How and why to Build Story in Your Presentations?
We humans think in terms of story. So, it is smart to structure your presentation as a story. It will bring flow and clearness in your presentation. It will make it so much easier for your audience to remain tuned in and will make your presentation memorable as well.
But, how to do this? How do we get story into our presentation?
If you pay attention to the following 4 elements, you presentation will flow and become super clear and engaging.
The key word here is “taking your audience along”.
-
- Have a story structure, meaning a clear beginning, middle and ending. Do not jump straight in but have a strong introduction to take your audience along and pay attention to a good ending. Your audience needs this. (Stay tuned for next post, which will show story more deeply).
-
- It starts with a good preparation.Instead of immediately diving into your slide software. You first take a step back and ask yourself, what is my goal here, what is my key message and what steps do I have to make with my audience to get them from a (where they are now to b (where I want to get them). If you do this, the route, journey, story, red thread, will evolve by itself. (the route/journey). You will take the audience along.
-
- First have the story, see point 2 and then make slides that support it. Not the other way round. If you immediately dive into your slide software, without story first, you will be tempted to get entangled into the content. If I talk about this, I also need to talk about this and this. Before you know it, you have too many slides and you’ll cut the story in too many itty bitty slides. Then, cohesion and story are lost. Make slides that make it easy for your audience to connect to your story. Take the audience along.
-
- Finally, create good bridges from one part of your presentation to the next. So instead of “next slide”, say something like, “Now that we have seen how important reporting is, let’s now have a look on how to put this into practice”. This creates cohesion and story. Take the audience along.
So, all in all.
- Have a clear, beginning, middle and end.
- Start with asking questions to prepare and see the story.
- Make slides to underpin this journey/story
- Make clear bridges form one part to another.
Good Luck!
Want to learn how to make a strong introduction and other effective ways to get your audience along?
Then apply for the Open Training, where you learn the ins and outs of clear and engaging presenting in 1 day. Next session Thursday 27 November.
- Small groups, big results – only 3–4 participants per training for maximum individual attention.
- Tailored to you – intake beforehand ensures the training addresses your specific challenges.
- Practical & hands-on – “learning by doing” with immediate application of techniques.
-
Confidence boost – proven methods to manage nerves and enjoy presenting.
-
International focus – designed for expats and Dutch professionals in global environments.
-
Personal feedback with video – sharpen your skills by seeing yourself in action.