reinforce, repeat and dramatize it.

How exactly do you create a memorable message? Any meaningful presentation nails these three important objectives:

1. Don't regurgitate.

Regurgitating anything is just wrong--which is why you shouldn't just regurgitate facts to your audience.

Besides appreciating the lack of statistical blah, blah, blah, they might actually learn something and walk away from your talk with a handle on what you're really saying.

Studies have shown that rote memorization gets in the way of actual learning. People remember what they understand, and they remember stories and understand concepts, not meaningless statistics and numbers.

Remember, the goal of any great presentation isn't just to inform. Instead, the best presentations strive to take the audience on a journey that will change their perception of the world, show what is possible or provide new solutions to old problems.

But if you can't just throw up charts and graphs, how do you deliver your information?

2. Add some soul.

Brene Brown's TED Talk "The Power of Vulnerability" includes a moving and wise observation. Brown muses that "maybe stories are just data with a soul."

And if you think about it, she's right. After all, any good story explains things and explanations require facts, but the story is the humanizing element.

Neuroscientists have also found that stories cause our brains to release oxytocin. What does that oxytocin do for you and your audience? It makes your audience establish trust and feel empathy for you, the deliverer of the tale.

As for you, oxytocin allows you to leave your audience with a positive feeling attached to your message. And memories develop when emotion is attached to them.

3. Have a conversation, not a dissertation.

We've talked about it before, but it's always worth repeating: Bullets. Kill. Presentations.

When you step in front of your audience, your goal is not to lecture to them until they fall asleep. Approach a presentation like a conversation, in which you're answering the audience's unspoken questions. Remember, Stories stick!

Humans have passed on learning for millennia, and our brains are exquisitely attuned to hearing them, getting drawn into their reality, and remembering them. But make your story have a purpose beyond mere entertainment.

Bullet points are just another form of information dumping and wreck whatever engaging narrative you could have created. Replace bullets with high impact visuals that support the story you're telling and the feeling you want to invoke in your audience.

As the great Maya Angelou famously said, "At the end of the day, people won't remember what you said or did: they will remember how you made them feel."

Don't let your audience feeling nothing--or worse, negatively. Weave a story, and let them feel the gravity of your message. You have one chance to take them on a journey--make it count.

Why do some speakers make waves while others end up as just a blip on the radar? The most memorable speeches spur conversations or controversies--they evoke outrage or awe.

No matter the emotion, great speeches all share one thing: an idea that matters both to them and to their audiences.

By Gregg and Fia Fasbinder The Moxie Institute