Effective Business Presentations - Storytelling

7/1/2015 by julie

What makes a great business presentation?  Everyone has an opinion, but for us, a relatable story is the best way to resonate or make a connection with an audience – big or small. 

Stories allow people to disseminate information that can be digested while also allowing one to build a relationship.  Stories can be used to illustrate your vision or value system, and stories can help create trust among an audience, inspire an audience, and/or make people take action.  Telling a personal story can make you relatable and demonstrate emotions that impact the audience and how they may view you as a leader. 

How do you make a story impactful?

The Ariel Group, an international training and coaching firm for business professionals, has documented storytelling best practices when communicating in a business environment:

• Re-experiencing the event (e.g., by using present tense)
• Using descriptive/sensory language (sound, sight, taste, smell, feeling)
• Keeping it simple (e.g., by using bullet phrases and few “ands”)
• Emphasizing emotional content
• Playing different roles in the story
• Using vocal variety and body language

In The Leadership Engine, Noel Tichy suggests conveying leaders’ hard-won experiences through stories.  Tichy makes sure that the point of every story is shared unambiguously – what he calls having a “teachable point of view”.

Take a moment to reflect back on your past experiences.  How can you translate your experience into stories that build trust, inspire an audience, and/or drive people to take action? As with any presentation, practice your storytelling until you perfect the delivery and ultimately the impact.

Bohan & Bradstreet can introduce you to an audience that may propel your career.  Contact us when you’re ready to share your story.