I am hosting a Presentation Story Contest for my students and friends. The contest entries will be posted here on Slideshare and then linked to from my blog at http://PresentationsWithResults.com Learn how you can apply story structure to your presentation to engage your audience and improve presentation results.

1. Presentation Story Contest
July 1 – 31, 2012
Sponsored by
Susan Joy Schleef
Founder of
PresentationsWithResults.com

2. Uncover 3 clues
for making your
presentation
more engaging
1st Clue: Why does
storytelling work to
improve your
presentation results?

3. "Human beings have always told their histories
and truths through parable and fable. We are
inveterate storytellers.” ~ Beeban Kidron

4. Our brain processes information differently
when we are in a ‘story listening trance’

5. “When we read dry, factual arguments, we
read with our dukes up. We are critical and
skeptical.
But when we are absorbed in a story we
drop our intellectual guard.”
~ Jonathan Gottschall, author of
The Storytelling Animal
Source: http://www.fastcocreate.com/1680581/why-storytelling-is-the-ultimate-weapon

6. 2nd Clue: What’s the
difference between
anecdotes and story
structure?
Which one works
better in a
presentation?

7. Many people tell short
stories or anecdotes when
they give a speech or
presentation, often as a
way to illustrate a point.
Story structure or narrative
structure applies to your
presentation as a whole and
adds dramatic tension that
keeps your audience more
engaged.

8. “Funny as it may sound, storytelling should
not be confused with telling stories.”
~ Alexei Kapterev,
Presentation Secrets
There’s nothing wrong with telling stories.
It’s a good public speaking technique. But
creating a presentation with a 3-act story
structure will transform your presentation
and entrance the mind of your audience.

9. 3rd Clue: How can you
apply a story structure
to your presentation?
Use 3 simple ideas to
give your presentation
the structure and
emotional affect of
story:

10. 1. Clearly differentiate the
beginning, middle, and ending sections of your
presentation.
Inciting
Incident
Conflict
Problem
Resolution
Introduce
Characters &
Situation
Establishing Setup
Shot

11. “This timeless storytelling technique of
creating dramatic tension helps you
quickly engage, motivate, and to further
an emotional connection, and it answers
another important question the audience
is wondering: Why am I here? ”
~ Cliff Atkinson,
Beyond Bullet Points

12. 2. Use a familiar theme or metaphor to
help your audience relate new information
to something they already understand.
Apply the theme or metaphor to your key
point slides in both your language and
your graphics.

13. “Getting your client to yes is much easier
with metaphors . . .
Metaphors help a client see possibilities he
didn’t see before and they help him make
the best decision. ”
~ Anne Miller,
Metaphorically Selling
“The greatest thing by far is to
be master of metaphor.”
~ Aristotle

14. 3. Make your audience the hero of
the story by identifying their problem
or challenge right at the beginning of
your presentation.

15. “Structure is a selection of events
from the characters’ life stories that
is composed into a strategic sequence
to arouse specific emotions and to
express a specific view of life. ”
~ Robert McKee, Story

16. Now that you’ve
seen some of the
clues, are you ready
to solve the mystery?
Are you ready to try
creating your own
Presentation Story?
Are you ready to
enter the contest?

17. Let’s examine the
contest rules
You must tell a story in
10 slides or less with
pictures and words
Post your presentation
on Slideshare.net
If you don’t already have a Slideshare
account, it’s free to set one up so go ahead!

18. Let’s examine the
contest rules
Send me the link by
email to: Success@
PresentationsWithResults.com

19. Let’s examine the
contest rules
I will display all the
presentations on my
website and link to
them on
Facebook, Twitter, an
d LinkedIn when first
posted.

20. Let’s examine the
contest rules
You can share those
links on social media
and encourage your
friends to comment
on your Presentation
Story.

21. Let’s examine the
contest rules
The contest will run
from July 1st through
July 31st (at midnight
Central Daylight Time)

22. Presentation
Story Contest
The presentation that
receives the most
comments by July 31
will win a prize!
(see blog post for details)

23. Presentation
Story Contest
Thank you for your
interest in the
Presentation Story
Contest and good luck
with your entry!
Susan Joy Schleef, Founder
Presentations With Results, Inc.
http://PresentationsWithResults.com