The Role of Storytelling in Virtual Presentations
In many ways, stories are how we think and make sense of the world around us, and this extends to business concepts as well. In presentations, stories are the most effective way of organizing information. A powerful form of communication, they translate ideas and move people to action. Moreover, they turn the audience into viral advocates of the proposition, whether in life or in business, by paying the story—not just the information—forward. The power of storytelling applies in virtual presentations as well as in personal gatherings. A key rule of telling stories is giving your audience an emotional experience. Purposeful stories that reach the listener’s hearts and minds are those that move them to action. Specialists say that the most effective and efficient way to do that is through the use of metaphor and analogy. These linguistic devices are key components of the way we think, building blocks of the very structure of knowledge. They can be used to evoke images and turn on memory, along with rich sensory and emotional associations, bringing the listener into the story, cognitively and emotionally, as an active participant. Every story has to fit within the context of your presentation, or at least tie in with your surrounding remarks. Forced stories have the opposite effect, they disconnect the audience and make it harder for them to understand where you’re going with the presentation. Stories have purpose. They have to be relevant to the experience and interests of your audience. Each story should have a point to it that your listeners can easily grasp and identify with. You want to use stories to put information into perspective, not replace it. Make your stories clear and relevant, to support the information in your presentation. That means keeping them fairly short and removing unnecessary details. You want to use stories to put information into perspective, not replace it. How to use storytelling in a presentation? Create an easy-to-visualize story where something happens in a specific time and place, played out by characters that your audience is likely to connect with. Don't try to overdo it or use too many stories. If you’re not comfortable including a story, don’t do it. If the type of presentation allows it, opt for a personal story. Don’t go overboard with stories; instead, use them sparingly and make sure that they are the right ones to stay with your audience even after the presentation is over. Techniques and examples: Immerse your audience in a story. Example: TED Talk Tell a personal story. In his insightful book The Seven Basic Plots, author Christopher Booker finds that there are seven basic story plots that have universal appeal. These include the story of the hero defeating a monster, the rags-to-riches tale, the quest for a treasure, and the voyage of a hero who comes back a changed person. Example: Ted Talk Create suspense. One way is to tell a story chronologically and build up to a climactic conclusion. Another way is to plop the viewer/listener right in the middle of action and then go backwards in time to reveal how all of this occurred. A third way is to begin by telling a predictable story and then surprise the audience by taking a completely different turn from what was expected. Bring characters to life. Many agree, the most successful stories, were those that created three-dimensional characters who were easy to identify and, at the same time, had an uncommon characteristic. In order to do this, you must provide enough detail to bring the character to life in the minds of those in the audience. Examples:
Show, instead of telling. Instead of telling your audience about a certain event in a story, try showing them by transporting them to a scene. So, whenever you deliver a story, try scene-by-scene construction of events and use dialogue instead of narration, as seen
Build up to a moment, that they’ll always remember. Also known az the S.T.A.R. moment. This moment is so dramatic, that your audience is likely to talk about it weeks later. Example: Bill Gates’ speech
A positive takeaway as closing. The most effective presentations not only have a conflict and a climax, but also a positive resolution. On the path to triumph, most characters in these stories receive a so-called “spark,” a key piece of wisdom or advice that helped them overcome their obstacles and change for the better. This key takeaway message was then packaged into a short, memorable phrase or sound bite that could easily become viral on social media platforms like Twitter.
Sources:
https://visualhackers.com/blog/the-power-of-storytelling-in-presentations/
https://www.sparkol.com/en/blog/8-classic-storytelling-techniques-for-engaging-presentations
https://visme.co/blog/7-storytelling-techniques-used-by-the-most-inspiring-ted-presenters/