Stories matter
If you type “storytelling” into Amazon, it spins up no-less-than 20,000 book titles. Yikes. It’s a popular business topic and for good reason, we humans are wired (think lizard brain) to tell and remember stories
Business storytelling is about persuasion
Yes, the story has to go somewhere. This is not poetry or contemplation. Consultants are hired to solve difficult problems, which are often VUCA – volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. If it were easy, it would be done already. Nope, consultants (like attorneys) earn their fees.
PowerPoint is more than looking pretty
Some clients (and students) have an incorrect perception that good PowerPoints are simply formatted correctly. That is equivalent to saying that a burnt chicken is the wrong color. No, the problem is is not the color. The problem is that it tastes burnt. Same goes for PowerPoint. The problem is more than the alignment, lack of parallel structure, the mismatched font, the excessive use of color, the inconclusive title, the lack of page numbers, the typos, the misleading graph, the unsourced data, the incorrect use of histograms, the changing verb tense, the illegibly small font, mismatching words-to-graph, incorrect ordering of slides, un-centered text box and the clip art. (Note, actually, those 15+ format things are actually problems too). The main problem is storytelling.
Make it easy to understand
Think of it like a large store (Lowe’s or Tesco), do you want to make it easy for the shopper to find what they want, be delighted on new things they didn’t realize they wanted, and purchase them at full-price quickly? Yes, yes, yes.
Same is true with your presentation. The audience should know what you are talking about, follow your logic, ask good questions, engage in the material, have fun, and collaborate next steps. Basically, it should be good. Yes, there are dozens of concepts that apply both to logical structure and great presentation mechanics:
- Visualizing what you want to say with meaningful diagrams
- Use the Pyramid Principle (namely: put all your recommendations in the front)
- Keep it simple (the less you have to put in the page, to prove your point the better)
- Use titles and kicker boxes aggressively (don’t make the audience guess what you’re saying)
- Answer your senior manager’s question: “So What?”
Who is the audience?
No presentation exists in a vacuum. Would you say that same thing to your boss, your mom, your 10 year-old niece, and your competitor? Think = audience. A CMO and CFO and COO and CHRO are going to have different points of view, concerns, incentives, and interests. Know who you are talking to.
What are you trying to say?
Have you done the work? Have you broken the problem down enough that you have clarity? Can you explain it simply to your cousin? After your meeting, could your audience repeat back your main points? If I asked them 3 days later what the presentation was about, what would they say? Is your message that salient? Is it memorable? Does it matter?
Oh, that makes sense, let’s do that
At the end of whatever presentation you do, or don’t do, if you can get the client to say those 7 glorious words, it’s worth $10. The whole point of the thing is to hear those words. Oh-that-makes-sense-let’s-do-that.
This shows they understand your points (and counterpoints) and there’s momentum to move forward.
Oh,
Yes, there is some surprise there. Yes, you actually took messy data, structured it, added some spicy analysis, and created something new, something they have never seen before. One senior manager from my past life (hat tip: NS) called it the “Wow, factor.” Are you really delighting the client, or simply “stealing their watch and telling them what time it is?” Look at your own work with a critical eye, is it worth $10,000 a day?
That makes sense
There’s so much goodness in those words:
- The client understands what you are saying. That’s huge
- The client understands your logic, how you came to those conclusions
- They might disagree, have questions, or corrections – but that’s okay. . it’s a collaboration
- They are buying-into your point of view. The nemawashi is paying off
- There is value (you did your job) and there is trust (clients are at risk, and need your help)
Let’s do that
Consultants are paid to make change happen, and this indicates that you got past their head (intellect), through their heart (leadership, passion, fear), and now it’s time to get their hands (implementation) dirty.
You are getting closer to implementation. Phase 2 looks more likely. You are selling add-on work, getting stuff done. Going from a minder to a finder.
The best presentation = no PowerPoint
Remember the best PowerPoint is the one you don’t have to use; you bring it to your update meeting or business lunch, and honestly, you don’t need it. The conversation goes so well, you are so aligned, you are so eager to work together, there is so much trust, you never take the PowerPoint out of your bag. You spend less time “convincing” the client that you are credible, thoughtful, and worth your value – and more time – “planning and plotting” on how to make both of you more successful and happy. The end.
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Which scenario is more likely to create change in an organization? A great delivery of great slides with no pre-wiring, or the mediocre delivery of mediocre slides with careful and thorough pre-wiring? I will always be grateful to the CFO who taught me how to pre-wire a presentation by meeting with key attendees well in advance. “You want to make sure there are some heads nodding when you give you presentation,” she said. Indeed.
Yes, I will take pre-wiring anyday. The Japanese have a management slang word for pre-wiring called NEMAWASHI. Basically, it means digging around the root of a tree before you transplant it. BOOM.
Enjoyed this particularly, the part about Power Points and StoryTelling. I agree a visual aid is jus that a visual aid. It is the job of the presenter ti bring to life the subject matter and captivate the audience.