Ten Tips for Memorable Business Stories

Is there anything worse than listening to someone reading a slide deck? Maybe fingernails on a chalkboard, but the former is just as uncomfortable for most of us. And yet, that’s what the majority of business presentations sound like, as presenters step an audience through a deck of PowerPoint slides and largely just repeat the data points that the audience can already read for themselves.

In some organizations, that approach has fallen out of favor, with a focus on a pre-read document that informs a conversation. And while that approach has merit, it’s not always the right tool for the job. There is still a role for the captivating presentation – the speaker on the stage, at the lectern, or on the Teams call who carefully builds a compelling vision of the future, which subsequently inspires the audience to support their solution or strategy. But even with the right ideas, presentations often fail to make an impact, in large part because they fail on one side of this equation:

Persuasive arguments + Memorable delivery = Impactful Business Storytelling

In my last post, I focused more on how to structure your presentation through persuasive arguments and personal connections to drive impact. This post offers ten tips to help make your delivery more memorable, so both sides of the Impactful Business Storytelling equation are tilted in your favor.

Tip #1. Use metaphors, analogies & similes to paint a vivid picture

Okay, don’t necessarily use all three in every presentation, but do be intentional in identifying ways to use these parts of speech to make your presentation more vivid. Used properly and intentionally, they can invoke a positive emotional reaction, as your audience finds connections between things that are new (your ideas) and things they are comfortable with (the subject of your metaphor, simile, or analogy). In a business context, consider these quick definitions to help you consider how you can inject a memorable comparison to your strategy or idea:

Metaphor – “This thing I’m talking about is unfamiliar, but it feels like this thing or experience you do know about.”

Simile – “This thing I’m talking about that you don’t know about is similar to this thing you do know about.”

Analogy – “This thing you’re familiar with is really the same as this other thing you’re not familiar with.”

Tip #2. SLOW DOWN!

Alright, this is an easy one, but there is nothing less memorable than the anxious speaker who rattles off facts and figures as though their hair is on fire. It can be hard in a business context to settle your nerves – especially if you’re presenting to upper-upper management. But in all cases, take a deep breath before you start to calm your nerves, have confidence in the power of your message, and take solace in your preparation. You’re going to do great. In fact, one of the only ways you’re not going to do great is if you go too fast. This is especially true for presentations that involve non-native speakers; you can be assured that their retention will be minimal unless you slow down and deliver with an intentional cadence that helps comprehension and understanding.

Tip #3. Incorporate a short anecdote to create a personal connection

Often in a business context, we’re presenting to leaders who may not be familiar with us. While it’s important to get to the point (see tip #8!), it’s not so important as to assume that personal connections are unnecessary. In fact, a short (one minute or less!) anecdote at the start of your presentation is the best way to build a powerful connection with your audience.

As an example, I recently had the opportunity to present to the CIO team at PACCAR and was able to share the fact that during my MBA studies, I had the privilege of interviewing their former CEO, Ron Armstrong. I of course reiterated how much I appreciated him making the time and contrasted his background as an accountant to the typical CEO profile in the tech sector. It served no purpose other than to build a personal connection with my audience and to establish my credibility. I could have just as easily told a story about the gorgeous paint job on a Peterbilt truck that I saw on the drive over, or referenced past friends or colleagues who are part of the firm (I know several). The intent is always the same – make it personal, establish credibility, and demonstrate your commitment to making this a memorable business engagement.

Tip #4. Use voice inflection, dramatic pauses, facial expressions, and hand gestures to engage your audience.

Okay, I recognize that many of us aren’t presenting in person very often these days, but every one of these can be used during a Teams call or a Zoom meeting too. Honestly, the easiest thing you can do to make your presentations more interesting is to modulate your voice to drive emphasis and to spur attention. Too often, presenters just drone on monotonously when they easily make their presentation more dynamic by just inflecting their voice at key moments for emphasis! Similarly, a long pause just hanging on a word adds drama to your presentation, and facial expressions can evoke an emotional response in your audience. While hand gestures might seem weird on a Zoom call – try it! You’ll be surprised at just how expressive you can be using your hands, voice, and facial expressions even during a virtual meeting.

Tip #5. Less is usually more. 25 words > 50.

I can be wordy. Really wordy. Just look at this article. It’s already 933 words long (shoot, now it’s 940!). But when presenting, precision matters. Look at your talk track – then simplify it. Find all the extraneous words and cut them. This technique is particularly important in written documents and emails, which for me have become daily reminders of the decline in educational standards as I cringe at what passes for professional communication in the workplace.

Want to get good at this skill? Practice! Write something – then practice saying the same thing in fewer words. I’ll bet in nearly all cases you can express the same idea in 50% as many words. If you try hard enough, you could probably cut that again by half! For example:

I really like to write LinkedIn articles about things that I’m passionate about. It gets my heart pumping and boosts my ego when people give me a thumbs up or share my posts with their network. In that way, it helps my confidence as a professional and makes me feel like I’m giving back to my community.

Okay, that’s 57 words. I bet I can write the same thing in 28 words or less:

I like writing LinkedIn articles. Getting a thumbs up is a great ego boost. It helps my confidence as I give back to my community.

Same sentiment – 25 words. Just look at all the junk words that weren’t necessary! Pro tip: Microsoft Word has gotten really good, err – just good, since “really” is a junk word – at flagging junk words. Pay attention to the squiggles. There are other tools like Grammarly that do the same thing.

Tip #6. Don’t tell someone else’s story. Tell *your* story.

For me, the worst thing in the world is trying to do a presentation using someone else’s slides. It doesn’t matter what the topic is or my relative level of expertise. I struggle for the simple reason that it’s not my story. For this reason, I advise people to never try to use someone else’s slide deck, as it represents a story and a structure that isn’t authentic to you. Invariably the presentation will feel stilted, disjointed, and inauthentic. Worse, you may just read the talk track or the words on the slide. Did I mention we all already know how to read? It may be more work, but your presentation will be more memorable and effective when you start from scratch, because it reflects your experience, and your unique story arc. And if you have to use someone else’s source material, use it for inspiration as you craft your own narrative from their slides. In my experience, that takes more effort than starting from scratch, but may be necessary from time to time.

Tip #7. Use images instead of tables and lists whenever possible.

A picture is worth 1,000 words. For real. Pictures elicit emotions; charts and tables do not. Sometimes they are necessary evils but even so, use them sparingly. A presentation that is jam packed with charts, graphs and figures is rarely memorable. Have you ever seen a TED talk that was 10 slides of charts, graphs and figures? I didn’t think so.

When you do have to use them, know the one data point that you want your audience to take away from the chart or graph and highlight it. I can guarantee you that your audience won’t be able to process or remember more than that.

Tip #8. Attention spans are short – get to the point!

Similar to tip #5, you need to economize your story so you can quickly get to the point, which is usually a preferred strategy, solution, or vision. Per my Storytelling for Business Impact framework, start at the end to determine the one thing you want your audience to remember, then build your story backwards by focusing on the future state, consequences of inaction, your preferred solution, an anecdote to make it real, and a brief explanation of your credentials. Think about a TED talk – assume you only have 18 minutes to make an argument that could change the world. Is your story that compelling? If not, go back to the drawing board until it is. More words won’t make it more compelling – only a great idea, told convincingly, and building toward an extraordinary strategy is going to motivate and inspire your audience to take action.

Tip #9. Dialog, not monologue.

Think of your favorite college or high school course. Was it in a giant lecture hall with 500 people with a speaker at a lectern droning on and on in montone about something something boring boring? Or was it a small class, with a teacher who was engaging and actively working to get you and your classmates involved in the discussion?

This one can be hard, since ill-timed questions can throw you off your stride, but always endeavor to engage your audience by discussing with them, not talking at them. That means making room for questions, pausing to invite them, looking your audience in the eye as you respond, and admitting when you don’t have an answer. Your presentation will always be more memorable to that one audience member who asked a question and got a thoughtful response, and that can play huge dividends down the road. And if you’d like the audience to hold questions until the end – tell them! Just make sure you honor them by leaving enough time for Q&A or else you have a broken promise and maybe even some hurt feelings.

Tip #10. Script your remarks, but don’t read them. Practice makes perfect!

The simple act of writing down what you intend to say helps you to remember it. Even better, read your script multiple times to familiarize yourself with data points and anecdotes. When it comes time to present, don’t lean too heavily on your script, but keep it handy just in case. Highlight the things you can’t forget, but don’t worry about specific word choices if the meaning is the same. In my experience, every speaker I’ve ever known who appeared to be a natural was actually harboring a huge secret. The reason they appeared so at ease is because they practiced their pitch – sometimes over and over again and left nothing to chance. If you really want to shine – to be the presenter that everyone remembers and admires– you need to do the same thing. Your anxiety will go down, your confidence will go up, and your audience will remember that remarkable storyteller who brought down the house. That’s how you win at business.

That’s it! Simple as pie. Actually, it’s about as hard as baking a pie (side note – what an odd expression, since making a good pie is a real endeavor!). Just remember the simple equation:

Persuasive arguments + Memorable delivery = Impactful Business Storytelling

Or maybe I should just simplify it: have something interesting to say and say it well. Good luck.