If you manage to embed your PowerPoint presentation in a good story, you can significantly increase the success of your presentation. Neuropsychologists confirm that our brain absorbs messages embedded in a well-told story particularly well. I explain how to properly use the Storytelling method for your own presentations in this blog article.
Well told story as an introduction
Whenever we hear a well-told story, we subconsciously match that story with our own experiences. The better the story is told, the easier it is to get involved in the action. Have we ever experienced this? Can we nod inwardly to this because we have experienced just such a situation as well? Or do we hear completely new things that we don’t know from our own experience? Our brain enjoys mentally occupying itself with exciting situations. After one’s own personal experience, such a story, in which one can put oneself more or less intensively, is also a good way for our brain to experience something. We like to be “kidnapped”, so to speak.
Example of a well told story
How can we use this tendency of our brain for our presentations? In a normal presentation, the focus is primarily on conveying facts. With storytelling, we can enrich these facts with emotions. Imagine you are asked to present a non-alcoholic beer to a group of potential buyers. In your slide deck, you may have information ready about the state-of-the-art production facilities. They may point out the first-class ingredients and the high professional quality of the brewmasters. So far, you have only appealed to the mind, the ratio of your viewers. But beer, whether with alcohol or without, always has something to do with enjoyment. Pleasure is one of the emotions. So you could create additional emotions with a good story.
You could tell a story about how you yourself first came into contact with non-alcoholic beer. It was a very hot day. They had been on the road for a few hours with the rental car and the air conditioning was broken. Finally, you couldn’t take it anymore and headed for the nearest kiosk. They really needed a cool drink. Unfortunately, there was only soda or non-alcoholic beer. The soda was too sweet for you, and you had never experienced non-alcoholic beer really tasting good. But what a surprise! It tastes like real beer. But it was a delightful experience; and you bought a whole case the next day. Since that day you actually drink nothing else a…
I bet you that your audience is now curious about this beer if you have told the story well. That’s the trick. With a compelling story, you can evoke the emotions in your audience that you may need to make a convincing presentation. Whether it is curiosity, indignation, longing, joy, desire, fear or any other feeling.
If you weave your presentation with a good story, you can not only convey sober facts, but you take the audience on a personal fantasy journey. This will give you the undivided attention of your audience. You can tell the story before the actual presentation, as an introduction, so to speak. It is more effective to embed the entire presentation in an interesting story. We are all susceptible to a well-told story, which is why this tool can be used successfully with all target groups.
Dipl.-Wirtsch.-Informatiker Matthias Garten is the expert for multimedia presentations. He is an entrepreneur, speaker (TOP 100 Speaker), trainer (TOP 100 Excellence Trainer), multiple book author, presentation coach (presentation training), member of the GSA and Club 55, organizer of the Presentation Conference, Presentation Bootcamp and Presentation Rocket Day. In addition to PowerPoint training and presentation training, he inspires and advises companies to present themselves even more effectively and thus stand out from competitors. He is the business owner of the presentation and PowerPoint agency smavicon Best Business Presentations and with his team has created over 15,000 presentations for over 150 industries since 1993.
