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Which image pops up when you suddenly hear the word ‘story’? Perhaps old grandma tales, cozy summer read, or maybe a fable. But, stories don’t have to be confined to fictional fantasies. In fact, we share stories every single day. The way we talk about our past, envision future prospects- all our stories, hardwired in our tiny little brains. A pitch, a plea, a presentation- all are stories, taking us on an emotional roller coaster ride every once in a while!
Stories are the most powerful communication tools. They are everywhere; right from endless social media scrolls, anecdotes we share while catching up with friends to our daily newsfeed. But why? Because figures, data, and statistics just don’t stick, but stories do! They paint a vivid picture that our conscious and subconscious mind recognizes and cherishes. Stories are also an essential element of TED Talks and their famous franchise. Yes, we are talking about the uber-powerful talks that spur each of the listeners to immediate action, with their worldly insights!
One of the famous TED Talk that made us environmentally conscious was AI Gore’s climate change documentary- An Inconvenient Truth. It coincided with the climatic change conditions each one of us experienced and have been experiencing ever since 2006. That talk had an immediate and tangible impact on our minds, making us more conscious of Mother nature and its offerings. Studies also reflect the deep impact of the movie An Inconvenient Truth just after Gore’s talk took the center stage. It showed 41% to 50% of the people attributed and accepted the fact that human activities led to a spike in the global warming rate. Although it was not the first time the topic of global warming was brought up on an international platform, still Gore’s talk was a masterpiece because of its beautifully presented narrative that wove in all the heavy scientific details into an emotionally arresting story! The art of storytelling assisted Gore in keeping the audience hooked and transforming a failed attempt into something provocative and inviting.
A big part of stories being much more influential than any legendary presentation is the physical reaction to them: dilated pupils, chills down the spine, racing of the heart, unlimited laughter, jumping, and clapping- all these reactions make the word ‘story’ dominant and receiving over any other forms of narrative. The hardwiring of our brains just want to take in more stories and acclaim it to be a good read!
Why Storytelling?
No matter which industry you are an enthusiast of, there is a good chance that you cannot do without a presentation that stirs up your venture and brings in more attention just like AI Gore did: leaving the audience spellbound and in a state of awe!
Storytelling is a powerful weapon that immediately catches attention and helps change worn-out beliefs with its strong influential narrative, just like in our favorite movies and tales:
- They bring in suspense, a challenge, a revolutionary journey, and finally a solution that masks all the unfortunate events and turns them into a wonderful experience (Like world proclaimed wizard and sorcerer Harry Potter cohorted his evil enemy Voldemort)
- They cause physical, emotional, and chemical reactions, strong enough to keep the listener engaged. Stories make people go-getters as they help the brain release Oxytocin, helping in the absorption of new ideas.
This is why storytelling matters!
In presentations, a presenter who has admirable storytelling skills can communicate better, translate his thoughts into realistic pieces, and spur actionable results. Moreover, he/ she is able to turn the audience into viral advocates of knowledge and proposition, whether in their personal or business surroundings, by paying the story- not just the data and statistics-forward!
How to make this “Bazooka” work for you?
You might be wondering how to use storytelling to catapult your presentation when it is all made up of statistics, data, and numbers; neither exciting nor gripping. Here are some ground rules to hone your storytelling skills:
1. Hero like Batman, Superman
The most treasured stories of all times: The Lion King with Simba as its protagonist, Harry Potter, Star Wars, The Jungle Book, etc. embarks upon a hero’s journey to greatness, after passing through unlimited hardships. This is how your presentation should be; easily digestible with your topic as its main lead, something that the audience can connect to.
While you may think heroes are meant for tales, books, and movies, they are actually pretty functional assets when it comes to advertisements and presentations. Take a look at this invigorating example:
Budweiser's “Lost Dog” Super Bowl commercial
The year 2015 and its epic Super Bowl commercial by the Budweiser, which featured an adorable yellow lab puppy running and finding his way back home with the help of his friend Clydesdale horse “buds.”
2. Contrasting plot for suspense filled narrative
Guesswork it is! First, paint the picture of the hero’s reality and then explain what the future can be just like AI Gore did. There was a stark contrast between the Earth of today and how it can become due to global warming in AI Gore’s narrative, which forced the audience to reconsider the fate of our future generations and adopt more eco-friendly means.
Beyond Gore’s thought-provoking speech, was one of our favorites, Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech. Explaining America’s prejudicial and racially unjust norms, Martin Luther King really stirred up our conscience as torch-bearers of America.
The reason why contrast is effective is because it creates a dramatic dichotomy that grabs attention and compels immediate action. Hence, one of the most efficacious tools to employ in your presentations!
3. Personal experience for that empathetic feel
Being a mentor to the hero, sharing personal experiences and anecdotes is another point that creates a common ground for the listeners. This makes the mentorship technique very effective in presentations to gain empathy and help the reader confirm your thoughts and vision. One of the most influential TED Talk on personal experience storytelling was:
JJ Abrams – “The Mystery Box”
JJ Abrams opened about his fascination with mysteries and how it transformed him into a great storyteller. What does mystery mean and how does he affirm to it- all of his thoughts were deeply shared through his talk. This talk kept the reader engaged with all the mysteriously imaginative possibilities!
Along with applying these three rules, you can adopt a few pre-designed storytelling templates such as the ones shown below:
Template 1
Incorporate the storytelling process into your business presentations by making use of this intuitively designed complete deck. All the elements of storytelling and how to reap major benefits by telling stories while presenting are covered in this template, thus making it a highly effective teaching and learning material. Edit and customize as per your understanding and need as the layout of this presentation is adaptable.
Download Storytelling Elements Structural Analytical Attributes Business Description
Template 2
Encourage and engage your viewers by incorporating this storytelling presentation into your business structure. Use it to explain the concepts and usefulness of storytelling such as communicating purpose, value, uplift the overall mood of the presentation and so and so forth. Such a template is great to be shared with anyone you like after making necessary adjustments to it.
Download Business Storytelling Techniques Procedure
Template 3
Share the message of your brand and its utility by making use of this business storytelling template. This presentation design lists the different techniques that can help you build and narrate great business stories, all neatly defined and presented. You can change the text in the placeholders as deemed fit for your organization as this design is fully responsive and editable.
Download Several Procedure For Business Storytelling
Template 4
Get well versed and make your audience understand the value of possessing good storytelling skills. Engage them and drive the desired action by talking about the ways to narrate business stories such as upgrade your endings, solve a need, get personal, and several others. These points are fully editable, so feel free to add or remove any as per your liking.
Download Seven Ways For Business Storytelling
Template 5
Use this timeline template to share the story of your yearly achievements. This timeline template acts as a great tool to present the milestones and the journey of your organization, encompassed with every major achievement. You can present pictorial references through this template and add any information you like.
Download Key Timelines And Deadline Sample Of PPT Presentation
Template 6
Draw new people in by sharing the journey of your success and achievements with this timeline template that can be shared and present any way you like. Showcase your milestones and the various incongruencies along the path to your success by employing this PPT slide. This is a fully responsive design so you will face no difficulty in making it your own.
Template 7
This is another timeline design, all meticulously crafted and curated by our experts. The design is great to explain the milestones your business has crossed and how the challenges have helped you grow. Timeline is a great storytelling device as it acts as a pictorial reference to any information presented using it.
Download Timeline PPT Summary Layouts
Template 8
Humans are immediately drawn to stories, making this template a very useful tool to engage your audience. Use it to share the story of various digital devices that your organization caters to. This is a fully editable template, so feel free to adjust it as per your liking.
Digital Storytelling Through Online Advertisement Mobile PPT PowerPoint Presentation Format
Template 9
Fire up your boring presentations and turn them into imaginative stories with this template. This is a single slide that lists different elements of storytelling to help you educate your audience or for that matter even employees regarding storytelling and its benefits. Tweak the text and make as many adjustments as you like to this slide as it is fully editable.
Download Elements To Effective Storytelling With Structural And Analytical Attributes
Template 10
This is a simple storytelling icon template with built in text placeholders wherein you can present your desired information. Use it in conjunction with your presentation to make your storytelling explanation process easy and convenient.
Download Icon Of Business Storytelling With Hand
Template 11
Discuss the major benefits of employing storytelling techniques with this PPT presentation. Explain how effective business storytelling is in shaping the organizational culture and influence the staff in building a healthy environment. Ensure that your presentation delivers what it promised by presenting this PPT template, that can be edited and customized as per your liking.
Download Major Benefits Of Business Storytelling
Template 12
This template shows why business storytelling is the best practice and why it should be mastered. With different points all listed and highlighted like stories humanize business, stories make things stick and many more, this is a great tool to educate your masses. You can either use it as it is or in conjunction with other PPT’s to help encourage your audience to take up storytelling while presenting.
Download Various Importance Of Business Storytelling
Template 13
The different elements of storytelling can be discussed in detail or in brief with this template. It comes in standard and widescreen format, hence you will face no difficulty in adapting it to your business needs and requirements.
Download Three Elements Of Business Storytelling
Template 14
This is a step-by-step storytelling template specially designed for novice and uninformed presenters. Use it to learn and even educate your audience about storytelling and the process you have to follow in order to become a great storyteller. With different elements neatly displayed, this is a great tool to jumpstart your business storytelling journey.
Download Key Steps Of Business Storytelling Life Cycle
Template 15
This is yet another template that can be used to share your thoughts on the storytelling techniques and how to incorporate it into your presentations. Using this slide will make your extensive explanation process easy and convenient. Therefore download it now!
Download Five Storytelling Techniques For Business
When speeches, pitches, and presentations fail to resonate and the stakes are high, million dollars worth of businesses suffer from a huge economic blow. Businesses lose their charm as they fail to deliver their promises. That is why storytelling is important for business presentations. This mini guide to storytelling and its perks (with bonus templates) is a great starting point to embrace this wonderful technique to becoming successful. It can be the most powerful technique to make your public speaking skill stand out, just like famous TED talks did!
