Stories in presentations – it’s not Shakespeare

More and more people are realising that stories in business presentations are a fantastic way to convey key messages.

So, how do you craft a short story that fits easily into a short business presentation?

There are many great books on stories and story-writing but I haven’t found many that cover the 1 or 2 minute story very effectively. They will tell you that you need a protagonist (hero) with a desire, and a villain standing in the hero’s way. The villain has to be a worthy adversary and the hero needs undergo a transformation as he/she struggles to overcome their nemesis and achieve their goal. Books will tell you about character-webs, plot points, story-beats, scenes and narrative arcs – all making it sound quite complicated!

But it doesn’t have to be.

A simple format for a brief story in a business presentation:

• Setting: Explain where and when the story happened and who was involved.
• Turning Point: What happened to kick the story off?
• Overcoming Struggle: What challenges and obstacles did the person or people in the story have to face and how did they tackle them?
• Resolution: What happened after that? Did they succeed or fail?
• Implications: What is the takeaway lesson from the story in the context of your presentation?
• Emotional Connection: Does the story sound true? If not, make it “3D” by adding Detail, Dialogue and Description. Would the audience care about the person in the story? If not, help us to empathise more by adding the Wow Factor (Why they are doing what they are - do thet have a relatable motive? Obstacles - have they overcome hardships or challenges? Weakness - do they have any flaws, failings or vulnerabilities?)
• Sticky (Memorable): Does the start capture our interest, does the middle hold it and is there any twist or surprise near the end that makes it more memorable?

The first letter of each step spells out the word “STORIES”

You don’t need to worry about character development (there isn’t time for it). You don’t need to worry about complex sub-plots and you don’t even need a real villain providing you have a challenge that needs to be overcome – that’s where the drama comes from that makes the story interesting. If there is a twist or unusual element to the story it will make it even more memorable.

I developed this template from years of telling stories in presentations that sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t – I didn’t understand why, so I studied everything I could find on storytelling – from Joseph Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces through to books by Steve Denning, Carmine Gallo and many others.

I have used the template to capture stories and create a library that I can use in various presentations – stories are not only easier for the audience, they are easier for the presenter to remember too.

I like to think of the template like the scales on a musical instrument – once you are comfortable you can play different tunes and create your own templates that are even better and more useful! Let me know if you have any ideas on how I could improve the STORIES template.