PowerPoint of View

The Art & Science of Storytelling: Part 0

You’ve all sat in a presentation where the presenter swept you away into their story and made you feel as though the story were written for you. You get so lost in the action that by the time the presentation ends, you’re surprised by how much time has passed. And you’re left wondering how you can leverage this valuable asset in your presentations too.

In my last post, I discussed how great micro-storytelling has the power to move and touch people, a good story arc at the macro level is also vital to engage the audience from start to finish and deliver a satisfying ending in ways that numbers, bullet points, and presentation slides alone simply can’t. Weaving storytelling into a presentation by incorporating the framework used in books can help differentiate you from the crowd of competitors especially when people have heard thousands of similar ideas, and the differentiation among the products and services is starting to blur.

One of the frameworks that is universally recognized for both fiction and non-fiction alike is following one single story arc. At the beginning of the story, the key players and the setting should be established (exposition), followed by presenting an inciting incident (conflict and rising action) that may come in the form of unexpected findings surfaced during market research or the problem and complications you’re trying to solve. This immediately hooks people in as they feel like they are part of the journey now because people are just natural problem solvers and they will expect you to have a magical way to solve it and they can’t wait to hear.

In the middle part of the story, there would be more rising actions that lead to the climax. Competitor landscape would be one of the prime examples to create the suspense of how your solution can beat the market. You can also draw a comparison between the past and the future to create tension which will keep the audience engaged. Comparisons are great for thrill but rivalry also highlights differences and can portray both sides of the story, and sure enough, you want to highlight the potential opportunities and how things can be much better.

The next phase is the falling action which is the calmer part of the presentation like team and financial facts so you can transition to end the story with a conclusion — the resolution that would round out the message. The climax then would be the main purpose of the whole pitch, to close the deal. The ending can come in the form of customer testimonials or quotes from partners, and everyone lives happily ever after.

If you aren’t satisfied with the thrill you’ve brought so far, you could also end it with the timeline of next steps which is like how sequels end with a ‘to be continued…’!

Above all else, keep it simple and opt for just enough detail to keep people hooked until the end, then experiment with micro-stories along the way to add more dimensions to the bigger story. Sort out your story arc, keep experimenting with it and your story will gain you raving fans.

P.S. Google Slides is a much better product than PowerPoint but it won’t make a good pun for the title.

Prime Movers Lab invests in breakthrough scientific startups founded by Prime Movers, the inventors who transform billions of lives. We invest in companies reinventing energy, transportation, infrastructure, manufacturing, human augmentation, and agriculture.

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